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
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.
Clark Fork Water-Quality Monitoring
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected water-quality samples from selected stream sites upstream from Missoula since 1985.
Hydrologic Characterization of Potential Sites for Restored and Constructed Wetlands, Montana
Projects conducted by the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) sometimes result in unavoidable impacts to wetlands and other aquatic habitats. To compensate for these impacts, MDT mitigates the loss of wetlands by providing replacement wetlands within the watershed.
Establishment of a baseline groundwater monitoring program in an area identified for energy development on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana
As a result of energy development, the Blackfeet Environmental Office has developed a groundwater monitoring program specifically focused on the Cut Bank Creek watershed of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. The addition of groundwater data to an existing surface-water monitoring program will help the Blackfeet Tribe develop a more complete understanding of the current conditions of their water...
Delineation of Brine Contamination in and near the East Poplar Oil Field, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Northeastern Montana
Brine is a byproduct of crude oil production. Handling and disposal of brine during the last 50 years in the East Poplar oil field has resulted in contamination of not only the shallow Quaternary aquifers, but also the Poplar River. Previous investigations have documented and partially delineated the extent of brine contamination in the East Poplar oil field during the early 1990s...
Williston and Powder River Basins Groundwater Availability Study
The development of two nationally important energy-producing areas, the Williston structural basin (containing the Bakken Formation) and Powder River structural basin, provide a critical opportunity to study the water-energy nexus within a groundwater context. Large volumes of water are needed for energy development in these basins. The hydraulically connected aquifers in the...
Hydrologic Assessment with an Emphasis on Water Quality within the Lame Deer Creek Watershed, Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, Montana
The Lame Deer Creek watershed of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana encompasses about 82 square miles and is home to the community of Lame Deer. Local water resources within the Lame Deer Creek watershed include Lame Deer Creek and groundwater within unconsolidated sediments and bedrock aquifers. In 2017 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Northern...
Smith River Watershed Investigations
The Smith River watershed is an important recreational and agricultural area in Meagher and Cascade counties in west-central Montana. Thousands of visitors travel to the area annually to float and fish the Smith River. Additionally, most of the water used to irrigate 36,000 acres of the upper Smith River watershed is withdrawn from the Smith River or its tributaries. During a...
Living on the Edge: Predicting Effects of Climate Change on Native Fishes in Northern Great Plains Streams
Organisms that live in the semi-arid prairies in the Northern Great Plains are able to live through conditions of extreme heat, cold, floods, and drought. The fish that inhabit the warm, turbid waters of northern Great Plains streams are indicators of change in these delicate ecosystems, where water quantity and water quality are often precariously close to ecological tolerance limits. In fact...
Yellowstone River Basin Water-Quality Assessment
The Yellowstone River Basin (YELL) study-unit in Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, is part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The long-term goals of this program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the Nation's surface- and ground-water resources, and to provide a sound, scientific...
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...
Reanalysis of Selected Archived NURE-HSSR Sediment and Soil Samples from Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah
Beginning in November of 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) undertook a project to reanalyze approximately 60,000 archived sample splits collected as part of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance (HSSR) project from selected areas in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. A s
Streamflow Observation Points in the Pacific Northwest, 1977-2016
This dataset includes spatial locations in the Pacific Northwest where streamflow observations were recorded. For the purpose of this investigation, all streamflow observations were converted into wet or dry indicator values.
National Water Information System web interface (NWISweb)
The National Water Information System (NWIS) web application provides access to real-time and historical surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and water-use data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites across all 50 states.
Geochemical Data Release for Gospel-Hump Wilderness Area, Magruder Corridor and Special Mining Management Zone Additions to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, and adjacent areas Idaho and Montana
The data release for Gospel-Hump Wilderness Area and the Magruder Corridor and Special Mining Management Zone Additions to the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, and adjacent areas Idaho and Montana, contains a subset of previously unpublished geochemical data from the 1979-1984 projects. In the case of Gospel-Hump Wilderness Area study (Lund and Esparza, 1990), the purp
Fluid Inclusion Noble Gas Data from Goldfield and Tonopah Epithermal Au-Ag Deposits
Twenty-five ore and gangue mineral separates from the Miocene-age Goldfield and Tonopah epithermal Au-Ag deposits in southwestern Nevada were analyzed to determine the helium, neon, and argon (He, Ne, and Ar) isotopic compositions contained in fluid inclusions. Four mineral separates from the Butte Main Stage vein deposit and two from the Bingham pyrite-enargite vein deposits were als
Area of the Named Glaciers of Glacier National Park (GNP) and Flathead National Forest (FNF) including Little Ice Age extent, and years 1966, 1998, 2005 and 2015
These data represent a time series of the 37 named glaciers of Glacier National Park, MT, USA and two named glaciers in the Flathead National Forest.
