Unified Interior Regions
Montana
Welcome to the Midwest Region! Our region includes 18 Science Centers in 11 States from the Great Lakes to the Dakotas, south to Missouri and Kentucky. Our streamgage network is used to monitor and assess water resources across the region. Other research focuses on fisheries and aquatic ecosystems, midcontinental plant/animal species, invasive species, wildlife disease, and energy and mining.
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Scientists from the Center work in the northern Rocky Mountains and across the U.S. Many work throughout the world on issues as diverse as global climate change, aquatic ecology, wildlife diseases, bison ecology, and large carnivores.
Go to NOROCKWyoming-Montana Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's hydrologists, engineers, geospatial analysts, hydrologic technicians, geologists, and support staff work to provide hydrologic data and interpretive studies.
Go to CenterStates L2 Landing Page Tabs
Williston Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of conventional and continuous oil and gas resources of the Devonian Three Forks Formation and Devonian and Mississippian Bakken Formation in the Williston Basin Province 5031 of North Dakota, Montana, and South Dakota.
Evaluating best practices for genetic sampling of bear populations- Tabitha Graves
Work with quantitative spatial wildlife ecologists to identify best practices for sampling rare and threatened carnivores using cutting edge statistical techniques. The results will be useful for sampling carnivore populations across the world. You will be stationed in beautiful northwest Montana in Glacier National Park.
Water Use in Montana
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled estimates of water use in Montana and the rest of the United States at 5-year intervals since 1950.
Early Detection Monitoring May Not Be Sufficient for Invasive Mussels in the Columbia River Basin
The ecological and economic costs of an invasive quagga or zebra mussel infestation in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. would be significant. The development of invasive mussel monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest provides a unique opportunity to evaluate a regional invasive species detection effort early in its development. Although efforts are underway to monitor for the presence of...
EcoFlows: Understanding Streamflow Dynamics in Small Mountain Streams
The WY-MT WSC is collaborating with the Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center to understand the dynamics of streamflows in small, mountain streams during the course of the year, and to describe the amount of variability associated with those measurments. These findings will assist fisheries biologists who are researching temperature and streamflow effects on cutthroat trout and will help...
Upper Arkansas River Basin Toxics and Synoptic Studies
From 1986 to 2001, the Upper Arkansas Toxics Project focused on metal transport in streams affected by mining. Studies were conducted to quantify the physical, chemical, and biological processes affecting trace metal fate and transport.
Grinnell Glacier from Mount Gould, 1938 - 1981 - 1998 - 2015
Oblique view of Grinnell Glacier taken from the summit of Mount Gould, Glacier National Park. The relative sensitivity of glaciers to climate change is illustrated by the dramatic recession of Grinnell Glacier while surrounding vegetation patterns remain stable.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website are in the...
Critical Commodity Studies, Stillwater Complex, Montana
Scientific research can make our resource assessments of critical minerals more effective. This project focuses on the Stillwater Complex, Montana, which has rocks enriched in platinum-group elements (PGE), chromium, cobalt, and nickel. Project objectives are to update databases, evaluate new mapping techniques, document new styles of mineralization, and document and support research on the...
Glaciers and Climate Project
Scientists with the Glaciers and Climate Project study many of the pertinent impacts that glaciers present to society, such as altering hydrologic cycles, contributing to sea-level rise, and creating environmental hazards.
Grinnell Ridge, Gem & Salamander Glaciers 1910 - 2017
In 1910, Morton Elrod documented how Grinnell Glacier’s mass filled the basin and how the glacier was then joined with the ice apron we now call the Salamander (right). Close inspection of Gem Glacier (top-center) reveals a loss of thickness / volume over the past 107 years as well.
Image Use
Most of the repeat photography images available on this website...
StreamStats in Montana and Wyoming
StreamStats is a Web-based geographic information system application that provides users with access to basin and streamflow characteristics for gaged and ungaged streams.
Land Treatment Exploration Tool
The Land Treatment Exploration Tool provides a practical resource for managers who are planning restoration and rehabilitation actions on public lands. The tool generates a variety of spatial products while being user friendly for all levels of GIS expertise, even to those with little or no experience.
