Unified Interior Regions
Puerto Rico
We conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring on a large range of natural-resource issues that impact the quality of life of citizens and landscapes of the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean region.
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CFWSC Strategic Science Plan
The USGS Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center Strategic Science Plan 2017-2027: A blueprint for USGS contributions to water resource science in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands
Stamm, J.F., Rodríguez, J.M., Sifuentes, D.F., Sumner, D.M., and Grimsley, K.J. with contributions from Bogeajis, N., Torres-González, S., McBride, W.S., Parks, J., and Decker, J...
Water-Use in Puerto Rico
The National Water-Use Information Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is a cooperative program designed to compile, store, and disseminate water-use information locally and nationwide. Since 1950, the USGS has compiled data at 5-year intervals on amounts of water used in homes, businesses, and on farms in the United States, and has described how that use changed with time.
Hydrology Monitoring Tools
The U.S. Geological Survey provides local and national web-based tools so that policy makers and the public can easily access the information they need to enhance preparedness, response, and resilience.
Real-time and Historical Data
These pages provide access to water-resources data collected at approximately 1.9 million sites in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Online access to this data is organized around the categories listed at the bottom.
The USGS investigates the occurrence, quantity, quality...
Real-Time Data Links
The U.S. Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center operates and maintains approximately 929 real-time sites in Florida, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands which provide long-term, accurate, and unbiased information that meets the needs of many diverse users. The USGS collects the streamflow data needed by Federal, State, and local agencies for planning and operating water-resources projects and...
Coral Reef Facts
These facts about coral reefs are presented in conjunction with the USGS Coral Reef Project.
Toro Negro, Puerto Rico
Recent Conditions
Note: This site is currently experiencing communications problems so recent data are not available.
Instruments are used to monitor and detect changes in local conditions, including:
- Rainfall ...
Utuado, Puerto Rico
Recent Conditions
Note: This site is currently experiencing sensor problems that cannot be repaired remotely so data are not available.
Instruments are used to monitor and detect changes in local conditions, including:
- Rainfall ...
Mineral Resource Assessment of U.S. Territories of the Caribbean Basin Archipelago including Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Adjacent Areas
Project objectives are to develop a modern probabilistic quantitative mineral resource assessment of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and adjacent geologically similar areas that examines the potential for minerals-based economic development and trade within the region.
Bird Banding Laboratory
The Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) is an integrated scientific program established in 1920 supporting the collection, archiving, management and dissemination of information from banded and marked birds in North America. This information is used to monitor the status and trends of resident and migratory bird populations. Because birds are good indicators of the health of the environment, the...
Biology, Impacts and Control of Invasive Reptiles
Invasive species are considered to be second only to habitat degradation in terms of negative impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems, and our scientists make up a significant proportion of the global expertise in the rapidly-growing problem of invasive reptiles.
Drought Conditions in Puerto Rico
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions that results in water-related problems. When rainfall is less than normal for several weeks, months, or years, the flow of streams and rivers declines, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. If...
Estimated Water Use in Puerto Rico, 2005
Water-use data were compiled for the 78 municipios of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for 2005. Five offstream categories were considered: public-supply water withdrawals and deliveries, domestic self-supplied water use, industrial self-supplied ground-water withdrawals, crop irrigation water use, and thermoelectric power freshwater use. One water...
Molina-Rivera, Wanda L.; Gómez-Gómez, Fernando
Submarine landslide as the source for the October 11, 1918 Mona Passage tsunami: Observations and modeling
The October 11, 1918 ML 7.5 earthquake in the Mona Passage between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico generated a local tsunami that claimed approximately 100 lives along the western coast of Puerto Rico. The area affected by this tsunami is now significantly more populated. Newly acquired high-resolution bathymetry and seismic reflection lines in the...
López-Venegas, A.M.; ten Brink, Uri S.; Geist, Eric L. Near-Surface Shear Wave Velocity Versus Depth Profiles, VS30, and NEHRP Classifications for 27 Sites in Puerto Rico
In 2004 and 2005 the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN), Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program (PRSMP) and the Geology Department at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM) collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to study near-surface shear-wave (Vs) and compressional-wave (Vp) velocities in and around major urban areas of Puerto Rico....
