Unified Interior Regions
Washington
Washington's Puget Sound is a complex ecosystem directly adjacent to a robust metropolitan area that scientists from the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center study. Recent surveys have looked at juvenile surf smelt, a key link in the food web that are consumed by predators such as salmon, orca, and many marine birds.
Western Fisheries Research Center
Research at the WFRC focuses on the environmental factors responsible for the creation, maintenance, and regulation of fish populations including their interactions in aquatic communities and ecosystems.
Go to CenterWashington Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate the impartial hydrologic data and information needed to wisely manage water resources for the people of the United States and the State of Washington.
Go to CenterStates L2 Landing Page Tabs
Land Treatment Digital Library
The LTDL was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to catalog information about land treatments on Federal lands in the western United States for all interested parties. The flexible framework of the library allows for the storage of a wide variety of data in different formats. The LTDL currently stores previously established land treatments or what often are called legacy data. The...
Land use and tsunami hazards in the Pacific Northwest
Tsunamis have the potential to cause considerable damage to communities along the U.S. Pacific Northwest coastline. As coastal communities expand over time, the potential societal impact of tsunami inundation changes.
To understand how community exposure to tsunami hazards may change in coming decades, we projected future development (i.e. urban, residential, and rural), households, and...
Land Use and Climate Change Team
We are a research team focusing on understanding the rates, causes, and consequences of land change across a range of geographic and temporal scales. Our emphasis is on developing alternative future projections and quantifying the impact on environmental systems, in particular, the role of land-use change on ecosystem carbon dynamics.
We are interested in how land-use and climate...
Uranium in Groundwater
The Issue: Groundwater monitoring in northeastern Washington State has shown elevated levels of naturally occurring uranium in several community water systems and in private wells. A better understanding of the occurrence of uranium in groundwater along with outreach products that communicate the risk to area residents are important in order to reduce uranium exposure, protect...
National Parks North Coast and Cascades Network Critical Loads
Nutrients such as nitrogen are essential for plant and animal growth and nourishment, but overabundance can cause adverse effects. Excess amounts of nitrogen from the atmosphere can cause a lake to go through eutrophication, the process in which excess nitrogen triggers a series of events that cause a lake to become fatally low in dissolved oxygen. Alpine lakes are especially sensitive to...
Spokane Valley - Rathdrum Prairie
The Spokane Valley/Rathdrum Prairie aquifer, which extends across Idaho and Washington, is the sole source of drinking water for more than 450,000 people. Recently submitted water-rights requests would substantially increase withdrawals from the aquifer. The public and state resource management agencies need an improved understanding of the SVRP hydrologic system in order to ensure appropriate...
River Loads into Puget Sound
The Issue: Puget Sound, WA, is the second largest estuary in the United States and its unique geology, climate, and nutrient-rich waters sustain biologically-productive terrestrial, coastal, and marine habitats. Development and associated human activities have significantly degraded the Sound, causing declines in fish and wildlife populations, water-quality issues, and losses...
Regional Stormwater Monitoring Program Sampling
The Issue: The State of Washington issues Municipal Stormwater Permits to local governments in the Puget Sound region that require them to develop and implement a stormwater management program that reduces the discharge of pollutants and protects the quality of water in rivers, streams, lakes and Puget Sound. The permitees in partnership with the State need to measure whether...
Lower Granite Reservoir Bathymetric and Underwater Video Surveys
Sedimentation of Lower Granite Reservoir, operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, affects commercial navigation and reservoir storage capacity. Some groups are concerned that dredging the reservoir to remove excess sediment may negatively affect endangered species such as steelhead and salmon.
Lower Granite Reservoir Bed Sediment Coring and Analysis
Some groups are concerned that dredging the reservoir and the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers to remove excess sediment may mobilize contaminants in sediment that could negatively affect endangered species such as steelhead and salmon.
Sediment Sampling in the Snake and Clearwater River Basins
Are there ways to manage sediment before it accumulates in Lower Granite Reservoir? If so, resource managers must know exactly how much sediment is being transported in the lower Snake and Clearwater River basins, the grain-size distribution of the sediment that is being transported, which subbasins are contributing the most sediment, and how the sediment is being deposited once it is...
Coal Transport
The Issue: Federal and state natural resource managers and Tribes are concerned with the environmental impacts from unintentional release of coal dust from train cars during transport through the Northwest. Proposed new coal export terminals in Washington and Oregon would substantially increase rail traffic through the Northwest and the release of coal dust to the environment...
