Images

This red spruce forest and understory vegetation are part of a larger patchwork of red spruce forest stands across the central and southern Appalachians, separated from each other by miles of hardwood such as maple, oak, and beech.

Red spruce forests, once widespread across the central and southern Appalachians, now persist only in scattered fragments on mountaintops.

Gaudineer Knob in eastern West Virginia is home to one of the few remaining old-growth red spruce forests in the region, sitting as a unique reminder of what red spruce forests once looked like across the central and southern Appalachians. 

Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia, which offers incredible views of misty ridgelines and the unmistakable scent of spruce on cool mountain air.

Red spruce forests, once widespread across the central and southern Appalachians, now persist only in scattered fragments on mountaintops. 

USGS water expert Jeremy White measures how high and fast floodwaters are moving at Piney Creek near Raleigh, WV. He's using special water measurement equipment (a hydroacoustic doppler profiler) to collect this data. 

USGS hydrologic technician Fred Brogan holds an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) while measuring the highest flow measured to-date on Hurricane Creek at Hurricane, WV. Photo by Logan Jarrell, USGS Hydrologic Technician

Fred D. Brogan (pictured) and Logan C. Jarrell collect the two highest discharge measurements made at Hurricane Creek at Hurricane, WV, using an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) during period of record flooding on 02/06/2025.

Winter 2025 Photo Contest Winner: Logan Jarrell, Where We Work category

A salamander found in Short Creek, West Virginia during a synoptic habitat survey as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

A salamander found in Short Creek, West Virginia during a synoptic habitat survey as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Taking water quality measurements in Keeney Creek, Fayetteville, West Virginia using a water quality sonde.

A stonefly nymph found during a survey of benthic macroinvertebrates in Keeney Creek, West Virginia.

Two USGS hydrologists collect water quality samples  at Contrary Creek near the New River Gorge as a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Keeney Creek is one of the tributaries of the New River in West Virginia, and is potentially impacted by mine drainage from nearby abandonned coal mines.

A geologic outcrop in the New River Gorge with a visible coal seam. Coal mining is a large part of the history of the New River Gorge, and its effects can still be seen on the landscape today.

A juvenile salamander found during a habitat survey in the New River Gorge.

This image is a part of the New River Gorge Abandoned Coal Mine Restoration Effects Study.

Map showing principal aquifers (PAs) and wells that were sampled as part of a Nationwide assessment of the quality of groundwater used for public supply.  

What does the inside of a groundwater well look like? This can be an important question for groundwater scientists! In this photo, we see the view from a video camera inside a groundwater well. USGS scientists can use cameras to inspect the inside of a well to identify any changes in the well that might affect groundwater level measurements over time.

Collecting water quality samples from the New River Gorge in support of USGS-NPS partnership.

Fall 2022 Photo Contest Winner: Matt Kearns, USGS at Work category

What are PFAS?

A USGS researcher pilots a drone over the Leetown Research Laboratory ponds as part of an effort to explore how remote sensing may be able to inform efforts to identify and track the extent of Harmful Algal Blooms.