Digital map of hydrothermal alteration type, key mineral groups, and green vegetation of the northwestern United States derived from automated analysis of ASTER satellite data
Mineral groups identified through automated analysis of remote sensing data acquired by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) were used to generate a map showing the type and spatial distribution of hydrothermal alteration, other exposed mineral groups, and green vegetation across the northwestern conterminous United States. Boolean algebra was used to
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data, East Poplar Oil Field and surrounding area, October 2014, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana
Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data were collected during October 2014 in a 553-square-kilometer area that includes the East Poplar oil field on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana, USA. Data surround the city of Poplar and extend south into the Missouri River floodplain. Data were acquired with the SkyTEM301 transient electromagnetic helicopter-born...
Sagebrush Mineral Resource Assessment Data Sources
List of USGS information resources used in carrying out the Sagebrush Mineral Resource Assessment in 2016. Portal to an interactive map and OGC WMS service.
Locatable Mineral Assessment Tracts for the U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment Project
The polygon (vector) feature class represents locatable mineral resource assessment tracts (tracts of land) associated with the Department of the Interior (DOI) Sagebrush Focal Areas (SFAs) in Montana, Wyoming and Utah, central Idaho, and the Oregon-Nevada-Idaho border area. The mineral-resources tracts are geographic areas that were assessed by the USGS and were determined
USMIN Mineral-Resource Data for the U.S. Geological Survey Sagebrush Mineral-Resource Assessment Project
The point and polygon layers within this geodatabase represent locations of mineral occurrences, mines, mining and mineral districts and sites of active mineral exploration within or near the Department of the Interior (DOI) Sagebrush Focal Areas in Montana, Wyoming and Utah, central Idaho, and the Oregon-Nevada-Idaho border area. The data were compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey
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
National Oil and Gas Assessment Provinces
This is a graphic from the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment Explorer application, which allows user to drill into 70 oil and gas assessment provinces throughout the United States.
Hallowat Creek abv Kletomus Ck, nr Olney (12355342) streamgage
Hallowat Creek abv Kletomus Ck, nr Olney (12355342) streamgage
Hallowat Creek abv Kletomus Ck, nr Olney (12355342) streamgage
Hallowat Creek abv Kletomus Ck, nr Olney (12355342) streamgage
Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)
Big Creek below Lookout Creek, near Apgar (site 12355347)
Drilling an Ice Core
Researchers start drilling an ice core in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Canada Lynx
– Scientists at the USGS Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and
Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in
collaboration with The Rockefeller University’s Vertebrate Genome Laboratory,
New York, are releasing to a public repository at the vertebrate lab, for use by
geneticists, conservationists and other researchers around the
High water mark sign at Yellowstone River at Carters Bridge
High water mark sign at Yellowstone River at Carters Bridge
Streamflow measurement on Flathead River at Flathead, B.C.
Streamflow measurement on Flathead River at Flathead, B.C.
Measuring streamflow on St.Regis River at St Regis
Measuring streamflow on St.Regis River at St Regis
USGS hydrographer on cableway, USGS 12304500, Yaak River near Troy, MT
USGS hydrologic technician Kevin Kirlin on the cableway over the Yaak River near Troy, Montana
Measuring flood flow at Milk River near Harlem, MT
Measuring flood flow at Milk River near Harlem, MT
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.
The drainage of small wetlands can decrease wildlife habitat and may contribute to flooding in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study.
Dr. Kyle W. Blasch begins work today as the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Idaho Water Science Center, headquartered in Boise.
Scientists have discovered that the diversity of a threatened native trout species will likely decrease due to future climate change.
The latest coal resource assessment of the Powder River Basin showcases the newly revised USGS’ assessment methodology, which, for the first time, includes an estimate of the reserve base for the entire basin.
MENLO PARK, Calif.— Smartphones and other personal electronic devices could, in regions where they are in widespread use, function as early warning systems for large earthquakes according to newly reported research.
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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