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015
This part of the data release presents a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from bathymetry and topography data of the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015. Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of sediment, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Glines Ca
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, September 2014
This part of the data release presents a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from bathymetry and topography data of the Elwha River delta collected in September 2014. Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of sediment, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Glin
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015
This part of the data release presents a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from bathymetry and topography data of the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015. Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of sediment, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Glines
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, February 2016
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in February 2016. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, February 2016
This part of the data release presents a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from bathymetry and topography data of the Elwha River delta collected in February 2016. Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of sediment, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Gline
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Topography data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015
This part of the data release presents topography data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015. Topography data were collected on foot with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers mounted on backpacks.
Surface-sediment grain-size distributions from the Elwha River delta, Washington, September 2014
This portion of the data release presents sediment grain-size data from samples collected on the Elwha River delta, Washington, in September 2014 (USGS Field Activity 2014-649-FA). Surface sediment was collected from 63 locations using a small ponar, or 'grab', sampler from the R/V Frontier on September 5, 2014 in depths between about 1 and 17 m around the delta. The locations
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, January 2015, collected from kayak
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in January 2015 using a kayak. The kayak was equipped with a single-beam echosounder and a survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver.
Nearshore bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta, Washington, September 2014, collected from personal watercraft
This part of the data release presents bathymetry data from the Elwha River delta collected in September 2014 using two personal watercraft (PWCs). The PWCs were equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers.
Minimizing effects of over-water docks on federally listed fish stocks in McNary Reservoir: A literature review for criteria
McNary Lock and Dam were completed in 1953, creating McNary Reservoir, or Lake Wallula. The shoreline of the reservoir is federally owned and as a result the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has certain land and fish habitat management responsibilities to balance with other multipurpose benefits. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of...
Rondorf, Dennis W.; Rutz, Gary L.; Charrier, Jodi C. Quantifying the behavioral response of spawning chum salmon to elevated discharges from Bonneville Dam, Columbia River, USA
Chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta that spawn in main-stem habitats below Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, USA, are periodically subjected to elevated discharges that may alter spawning behaviour. We investigated behavioural responses of spawning chum salmon to increased water velocities associated with experimental increases in tailwater...
Tiffan, K.F.; Haskell, C.A.; Kock, T.J. Wild Steelhead and introduced spring Chinook Salmon in the Wind River, Washington: Overlapping populations and interactions
We investigated interactions of introduced juvenile spring Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha with wild juvenile steelhead O. mykiss in the upper Wind River watershed (rkm 24.6 to rkm 43.8), Washington. Our objective was to determine if the presence of introduced spring Chinook salmon influenced populations of wild juvenile steelhead and if...
Jezorek, I.G.; Connolly, P.J. Wind River water restoration, Annual report November 2008 to October 2009.
This report summarizes work completed by U.S. Geological Survey’s Columbia River Research Laboratory (USGS-CRRL) in the Wind River subbasin during the period November 2008 through October 2009 under Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) contract 41038. Long term research in the Wind River has focused on assessments of steelhead/rainbow trout...
Connolly, P.J.; Jezorek, I.G.; Munz, C.S. Assessing survival for Mid-Columbia River released juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam in 2006 and 2007
n/a
Hardiman, J.M.; Walker, C.E.; Jones, E.C.; Counihan, T.D.; Adams, N.S. Snake River fall Chinook salmon life history investigation, annual report 2007
In 2007, we used radio and acoustic telemetry to evaluate the migratory behavior, survival, mortality, and delay of subyearling fall Chinook salmon in the Clearwater River and Lower Granite Reservoir. Monthly releases of radio-tagged fish (~95/month) were made from May through October and releases of 122-149/month acoustic-tagged fish per month...
Tiffan, Kenneth F.; Connor, William P.; McMichael , Geoffrey A.; Buchanan, Rebecca A.
Pre-Restoration Habitat Use by Chinook Salmon in the Nisqually Estuary Using Otolith Analysis: An Additional Year
The Nisqually Fall Chinook population is one of 27 stocks in the Puget Sound evolutionarily significant unit listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Preservation and extensive restoration of the Nisqually delta ecosystem is currently taking place to assist in recovery of the stock as juvenile Fall Chinook salmon are...
