Images

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast, it runs north-south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Maryland, to the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has experienced substantial population growth over the last several decades. Since 1950, the population has more than doubled, and between 1980 and 2023, the number increased from 12.7 million to 18.6 million.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles (166,000 square kilometers) and encompasses parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the District of Columbia.

On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, Winter Storm Enzo brought an exceptionally rare snowfall to the Greater Houston metro area of Texas. The National Weather Service reported 5.5 inches (14 cm) in Baytown, a city located east of Houston on the northern shore of Galveston Bay. Other cities and locales received upwards of 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10.2 cm).

The USGS provides research-quality, applications-ready Landsat Level-2 and Level-3 science products to support an array of land surface change studies. Collection 2 Level-2 scene-based science products include Surface Reflectance, Surface Temperature, Surface Reflectance-Derived Spectral Indices, and Provisional Aquatic Reflectance.

Louisiana is home to numerous salt domes, including the five distinct coastal salt dome islands that can be found in the southern part of the state near the Gulf of America. Formed by the upward pressure of ancient salt deposits, these hills rise above the surrounding marshes and coastal plains of Louisiana.

The tragic fires sweeping across the Greater Los Angeles area in January 2025 have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,300 structures, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for as many as 200,000 residents. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, have fueled the fires.

The USGS EROS Landsat archive recently reached a milestone of 12 million Landsat Collection 2 Level-1 products. These are available for download at no charge.  The image representing this milestone displays a sprawling desert landscape and contains a multitude of agricultural, geological, and urban features.

The tragic fires sweeping across the Greater Los Angeles area have burned more than 40,000 acres, destroyed more than 12,300 structures, and prompted evacuation orders and warnings for as many as 200,000 residents. Exceptionally dry conditions, coupled with strong Santa Ana winds, have fueled the fires.

On December 12, 2024, heavy lake effect snow blanketed the Buffalo, New York metro area with over 2 feet accumulating in less than 24 hours. This area normally receives heavy snowfall each year during the Northern Hemisphere winter months due to being situated along the shore of Lake Erie. 

The Wind River Range, located in west-central Wyoming, is a unique wilderness area that rises from the high plains of the South Pass of the Continental Divide and runs northwest to the Yellowstone Plateau. The Winds, as they are affectionately known, are exceptionally long, wide, high, rugged, and remote.

Landsat 8 image of Lake Thompson in South Dakota, showing a November algal bloom.

Image date: November 22, 2024
Path 30, Row 29
Band combinations: 654 (false color) to show the algal bloom, and then blended with 432 (natural color) to show the snow.

Thumbnail image for video: 1 Hour of Earth From Above: Relaxing Landsat Satellite Imagery

Watch here: https://eros.usgs.gov/media-gallery/video-landsat/landsat-1-hour-of-ima…

Photo of Pecora 2024 Team Award winners with representatives from USGS and NASA.

This Landsat 9 image shows the Washington D.C. area on August 1, 2024. The image was created using Bands 6,5,4 and was then sharpened using the panchromatic band (Band 8) which has a higher resolution than the other bands (15 meters compared to 30 meters).

Path 15 Row 33

Landsat 8 image of the Massachusetts Coast, showing Boston, Plymouth, and Cape Cod.

Published on social media on November 28, 2024, for Thanksgiving.

Mosaic of two different Landsat 8 images:
Image dates: November 8 and 17, 2024
Path 11, Row 31 and Path 12, Row 31 

USGS geographer and remote pilot Mark Bauer sets up a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) base station, which will be used to correct uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) lidar data during post-processing. It's early during the field day and a layer of frost covers the ground.

This Landsat 8 image shows the Pampanga River Delta and Manila Bay on March 6, 2024.

Landsat 8 image of South Sudan, showing portions of the states of Unity, Jonglei, and Warrup. 

Image date: October 22, 2024
Path 174, Row 54
Band combination: 654

Landsat 8 image of the Henry Mountains in southeastern Utah. 

Published on social media on November 7, 2024.

Mosaic of two different Landsat 8 images:
Image date: June 16, 2024
Path 37, Row 33 and Path 37, Row 34

The attendees of the Landsat Ground Station Operators Working Group (LGSOWG) #52 meeting in Canberra, Australia in November 2024. 

Visit this USGS webpage to learn more about LGSOWG #52.