Images

USGS technician Dan Burns takes measurements along a geomorphic creek transect.

A geomorphic transect pin shortly after installation on a floodplain.

A USGS technician measures a geomorphic transect pin.

Accotink Creek is an urban creek and a tributary of Lake Accotink. Accotink Creek suffers from high rates of streambank erosion, which causes the steep, unstable banks seen on the far side of the creek in the above image. 

USGS technician Dan Burns takes measurements along a geomorphic creek transect.

USGS technician Dan Burns takes measurements along a geomorphic creek transect.

Two USGS hydrologic technicians taking GPS levels at the Ramsgate Conveyance Channel near Great Bridge, Virginia.

Data for this site can be found at USGS Water Data for the Nation.

Two USGS hydrologic technicians taking GPS levels at the Ramsgate Conveyance Channel near Great Bridge, Virginia.

Data for this site can be found at USGS Water Data for the Nation.

Two USGS hydrologic technicians taking GPS levels at the Ramsgate Conveyance Channel near Great Bridge, Virginia.

Data for this site can be found at USGS Water Data for the Nation.

Two USGS hydrologic technicians taking GPS levels at the Ramsgate Conveyance Channel near Great Bridge, Virginia.

Data for this site can be found at USGS Water Data for the Nation.

USGS hydrologic technician Chelsea Vande Pol collects a discharge measurement downstream of a storm drain in Hampton Roads, VA.

Winter 2025 Photo Contest Winner: Taylor Camper, Honorable Mention category

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast, it runs north-south from the mouth of the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace, Maryland, to the Atlantic Ocean near Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed has experienced substantial population growth over the last several decades. Since 1950, the population has more than doubled, and between 1980 and 2023, the number increased from 12.7 million to 18.6 million.

The Chesapeake Bay is roughly 200 miles (322 kilometers) in length and varies in width from a mere 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) near Aberdeen, Maryland, to 30 miles (48 kilometers) near Cape Charles, Virginia.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans more than 64,000 square miles (166,000 square kilometers) and encompasses parts of six states—Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia—and the District of Columbia.

The USGS provides research-quality, applications-ready Landsat Level-2 and Level-3 science products to support an array of land surface change studies. Collection 2 Level-2 scene-based science products include Surface Reflectance, Surface Temperature, Surface Reflectance-Derived Spectral Indices, and Provisional Aquatic Reflectance.

How Deep Do We Drill?

Lake Accotink is a 55 acre lake in Fairfax county which suffers from high rates of sedimentation. The lake is fed by Accotink Creek, which includes the Long Branch tributary. These two streams deliver most of the sediment to Lake Accotink.  

Lake Accotink is a 55 acre lake in Fairfax county which suffers from high rates of sedimentation. As the lake fills with sediment, it loses volume. This animations shows how the lake might continue to lose volume over time if dredging does not continue.

The USGS West Point pipe extensometer (56J 49) with a total depth of 1,371 feet. Data for this site can be found on USGS Water Data for the Nation.

The building housing the West Point extensometer. The actual extensometer can be seen inside through the open doors.