Odum, Jack K.; Williams, Robert A.; Stephenson, William J.; Worley, David M.; von Hillebrandt-Andrade, Christa; Asencio, Eugenio; Irizarry, Harold; Cameron, Antonio Survey explores active tectonics in northeastern Caribbean
There is renewed interest in studying the active and complex northeastern Caribbean plate boundary to better understand subduction zone processes and for earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments [e.g., ten Brink and Lin, 2004; ten Brink et al., 2004; Grindlay et al., 2005]. To study the active tectonics of this plate boundary, the...
Carbó, A.; Córdoba, D.; Muñoz-Martín, A.; Granja, J.L.; Martín-Dávila, J.; Pazos, A.; Catalán, M.; Gómez, M.; ten Brink, Uri S.; von Hillebrandt, Christa; Payero, J. Estimated water use in Puerto Rico, 2000
Water-use data were compiled for the 78 municipios of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for 2000. Five offstream categories were considered: public-supply water withdrawals, domestic self-supplied water use, industrial self-supplied withdrawals, crop irrigation water use, and thermoelectric power fresh water use. Two additional categories also were...
Molina-Rivera, Wanda L. Map showing landslide susceptibility in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico
The risk of landslides during intense or prolonged rainfall is high in steeply sloping areas such as the municipality of Ponce, where 56 percent of the 301-square-kilometer municipality has slopes 10 degrees or greater. These are areas where the possibility of landsliding increases when triggering conditions such as heavy rainfall or excavation...
Larsen, Matthew C.; Santiago, Marilyn; Jibson, Randall W.; Questell, Eduardo New seafloor map of the Puerto Rico Trench helps assess earthquake and tsunami hazards
The Puerto Rico Trench, the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean, is located where the North American (NOAM) plate is subducting under the Caribbean plate (Figure l). The trench region may pose significant seismic and tsunami hazards to Puerto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands, where 4 million U.S. citizens reside. Widespread damage in Puerto Rico and...
ten Brink, Uri S.; Danforth, William; Polloni, Christopher; Andrews, Brian D.; Llanes Estrada, Pilar; Smith, Shepard; Parker, Eugene; Uozumi, Toshihiko Stress interaction between subduction earthquakes and forearc strike-slip faults: Modeling and application to the northern Caribbean plate boundary
Strike-slip faults in the forearc region of a subduction zone often present significant seismic hazard because of their proximity to population centers. We explore the interaction between thrust events on the subduction interface and strike-slip faults within the forearc region using three-dimensional models of static Coulomb stress change. Model...
ten Brink, Uri S.; Lin, J. Documentation for 2003 USGS Seismic Hazard Maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Mueller, C.S.; Frankel, A.D.; Petersen, M.D.; Leyendecker, E.V.
Geology and hydrogeology of the Caribbean islands aquifer system of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Poorly lithified to unconsolidated carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks of Tertiary (Oligocene to Pliocene) and Quaternary (Pleistocene to Holocene) age compose the South Coast aquifer and the North Coast limestone aquifer system of Puerto Rico; poorly lithified to unlithified carbonate rocks of late Tertiary (early Miocene to Pliocene) age...
Renken, Robert A.; Ward, W. C.; Gill, I.P.; Gómez-Gómez, Fernando; Rodríguez-Martínez, Jesús
Earthquakes and tsunamis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Many earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred in the northeastern Caribbean, where the movements of the Earth's surface plates are rapid and complicated. Future such events pose serious hazards to the 3.7 million people who live in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Nealon, J.W.; Dillon, William P. Map Showing Susceptibility to Earthquake-Induced Landsliding, San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico
Analysis of slope angle and rock type using a geographic information system indicates that about 68 percent of the San Juan metropolitan area has low to no susceptibility to earthquake-induced landslides. This is at least partly due to the fact that 45 percent of the San Juan metropolitan area is constructed on slopes of 3 degrees or less, which...
Santiago, Marilyn; Larsen, Matthew C.
Inspecting boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. The boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico was damaged by the quake.
