Unified Interior Regions
Arizona
The Southwest Region includes California, Nevada, and Arizona. The Regional Office, headquartered in Sacramento, provides Center oversight and support, facilitates internal and external collaborations, and works to further USGS strategic science directions.
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
National Park Service Visitor Spending Effects
The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports a considerable amount of economic activity within park gateway communities. USGS economists collaborate with the National Park Service social science program to estimate NPS...
North American Waterfowl Management Plan
The ultimate success of North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) depends on maintaining relevance to stakeholders and society. In order to be relevant, a first step is to better understand what people value in regard to waterfowl and their habitats.
Economic Impacts of Ecological Restoration
Federal investments in ecosystem restoration projects protect Federal trusts, ensure public health and safety, and preserve and enhance essential ecosystem services. These investments also generate business activity and create jobs. However, limited information exists on the costs and associated economic impacts of ecosystem restoration projects due to the complexity of the “restoration...
Surveillance for the Presence of White-Nose Syndrome in the Bat Community at El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico
In 1999 and 2000, FORT conducted a survey of bats at El Malpais National Monument and adjacent lands. During this study, several species of bats were documented, including some that are known to use caves or lava-tube formations as roosts. In the winter of 2006–2007, the fungus-caused disease known as “white-nose syndrome” (WNS) began devastating populations of hibernating bat species that use...
Assessing Impacts to Ecosystems from Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon Region
The use of uranium is an alternative energy source to petroleum products and some of the United States’ highest quality ore is located on the Colorado Plateau. However, some regions where suitable mining efforts are conducted include areas that are near important environmental resources such as National Parks that provide viewscapes and habitat for wildlife.
Volcano Hazards Assessments Help Mitigate Disasters
The Volcano Hazards Program develops long-range volcano hazards assessments. These includes a summary of the specific hazards, their impact areas, and a map showing ground-hazard zones. The assessments are also critical for planning long-term land-use and effective emergency-response measures, especially when a volcano begins to show signs of unrest.
Developing a USGS Legacy Data Inventory to Preserve and Release Historical USGS Data
Legacy data (n) - Information stored in an old or obsolete format or computer system that is, therefore, difficult to access or process. (Business Dictionary, 2016) For over 135 years, the U.S. Geological Survey has collected diverse information about the natural world and how it interacts with society. Much of this legacy information is one-of-a-kind and in danger of being lost forever...
Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP)
Transboundary aquifers are an essential source of water for United States – Mexico border communities. Declining water levels, deteriorating water quality, and increasing use of groundwater resources on both sides of the border raise concerns about the long-term availability of this supply.
The U.S. – Mexico Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act (Public Law 109-448) of 2006 was enacted...
Dust Storm Near Winslow, Arizona, in April 2011
Dust carried by the wind has far-reaching effects, including the loss of nutrients and water-holding capacity from landscapes, and the speeding up of the melting of snow, which affects the timing and magnitude of runoff into streams and rivers.
Dust Storm near Winslow, Arizona, in April 2011
Dust carried by the wind has far-reaching effects, including the loss of nutrients and water-holding capacity from landscapes, and the speeding up of the melting of snow, which affects the timing and magnitude of runoff into streams and rivers.
Seepage Investigation: Clear Creek and Little Colorado River
Stream gaging occurring in Winslow: Clear Creek and Little Colorado River.
Smoke From Schultz Pass Forest Fire, Flagstaff, Arizona, June 20, 2010
Panorama (180 degree field of view) photograph of smoke rising from the Schultz Pass fire near Flagstaff, Arizona, at 1:34 p.m. on its day of ignition, June 20, 2010. Over the following 10 days, the fire burned an estimated 15,075 acres, or more than 23 square miles of northern Arizona forest, and cost more than $8.6 million to fight. The fire was started by a campfire
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Grand Canyon Investigations: 131 Years in the Field
Staff at the USGS Central Region Library created two displays for an open-house in celebration of National Library Week, April, 2010. This display on USGS scientific investigtations of the Grand Canyon displays field records, historical photography,historical surveying equipment, and publications from the science areas of biology, geology, geography, and water.
Saguaro National Park, East Unit, Southern Arizona - 2010
Saguaro National Monument is now Saguaro National Park. The decline is saguaros has continued but at a rate slightly less steep than predicted. Very few of the saguaro present in 1935 remain. Meanwhile, the regeneration of this forest has already begun, as shown by findings from a long-term study-plot located at left midground. There has been a sharp increase in
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Explaining Flood Measurements
Explaning why USGS streamgagers make discharge measurements.
