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.
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
2007 Landslide in La Jolla, California
This event occurred on October 4, 2007 in La Jolla, California. A landslide, perhaps first indicated in July by cracks appearing in pavement and homes along Soledad Mountain Road, struck suddenly when a massive slab of hillside broke loose, sending tons of dirt cascading toward streets below.
Jellyfish offshore of central California
This photograph of the seafloor off the California coast also shows jellyfish in the water column. This photograph was collected as part of the California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program.
Fish Swimming Underwater Offshore Northern California
A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.
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Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California
A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.
California Coast Seafloor
This photograph is of the seafloor off the California coast and shows jellyfish in a water column. This photograph supports the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), which was initiated in 2007 by the California Ocean Protection Council. Data collected during this project reveal the seafloor offshore of the California coast in unprecedented detail and provide
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Sea Stars Underwater Offshore Northern California
Three sea stars on a rock, surrounded by a sandy seafloor littered with broken shells. Each sea star is approx. 10 - 15 cm (4-6 inches) across. Image acquired 4.5 km (3 miles) offshore Pigeon Point, southern San Mateo County, California at a depth of 52 meters.
California Coast Seafloor
Photograph showing the seafloor off the California coast. This photograph supports the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), which was initiated in 2007 by the California Ocean Protection Council. Data collected during this project reveal the seafloor offshore of the California coast in unprecedented detail and provide an ecosystem context for the effective
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California Coast Seafloor
This photograph is of the seafloor off the California coast and shows rock outcrop, encrusting sponge, cup corals, red sea star and a female kelp greenling. This photograph supports the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), which was initiated in 2007 by the California Ocean Protection Council. Data collected during this project reveal the seafloor offshore of
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PubTalk 9/2007 — A Tale of Two Kelp Forests
Sea Otters and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Aleutians and the Commander Islands
By Tim Tinker, Research Biologist, University of California, Santa CruzÂ
Sea otter populations in the central and western Aleutian Islands have declined by 75-95% over the past 15-20 years, while populations in the nearby Russian Commander Islands have remained
PubTalk 8/2007 — Dark Holes in Muir's "Range of Light"
Insights from southern Sierra Nevada caves and karst
By John C. Tinsley, Geologist
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- Water long ago carved many caves in carbonate rocks of the Sierra Nevada
- As the Sierra (John Muir's "Range of Light") was uplifted, successively deeper caves were drained and decorated during the past 5 million years
- Vertical
PubTalk 7/2007 — Plate Tectonics in Action
Exploring the Earth with the new edition of This Dynamic Planet map and Web site
By Robert Tilling, Volcanologist, and Stephen Kirby, Earthquake Geophysicist
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- Improved digital data on the distribution of Earth's volcanoes, earthquakes, and meteorite impact craters
- Special maps of polar regions, showing
PubTalk 6/2007 — Adventures in Southwest Geology
Exploring the colorful southern Colorado Plateau in 3-D
By Philip Stoffer, Geologist
Take a colorful tour with the help of 3-D photography through some of the region's highlights:
- A plethora of parklands- Petrified Forest, Chaco Canyon, Wupatki, Grand Canyon
- High desert climate changes, past, present, and
The highly developed and urbanized area of coastal southern California is host to one of the richest regions of amphibians and reptiles in the United States, and includes several species with state- and federal-protected status.
With more than 400,000 volumes and 35,000 maps, the library of the U. S. Geological Survey, at 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, is the largest earth-science library on the West Coast, and part of the largest earth sciences library system in the world.
The highly developed and urbanized area of coastal southern California is host to one of the richest regions of amphibians and reptiles in the United States, and includes several species with state- and federal-protected status.
Power outages that may occur on the San Francisco peninsula will not affect the earthquake monitoring ability of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.
Power outages that may occur on the San Francisco peninsula will not affect the earthquake monitoring ability of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.
Removing abandoned forest roads and restoring the natural characteristics of slopes and stream channels in the Redwood National and State Parks in northern California have substantially reduced the delivery of sediment to salmon-bearing streams, according to a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Removing abandoned forest roads and restoring the natural characteristics of slopes and stream channels in the Redwood National and State Parks in northern California have substantially reduced the delivery of sediment to salmon-bearing streams, according to a research geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Like the Florida Everglades, California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been radically transformed by human activities. In the past three decades, monitoring programs have documented remarkable declines in living resources from primary producers to fish.Â
Like the Florida Everglades, California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been radically transformed by human activities. In the past three decades, monitoring programs have documented remarkable declines in living resources from primary producers to fish.Â
Aerial photographs supplied to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, by the U.S. Geological Survey, are being used to search for the remains of Xiana Fairchild. A child’s skull, which was found near Lexington Reservoir on January 19, has been identified through dental records and DNA tests, as that of the missing 7-year-old Vallejo girl who disappeared in December 1999.
Aerial photographs supplied to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team, by the U.S. Geological Survey, are being used to search for the remains of Xiana Fairchild.Â
A new geologic map of surficial deposits in the nine-county San Francisco Bay region that can be used to evaluate earthquake hazards has been released in digital form by the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park.
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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
USGS California Volcano Observatory (CalVO package delivery)
askcalvo@usgs.gov
Phone: 650-329-5083
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
Poway Field Office (USGS California Water Science Center)
Phone: 858-679-4015
Fax: 858-679-4019
USGS Menlo Park Library
men_lib@usgs.gov
Phone: 650-329-5027
Fax: 650-329-5132