Images

Image of the Week (IOW) Cheyenne Bottoms Dries Out thumbnail. Image of the Week highlights satellite and other remote sensing imagery from around the world.

The Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a prominent circular geological formation in the Sahara Desert. The formation stretches across a 40 km-wide region in Mauritania in Northwest Africa.

This mosaic of the Richat Structure and surrounding area was creating using four natural color Landsat 9 images (Bands 4,3,2): 

Pecora award 2023 flyer announcing call for nominations, due April 15, 2023. This image details the procedure for nominations, eligibility, and privacy statement. Visit this USGS page for eligibility requirements and the nomination process. 

A New RCMAP Factsheet is available. View it here: https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/fs20233004

This Landsat 8 image of a portion of the Central Coast of California (WRS2 Path 43 Row 35) was acquired on January 31, 2023. Bands 6,5,4 

This graphic shows additional tiles available for Collection 2 U.S. Analysis Ready Data (ARD) when compared to Collection 1 U.S. ARD for the same period (1982-2021).

Landsat 9 captured a rare snowfall in China’s Taklimakan Desert on January 18, 2023. This image uses the shortwave infrared, near infrared, and red bands (B 6|5|4) to highlight the stark contrast between the desert sand and the snow-covered dunes. The sand appears reddish, while the snow is blue.

This natural color Landsat 8 image of the Sacramento Valley area shows the impacts of the relentless rains that impacted the area during the end of December and into the New Year. Turbid river water, saturated fields, and rising reservoirs can be seen near Stockton and Sacramento.

In the right wintry conditions, an ice bridge forms between the Diomede Islands in the Bering Strait. Theoretically, this is the only place where you can walk from Russia to the United States (and vice versa), however travel between one Diomede to the other is strictly forbidden.  

Nine consecutive rainstorms have poured on California since December 26, 2022, after three years of intensive drought.

This graphic displays the millions of Landsat Level-1 downloads, from 2008 to December 2022.

View more statistics on the Landsat Project Statistics page. 

Last year was monumental for the program, including celebrating its 50-year anniversary, transitioning a fully operational Landsat 9 to the USGS team, and extending the Landsat 7 science mission. In addition to these major events, we have included an interactive map showcasing events Landsat satellites captured this year from around the world.

The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States, is only 100 miles long by 35 miles wide—about 2 ½ times as big as Rhode Island. Even though it is a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico has its own Olympic team. The largest islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John.

Isaac Anderson (National Innovation Center) preforms a pre-flight check of a UAS before a photogrammetry mission in post-fire, landslide-prone terrain in Tahoe National Forest.

This natural color Landsat 9 image (Bands 4|3|2) was acquired on December 13, 2022 and shows the Sacramento Valley and surrounding area.

A UAS flies a photogrammetry mission over recently burned landscapes in Tahoe National Forest.

Landsat 8’s first image captured the area where the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains meet in Colorado. The natural-color image shows the coniferous forest of the mountains coming down to the dormant plains. Boulder, Colorado, sits in the middle of the image.

Isaac Anderson and Liz Hyde (National Innovation Center) bring in a drone for a landing, after flying a photogrammetry mission over landslide-prone terrain recently burned in the Mosquito fire (2022).

USGS researches and remote pilots coordinate their operations during a break in the action during a photogrammetry flight campaign in post-fire terrain in Tahoe National Forest.

Rare spotting! Dueling volcanoes captured by Landsat 9 satellite. Mauna Loa's 11.3-mile-long lava flow illuminates the plume of ash in the atmosphere above. The small red spot in the lower right is Kilauea—it began erupting nine days ago. USGS Volcanoes says a dual eruption has not occurred in Hawaii since 1984, making this a rare event.

USGS scientist Matt Burgess checking a UAS with a mounted lidar sensor at Vicksburg National Military Park 

NUSO scientists, along with USGS landslide researchers, in December 2022 undertook a topographic analysis of slide-prone areas of the National Park Service Vicksburg National Military Park near Vicksburg, Mississippi.