Measuring Low Flow in San Pedro River
Measuring low flow in the San Pedro River with flume.
Streamflow Measurement, Pinto Creek, AZ (Jan 2010)
USGS streamgagers, Mike Sanders, Arthur Rees, and Mike Schilling, are servicing the Pinto Creek near Miami, Arizona streamflow gaging station and making a streamflow measurement on January 28, 2010. Flow was measured to be 207 cubic feet per second (CFS) on the 28th but peaked earlier on the 22nd at an estimated 7,400 cfs. Debris from the flood flow can be seen in trees
USGS Measurement, Salt River (January 2010 )
USGS streamgagers, Mike Sanders and Henry Sanger are servicing the, Salt River near Roosevelt, Arizona streamflow gaging station and making a streamflow measurement on January 22, 2010. Flow was measured to be 44,500 cubic feet per second (CFS) on the 22th but peaked earlier on the 22nd at an estimated 88,000 cfs. The measurement was made from the cableway just downstream
Streamflow Measurement, Rillito Creek AZ (Jan 2010)
USGS employees, John Hoffmann, Corey Salmond, Robert Fritzinger, and Chris Smith are being interviewed by Naomi Pescovitz from KVOA on January 22, 2010. Robert Fritzinger and Corey Salmond are making a streamflow measurement at Rillito Creek at La Cholla BLVD near Tucson streamflow gaging station. The updated peak was 1,360 cubic feet per second (CFS) on January 22, 2010.
Local planetary geologist Chris Okubo is on a mission to understand the past roles of groundwater and faulting on Mars by studying similar locations on Earth. Okubo works in the Astrogeology Research Program for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Flagstaff.
Long-term trends in landscape conditions have significantly reduced sagebrush habitat and populations of greater sage-grouse, according to a new study examining the bird's chances of survival.
The Upper San Pedro Partnership was recognized with the Department of the Interior's Cooperative Conservation Award today.
Time lapse videos of sandbars from the Glen Canyon Dam high flow experiment have been released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Competition for water is becoming more intense as the nation's population continues to grow, increasing the demands for water use in agriculture and power production.
A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contains a regional map and associated database that inventory 121 locations of reported natural asbestos and fibrous amphibole occurrences in the Southwestern United States, including Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.
Salt Lake City - The Bureau of Reclamation today released a final environmental assessment (FEA) and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) that authorizes the initiation of an early-March 2008 high-flow test and fall steady flow experiment from Glen Canyon Dam downstream through the Grand Canyon
The Department of the Interior has proposed an experiment using high flows from Glen Canyon Dam to study and improve Colorado River resources in Grand Canyon National Park.
Where in Arizona are ground-water levels falling? Where are they stable or rising? How much has the water table changed since large-scale pumping has occurred?
(Flagstaff, Ariz.) An experiment using high flows from Glen Canyon Dam to study and improve Colorado River resources in Grand Canyon National Park has been proposed by the Department of the Interior.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a report today describing salinity levels in streams and ground water in parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The report concludes that although salinity varies widely throughout the region, levels have generally decreased in many streams during the past two decades.
The U.S. Geological Survey hosted a two-day scientific workshop that drew state and federal government scientists, and university researchers together to discuss interdisciplinary research along the US-Mexico border.
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Locations
Astrogeology Science Center
Phone: 928-556-7000
Fax: 928-556-7014
Southwest Biological Science Center - Flagstaff, AZ, Headquarters
Phone: 928-556-7094
Fax: 928-556-7092
Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
Western Geographic Science Center - Tucson Project Office
Western Geographic Science Center - Flagstaff Project Office
Arizona Water Science Center, Tucson Office
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO)
yvowebteam@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8906
Southwest Biological Science Center - Tucson, AZ, Research Station
Phone: (520) 670-6671
Fax: (520) 670-5592
Arizona Water Science Center, Flagstaff Office
Phone: (928) 556-7136
Fax: (928) 556-7112
Arizona Water Science Center, Tempe Office
Phone: (480) 736-1093
Fax: (480) 736-1356
Arizona Water Science Center, Yuma Office
Phone: (928) 782-6024
Fax: (928) 782-0268