Lind-Null, Angie; Larsen, Kim Behavior and passage of juvenile salmonids during the evaluation of a fish screen at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2008
No abstract available
Liedtke, T.L.; Kock, T.J.; Ekstrom, B.K.; Rondorf, D.W. A spatial model to assess the effects of hydropower operations on Columbia River fall Chinook Salmon spawning habitat
Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River produces large daily and hourly streamflow fluctuations throughout the Hanford Reach during the period when fall Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha are selecting spawning habitat, constructing redds, and actively engaged in spawning. Concern over the detrimental effects of these fluctuations prompted us...
Hatten, James R.; Tiffan, Kenneth F.; Anglin, Donald R.; Haeseker, Steven L.; Skalicky, Joseph J.; Schaller, Howard Application of the SHOALS survey system to fisheries investigations in the Columbia River
We used a Scanning Hydrographic Operational Airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) Survey (SHOALS) system to collect high-resolution bathymetry for 33 km of the Hanford Reach. Data were used in conjunction with hydrodynamic and predictive habitat models within a GIS (Geographical Information System) framework to evaluate the effects of a...
Tiffan, Kenneth F.; Wagner, Paul G.; Wolf, Keith S.; Hoffarth , Paul A. Detections of Acoustic-Tagged Green Sturgeon in Baker Bay on the Lower Columbia River during September - November 2008
Acoustic transmitters implanted in green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) captured in rivers in California were detected by acoustic receivers deployed within and around Baker Bay. The receivers were deployed at eight locations in the Bay and adjacent navigation channels of the Lower Columbia River during a period of anticipated channel dredging....
Parsley, Michael J. A spatial model of white sturgeon rearing habitat in the lower Columbia River, USA
Concerns over the potential effects of in-water placement of dredged materials prompted us to develop a GIS-based model that characterizes in a spatially explicit manner white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus rearing habitat in the lower Columbia River, USA. The spatial model was developed using water depth, riverbed slope and roughness, fish...
Hatten, J.R.; Parsley, M.J.
4SP1 East Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: 4SP1 - East Transect; Depth: 5.2 Meters (17.0 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 0.8 Kilometers (0.5 Miles) East; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 4 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15257, -123.556704; Site Description: The site has converted from gravel/cobble substrate to all sand. Seaweed is completely absent.
4SP1 West Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: 4SP1 - West Transect; Depth: 6.1 Meters (19.9 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 0.8 Kilometers (0.5 Miles) East; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 3 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15257, -123.557376; Site Description: The site has converted from gravel/cobble substrate to all sand. Seaweed is completely absent.
GeoGirls: Five days of discovery at Mount St. Helens
Twenty middle-school girls from Washington and Oregon participated in the 2016 “GeoGirls” outdoor volcano science program at Mount St. Helens, jointly organized by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mount St. Helens Institute.
The GeoGirls spent five days conducting hands-on research and interacting with scientists, educators, and older students, learning about
USGS scientist and girls next to a lake, seiving sediment
Led by USGS scientist Cynthia Gardner, GeoGirls collect and sort sediments from the shore of Coldwater Lake, near Mount St. Helens, examining evidence of the May 18, 1980 landslide that dammed Coldwater Creek to create the lake.
C1 East Transect – 2013
Permanent Site: C1 East Transect; Depth: Meters (Feet); Distance from river mouth: 0.7 Kilometers (0.4 Miles); Pre/Post Dam Removal: 2 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.14525225,-123.57294101; Site Description: Substrate is entirely sand. All seaweeds are absent. Invertebrates are scarce and are almost exclusively the ornate tubeworm Diopatra ornata (appears as small
Candy striped shrimp with sand rose anemone
Candy striped shrimp with sand rose anemone - Scuba divers from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center, Washington Sea Grant, EPA and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe collected data and images for a long-term study of the Elwha River dam removals and the resulting effects on the nearshore ecosystem.
Location:
...