Damaged curb caused in Ponce, Puerto Rico caused by M6.4 quake
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. The boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico was damaged by the quake.
Inspecting boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. The boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico was damaged by the quake.
Lateral spread and damage to boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. The boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico was damaged by the quake.
Inspecting boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. The boardwalk in Ponce, Puerto Rico was damaged by the quake.
Liquefaction and lateral spread near stream in Ponce, Puerto Rico
USGS scientists were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. Here is an example of a lateral spread near a stream in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Researchers deployed in Puerto Rico after earthquake
Meet the team of USGS scientists who were deployed to assess land deformation and movement after a large M6.4 earthquake struck Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020.
Puerto Rico 2020 — Temporary Seismic Stations
Dr. Elizabeth Vanacore talks about the installation of temporary seismic stations in southwest Puerto Rico.
Analyzing Earthquake Data in Puerto Rico
USGS scientists Thomas L. Pratt and Alena L. Leads, along with Dr. Elizabeth Vanacore, associate research professor at University of Puerto Rico, analyze data in earthquake monitoring and recording equipment amid aftershocks across the island's southern coast.
Installing a temporary seismometer
Photo (L-R) Jose Cancel of Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN), Alena Leeds of USGS and Javier Santiago of PRSN install a temporary seismometer at Sabana Yeguas in southwestern Puerto Rico on Jan. 10, 2020.
How Our Reefs Protect Us: Valuing the Benefits of U.S. Reefs
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards during storms. The protective services of these natural defenses are not assessed in the same rigorous economic terms as artificial defenses, such as seawalls, and therefore often are not considered in decision-making. Here we
Puerto Rico Coral Reefs and Coastal Hazard Risk Reduction
Rigorously Valuing the Role of Puerto Rico’s Coral Reefs in Coastal Hazard Risk Reduction
Estimated Annual Benefits
Maps of Puerto Rico showing the distribution of the value of averted direct building damages, indirect economic activity losses, and population annually protected from flooding by coral reefs. Results at 10 m2 resolution are
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Hurricane response crews from the U.S. Geological Survey are installing storm-tide sensors at key locations in Puerto Rico from Cabo Rojo to Naguabo in advance of Hurricane Isaac. Under a mission assignment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the USGS plans to deploy about 20 sensors along the island’s coast
USGS research geologist Curt Storlazzi was quoted in an August 22 Nature news article about Hurricane Maria’s effects on deep-water coral reefs off Puerto Rico.
No one has a crystal ball to foresee what will happen during the 2018 hurricane season that begins June 1, but NOAA forecasters say there’s a 75 percent chance this hurricane season will be at least as busy as a normal year, or busier.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews in Puerto Rico are rapidly repairing the damage wrought by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, tracking the scope of storm floods, and documenting the new contours of rivers re-sculpted by floodwaters and mountains re-shaped by landslides.
To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Irma, visit the USGS Hurricane Irma page.
To learn more about USGS’ role providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Irma, visit the USGS Hurricane Irma page.
Geologists have discovered evidence that unusual seas detached living corals from a Caribbean reef and scattered them far inland, as boulders, during the last centuries before Columbus arrived. The new findings will reinforce precautions against coastal hazards, Caribbean tsunami specialists said.
“From the mountains to the coast, the southeastern U.S. contains ecosystems that harbor incredible biodiversity. Many of those ecosystems are already highly at risk from urbanization and other human land-use change. Identifying the ecosystems at risk from climate change will help inform conservation and management to ensure we don’t lose that biodiversity.” (Jennifer Constanza, report author)
New USGS models help predict storm effects on beaches
As the 2016 hurricane season opens, weather forecasters, emergency managers and coastal residents have access to tools developed by the U.S. Geological Survey that predict, more precisely than ever, where beach erosion and beachfront flooding will take place during hurricanes and other storms.
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
A newly published, three-volume “Remote Sensing Handbook” is a comprehensive coverage of all remote sensing topics written by over 300 leading global experts.
Islands used by tropical seabirds are highly vulnerable to sea level rise according to a new study released today.
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Locations
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Puerto Rico Office
Phone: (787) 749-7400
Fax: (787) 749-7401