Bozeman wetland sites in Montana
Bozeman wetland sites in Montana
Johnson wetland sites in Montana
Johnson wetland sites in Montana
Kindsfater wetland sites in Montana
Kindsfater wetland sites in Montana
Kleinschmidt wetland sites in Montana
Kleinschmidt wetland sites in Montana
McGinnis Meadows wetland sites in Montana
McGinnis Meadows wetland sites in Montana
Richardson wetland sites in Montana
Richardson wetland sites in Montana
Rostad wetland sites in Montana
Rostad wetland sites in Montana
Schrieber wetland sites in Montana
Schrieber wetland sites in Montana
Silicon Mountain wetland sites in Montana
Silicon Mountain wetland sites in Montana
Sportsman wetland sites in Montana
Sportsman wetland sites in Montana
Tunnicliff wetland sites in Montana
Tunnicliff wetland sites in Montana
Electron microprobe data for monazite and xenotime used in consideration of gold deposit formation models
The genetic origin of many gold deposits, including Pogo in Alaska, remains controversial with questions as to whether they formed due to magmatic-hydrothermal or metamorphic-hydrothermal fluids. Gaining a better understanding of the formation mechanisms for these deposits is critical for defining proper exploration criteria in gold-bearing regions and production within these deposits. Monaz...
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: October 1, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of September 2019.
Lake Sherburn
Lake Sherburn
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: September 3, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of August 2019.
Yellowstone Volcano Observatory Monthly Update: August 1, 2019
Mike Poland, Scientist-in-Charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, describes activity at Yellowstone during the month of July 2019.
Collecting Field Parameters During the 2019 Well Inventory
USGS hydrologic technician collecting field parameters during the 2019 well inventory at a farm and ranch in the north central portion of the Fort Peck reservation.
Abandoned Farm on the Northwest Corner of the Fort Peck Reservation
Abandoned Farm on the Northwest Corner of the Fort Peck Reservation
Fallow Field (Left) and Dryland Wheat (Right) near Larslan, MT
Fallow field on the left and dryland wheat on the right, northwestern corner of the Fort Peck Reservation (near Larslan, MT)
June 2018 flooding along Elk Creek in Augusta, Montana
June 2018 flooding along Elk Creek in Augusta, Montana
Broken Ice Jam in Milk River
Ice jam was holding on upstream side of bridge an suddenly broke lose while in the process of making a streamflow measurement. Equipment pulled to safety, and this video taken about 5 minutes later.
Melting snow created measurable flow in Reservation Creek
Melting snow near Miles City created measurable flow in Reservation Creek. This site is only visited when there are high flows,
Location of Study Area (Includes Flaxville Aquifer)
Location of Study Area (Includes Flaxville Aquifer and Lustre Oil Fields) and Sampling Sites From Previous USGS Studies
MISSOULA – Gravel-bed river floodplains are some of the most ecologically important habitats in North America, according to a new study by scientists from the U.S. and Canada. Their research shows how broad valleys coming out of glaciated mountains provide highly productive and important habitat for a large diversity of aquatic, avian and terrestrial species.
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
The U.S. Geological Survey and its partners have shown how brucellosis has impacted cattle, bison and elk in the greater Yellowstone area.
During winter, wolves infected with mange can suffer a substantial amount of heat loss compared to those without the disease, according to a study by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners.
Do you want to be part of an innovative team of biological science professionals committed to providing reliable scientific information and understanding of ecosystems? Scientists, field technicians, and science support staff at NOROCK work in some of the most beautiful places in the U.S. answering some of the most critical research questions in natural resource and environmental science.
A new approach to ranking copper resources could result in identifying future supplies of copper while saving both time and money, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Ecosystem restoration is complex and requires an understanding of how the land, plants, and animals all interact with each other over large areas and over time. Today, the U.S. Geological Survey published part two of a three-part handbook addressing restoration of sagebrush ecosystems from the landscape to the site level.
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Genetic data show the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has grown since the 1980s with no loss in genetic diversity, according to a report by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team.
Many grassland bird species in the Bakken shale region, including some seriously declining populations, are displaced from their habitats as a result of oil and gas development, according to new U.S. Geological Survey research.
The term crepuscular describes events relating to, resembling, or occurring during twilight, meaning morning and evening hours. An animal described as crepuscular is active during twilight.
Three tiny fish larvae that were captured by U.S. Geological Survey scientists in May 2014 have just been confirmed to be pallid sturgeon. These new genetic identifications add to mounting evidence that critically endangered pallid sturgeon spawned successfully in the Lower Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota.
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Locations
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Headquarters
Phone: 406-994-7544
Fax: 406-994-6556
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Helena Office
Phone: (406) 457-5900
Fax: (406) 457-5990
Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center - Billings Office
Phone: 406-656-1444
Contacts
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)
Scientists from the Center work in the northern Rocky Mountains and across the U.S. Many work throughout the world on issues as diverse as global climate change, aquatic ecology, wildlife diseases, bison ecology, and large carnivores.
Go to NOROCKWyoming-Montana Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's hydrologists, engineers, geospatial analysts, hydrologic technicians, geologists, and support staff work to provide hydrologic data and interpretive studies.
Go to Center