A2 East Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: A2 East Transect; Depth: 12.6 Meters (41.5 Feet); Distance from river mouth: Kilometers 1.8 (1.1 Miles); Pre/Post Dam Removal: 5 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.14130295, -123.58766124; Site Description: One of our deeper sites at over 40 feet. Sediment is primarily sand/sandy mud. Seaweeds have returned but are sparse with the main species being the
K1 East Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: K1 East Transect; Depth: 6.2 Meters (20.5 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 4.5 Kilometers (2.8 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 5 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13592923,-123.5101581; Site Description: This is a shallow site. Sediment is a gravel/sand mixture. Both red (0:38) and brown seaweed was abundant but this year browns were way more
K1 West Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: K1 West Transect; Depth: 5.6 Meters (18.4 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 4.5 Kilometers (2.8 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 5 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.13592923,-123.51082988; Site Description: This is a shallow site. Sediment is a gravel/sand mixture. Both red (0:59) and brown seaweed was abundant but this year browns were more abundant
F2 East Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: F2 East Transect; Depth: 11.3 Meters (37.2 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 1.5 Kilometers (0.9 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 5 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15672004,-123.54969397; Site Description: Substrate is mainly a gravel - cobble mixture with an occasional boulder. Seaweed is abundant but is not as abundant as pre-dam removal levels,
F2 West Transect – 2016
Permanent Site: F2 West Transect; Depth: 11.3 Meters (37.2 Feet); Distance from river mouth: 1.5 Kilometers (0.9 Miles) east; Pre/Post Dam Removal: 5 years post-dam removal; Lat/Long: 48.15672004,-123.55036603; Site Description: Substrate is mainly a gravel - cobble mixture with an occasional boulder. Seaweed is abundant but is not as abundant as pre-dam removal levels,
Fan hydroids
Fan hydroids - Scuba divers from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center, Washington Sea Grant, EPA and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe collected data and images from a long-term study of the Elwha River dam removals and the resulting effects on the nearshore ecosystem.
Location: Strait of Juan de Fuca, near the
...
Newly released US Topo maps for Oregon now feature segments of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. Several of the 1,835 new US Topo quadrangles for the state now display parts of the Trail along with other improved data layers.
This summer, a new monitoring station was installed on the lava dome in the crater of Mount St. Helens to "sniff" volcanic gases.
As part of the Planning Committee for the Fifth Annual Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference, the Department of the Interior’s Northwest Climate Science Center is pleased to invite you to join more than 250 scientists and practitioners from the Northwest to learn the latest on Pacific Northwest climate science and adaptation.
WFRC – People’s Republic of China IHN Reference Laboratory Twinning Project
Histopathology at WFRC: New Applications for an Old Discipline
Assessing Climate-change Risks to Cultural and Natural Resources in the Yakima River Basin, WA
Can better understanding fish diseases help to create much sought-after cures for human diseases such as Hepatitis C?
Want to know how elevation will benefit your state? The USGS National Geospatial Program is advancing the 3D Elevation Program, known as 3DEP, in response to the growing need for high-quality three-dimensional representations of the Nation’s natural and constructed features.
Stronger storms, rising seas, and flooding are placing hundreds of millions people at risk around the world, and big part of the solution to decrease those risks is just off shore. A new study finds that coral reefs reduce the wave energy that would otherwise impact coastlines by 97 percent.
May is Volcano Preparedness Month in Washington State, providing residents an opportunity to become more familiar with volcanic risk in their communities and learn about steps they can take to reduce potential impacts. This year, Volcano Preparedness Month takes on new meaning with a recent scientific study confirming that Mount St. Helens remains an active volcano.
The coastal geology of Simeonof Island, the southeastern-most island in the Shumagin archipelago of the Aleutian Islands, suggests the region has not experienced a great megathrust earthquake in at least the past 3,400 years.
Slowly emerging patterns of behavior at Mount St. Helens are giving scientists at the USGS-Cascades Volcano Observatory and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network new insights into activity beneath the volcano.
Social Media
Locations
Washington Water Science Center
Phone: (253) 552-1600
Fax: (253) 552-1581
Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC)
Phone: (206) 526-6282
Fax: (206) 526-6654
USGS Volcano Science Center
Phone: 360-993-8900
Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center
USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO)
vhpweb@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-993-8900
Fax: 360-993-8980
Columbia River Research Laboratory
Phone: (509) 538-2299
Fax: (509) 538-2843
Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Phone: (360) 385-1007
Fax: (360) 385-7207
Northwest Washington Field Office
Phone: (360) 312-8155 x2001
Fax: (360) 312-8565
Mid-Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 735-3739
Fax: (509) 735-3723
Upper Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 353-2649
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Olympic Field Station
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 360-565-3041
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Cascadia Field Station
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 206-616-1874
Fax: 206-685-0790
Contacts
Western Fisheries Research Center
Research at the WFRC focuses on the environmental factors responsible for the creation, maintenance, and regulation of fish populations including their interactions in aquatic communities and ecosystems.
Go to CenterWashington Water Science Center
The Water Science Center's mission is to collect, analyze and disseminate the impartial hydrologic data and information needed to wisely manage water resources for the people of the United States and the State of Washington.
Go to Center