Unified Interior Regions
California
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.
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ShakeMaps for the 1868 Hayward Quake and the 1989 Loma Prieta Quake
ShakeMap showing the inferred intensity of ground shaking in the 1868 earthquake (measured as MMI, or Modified Mercalli Intensity), compared to a ShakeMap for the 1989 magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. Red lines are major earthquake faults; black line shows the portion of the Hayward Fault that ruptured in 1868; diamonds show locations of damage reports (1868) and
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Fly Over the Seafloor of San Francisco Bay
Virtual fly-through of San Francisco Bay revealing the seafloor as if the water was drained from the Bay. The movie flies through the south and central Bay, pausing over prominent seafloor features including, large sand waves, rock pinnacles, current scour pits, as well as many human impacts on the seafloor.
PubTalk 12/2008 — Gemstone Deposits of the United States
Commercial production - localities visited by mineral collectors
by Pete Modreski, USGS Gemstone Specialist
- Gemstones found in the United States include sapphire, opal, tourmaline, aquamarine, turquoise, amethyst, peridot, and many others
- More than a half-dozen states are known for their gemstones, including
PubTalk 11/2008 — Taking the Biological Pulse of Our Planet
The USA National Phenology Network
by Jake Weltzin, NPN Executive Director
- Phenology, an emerging integrated science, is combining government, university, and public knowledge to study seasonal cycles in the biosphere
- Recent findings in phenology are providing new insights into the timing of biological events
Preparedness Now
This film depicts the realistic outcome of a hypothetical, but plausible, magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern CA.
Stream Gage sits high and dry on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea
Stream gage #10254005 located near Westmorland, CA, on the eastern shore of the Salton Sea, now sits out of the water as the Salton Sea continues to evaporate and the shoreline retreats.
PubTalk 10/2008 — Prehistoric Packrat Piles
Archives of Climate Change
by Kenneth Cole, USGS Research Ecologist
- Piles of ancient vegetation hoarded by packrats are providing clues to past events of rapid climate warming -- similar to those expected for the 21st century
- Preserved material shows the effects of three sudden warming events that occurred over
Groundshaking animation: Hayward Fault, Oakland epicenter
Scenario shows the ground shaking for a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward fault with the epicenter in Oakland, California. Visit M7.0 Earthquake Scenarios - Hayward Fault for detailed perspective views.
Groundshaking animation: Hayward Fault, San Pablo Bay epicenter
Animation showing the intensity of groundshaking across the San Francisco Bay region during a hypothetical M 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault with the epicenter in San Pablo Bay. Visit M7.0 Earthquake Scenarios - Hayward Fault for detailed perspective views.
Groundshaking animation: Hayward Fault, Fremont epicenter
Animation showing the intensity of groundshaking across the San Francisco Bay region during a hypothetical M 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault with the epicenter in Fremont. Visit M7.0 Earthquake Scenarios - Hayward Fault for detailed perspective views.
PubTalk 9/2008 — Ready for the Next Big Bay Area Earthquake?
The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake was not the Bay Area's "Big One" but a repeat of the destructive 1868 Hayward earthquake may qualify!
by Tom Brocher, USGS Seismologist
- The next large Hayward Fault earthquake will effect the entire San Francisco Bay Area - Are You Prepared?
- The Hayward Fault is the most
Sunflower sea star on the seafloor
Photograph of the seafloor off the California coast showing coarse sand, shells, and a sunflower sea star. It was taken during a "ground-truthing" survey off of Salt Point, California, in support of the California Seafloor Mapping Program.
Understanding the natural role of fire in chaparral ecosystems is necessary to effectively manage fires in southern California’s shrublands, where large, high-intensity fires sweep the landscape each year, threatening lives and homes.
Think of southern California, and images of beach, sun and surf come to mind, coupled with boundless recreation opportunities for beach-goers. What’s missing from these images? It could be the shorebirds that cavort at the edge of the sea and sand.
Think of southern California, and images of beach, sun and surf come to mind, coupled with boundless recreation opportunities for beach-goers. What’s missing from these images? It could be the shorebirds that cavort at the edge of the sea and sand.
In observance of National Geography Awareness Week, November 11-17, the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park will host a GIS (Geographic Information System) Day event for students of local elementary and high schools.
In observance of National Geography Awareness Week, November 11-17, the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park will host a GIS (Geographic Information System) Day event for students of local elementary and high schools.
There are two weeks left for creative mappers of all ages to enter a poster in the annual poster/map contest, sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Bay Area Automated Mapping Association (BAMA).
WHAT: USGS wildfire research presentations at California’s 2001 Wildfire Conference and Public Events: Ten Years After the East Bay Hills Fire.
WHEN: Thurs., Oct. 11
WHERE: Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland, Calif.
WHO: Scientists of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center:
USGS wildfire research presentations at California’s 2001 Wildfire Conference and Public Events: Ten Years After the East Bay Hills Fire.
Saltcedar, an invasive shrub from Eurasia, has the notoriety of siphoning off millions of acre-feet of water from desert aquifers. Its amazing rate of spread, an estimated seven feet per hour, averaged over time, up the Little Colorado River - is difficult to imagine outside of sci-fi flicks.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Team will be on site at an open trench on the Hayward Fault, Tuesday, October 2, to explain to city and county officials and transportation managers, the importance of trenching operations to earthquake research, and the latest results of trenching the Hayward Fault. WHEN: October 2, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Team will be on site at an open trench on the Hayward Fault, Tuesday, October 2, to explain to city and county officials and transportation managers, the importance of trenching operations to earthquake research, and the latest results of trenching the Hayward Fault.
New technologies in the form of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and the Global Positioning System (GPS) have helped scientists determine that fluid-like flow occurred just below the earth’s crust in the first few months following two recent large California earthquakes.
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Locations
Southwest Regional Director's Office
Phone: (916) 278-9551
Fax: (916) 278-9566
Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Phone: 831-460-7401
Fax: 831-427-4748
Sacramento Projects Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 916-278-3000
Fax: 916-278-3070
Western Ecological Research Center - Headquarters
Phone: (916) 278-9485
Fax: (916) 278-9475
Geology, Minerals, Energy and Geophysics Science Center
Phone: (650) 329-4881
Earthquake Science Center
Western Geographic Science Center - Main Office
San Diego Projects Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 619-225-6100
Fax: 619-225-6101
Fort Collins Science Center
Phone: 970-226-9100
Fax: 970-226-9230
USGS California Volcano Observatory (CalVO package delivery)
askcalvo@usgs.gov
Phone: 650-329-5083
Poway Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 858-679-4015
Fax: 858-679-4019
Truckee Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 530-587-0910
Fax: 530-587-0914
Redding Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 530-246-5282
Fax: 530-246-0717
Ukiah Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 707-468-4040
Fax: 707-468-4022
Redlands Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 909-798-3272
West Sacramento Projects Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 916-617-2799
Eureka Satellite Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 707-442-3169
Fax: 707-445-7860
Sacramento Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 916-381-0207
Fax: 916-381-0556
Santa Cruz Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 831-460-7494
Santa Maria Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 805-928-9539
Fax: 805-928-9220
USGS Menlo Park Library
men_lib@usgs.gov
Phone: 650-329-5027
Fax: 650-329-5132