Unified Interior Regions
Sprague River Basin, Oregon
Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest
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Fine sediment infiltration in Chinook spawning gravels in the Sauk River Basin, Washington
The Issue: There is concern that inherently high finer-grained (small gravel, sand, and silt) sediment loads in the Sauk River system may adversely affect egg-to-fry survival of ESA-listed Chinook salmon in the Sauk River and lower Skagit River Basin. However, there are no quantitative data for the Sauk River basin to assess if fine sediment deposition and infiltration into...
Cheatgrass and Medusahead
Invasive annual grasses, such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae), are one of the most significant stressors to rangeland ecosystems in the western U.S. Their expansion and dominance across this area are the most damaging ecosystem agents on this iconic landscape.
Southeast Sound Groundwater Flow Model
The Issue: Groundwater is an important resource for domestic, commercial, and industrial usage in the Puyallup River and Chambers-Clover Creek Watersheds, and groundwater discharge helps maintain late-summer and early-fall streamflow (baseflow) in many area streams. Consequently, as the population grows, and commercial and industrial activity increase, so does the demand for...
Salmon River Mountains Legacy Mining Studies
The objective of this study is to characterize the regional impact of legacy mining in the context of framework geology for the Salmon Mountains in central Idaho. This objective is addressed through three interrelated tasks: 1) framework geology, 2) watershed biogeochemical processes, and 3) characterization of trace metals in colloids (fine particles suspended in water).
United States Assessments of Undiscovered Oil and Gas Resources
USGS Energy Resources Program provides periodic assessments of the oil and natural gas endowment of the United States and the World (click here for information about World Oil and Gas Assessments). This website provides access to new, prioritized, assessment results and supporting data for the United States, as part...
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Alert Risk Mapper (ARM)
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) program has developed a new tool, the NAS Alert Risk Mapper (ARM), to characterize waterbodies in the conterminous U.S. and Hawaii at potential risk of invasion from a new nonindigenous species sighting.
Defining Native Ranges of U.S. Inland Fishes
Understanding the native versus non-native range of a species can provide useful information about dispersal, population distribution patterns, and human mediated movement across hydrologic barriers. The USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Program is working with partners to define native ranges of inland fishes in the United States to help identify which species should be included in the...
The Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Flood and Storm Tracker (FaST)
Storm-related flooding can lead to the potential spread of nonindigenous (or non-native) aquatic species into waterways they have not been seen in before. The USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species program has developed an innovative mapping tool to help natural resource managers with post-storm nonindigenous aquatic species detection and assessment efforts.
Erosion of a Sea Stack Over 100 Years
The following photographs show the demise of Jump-Off Joe, a one-hundred-foot-high sandstone formation known as a “sea stack”. In 1890, the sea stack was composed of middle Miocene concretionary sandstone of the Astoria Formation. Yaquina Head on the Horizon is composed of middle Miocene basalt flows and breccia. Note remnant of Pleistocene terrace deposit along the wave cut bench on the stack...
December 2014 Pacific Coast Floods
Learn more about USGS flood activities related to the December 2014 Pacific Coast floods, which included flash floods, heavy snows, high winds, and mudslides throughout Oregon, Washington, and California.
WFRC Ecology Section - Projects Overview
The Ecology Section examines how environmental variability, human activities and infrastructure influence food web interactions and species performance in freshwater and marine ecosystems. We have extensive experience in quantifying aquatic food web processes as they relate to growth, survival and production of key species of interest, especially resident and anadromous salmonids.
Western Great Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
The U.S. Geological Survey completed the following assessments of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources of the Western Great Basin Province 5018:
- 1995 Assessment (DDS-30).
Nearshore bathymetry of the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon, 2019
This portion of the USGS data release presents bathymetry data collected during surveys performed in the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon in 2019 (USGS Field Activity Number 2019-632-FA). Bathymetry data were collected using four personal watercraft (PWCs) equipped with single-beam sonar systems and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. The sonar sy
Floodplain data from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, 1939-2013
Floodplain characteristics were quantified for the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington, USA, using orthophoto imagery taken between 1939-2013.
Nearshore bathymetry of the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon, 2017
This portion of the USGS data release presents bathymetry data collected during surveys performed in the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon in 2017 (USGS Field Activity Number 2017-666-FA). Bathymetry data were collected using four personal watercraft (PWCs) equipped with single-beam sonar systems and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. The sonar sy
Nearshore bathymetry of the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon, 2016
This portion of the USGS data release presents bathymetry data collected during surveys performed in the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon in 2016 (USGS Field Activity Number 2016-663-FA). Bathymetry data were collected using four personal watercraft (PWCs) equipped with single-beam sonar systems and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. The sonar sy
Nearshore bathymetry of the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon, 2018
This portion of the USGS data release presents bathymetry data collected during surveys performed in the Columbia River littoral cell, Washington and Oregon in 2018 (USGS Field Activity Number 2018-652-FA). Bathymetry data were collected using four personal watercraft (PWCs) equipped with single-beam sonar systems and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. The sonar sy
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2017
This portion of the USGS data release presents digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from bathymetric and topographic surveys conducted on the Elwha River delta in July 2017 (USGS Field Activity Number 2017-638-FA). Nearshore bathymetry data were collected using two personal watercraft (PWCs) and a kayak equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satel
Downloadable Data for Western Great Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
GIS Data for Western Great Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Idaho-Snake River Downwarp Oil and Gas Assessments
GIS Data for Idaho-Snake River Downwarp Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Wyoming Thrust Belt Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Wyoming Thrust Belt Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Eastern Oregon-Washington Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Eastern Oregon-Washington Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Western Oregon-Washington Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Western Oregon-Washington Oil and Gas Assessments
Chinook Salmon Use of Eelgrass Habitats Skagit River Delta Washington
The degree to which eelgrass on river deltas provides critical habitat for estuarine fishes, especially out‐migrating juvenile salmon, is an important scientific and management issue that bears on efforts to conserve and restore both eelgrass and fish.
Tribal Resources for Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments
Tribes have been actively engaged in efforts to anticipate and respond to climate impacts on their natural and cultural resources. And yet, some tribes have faced difficulties initiating and completing the critical first step of the climate adaptation planning process: an assessment of locally-specific climate risks that accounts for the unique priorities, values, and
USGS Scientists taking sediment core at Six Gill Slough restored marsh
USGS Scientists taking sediment core USGS Scientists taking sediment core at Six Gill Slough restored marsh.
Rear-arc basalt lava outcrop
A 3-4m (10-12 ft) high outcrop of basalt lava, part of a broader lava flow. These flows were erupted about 300,000 years ago following basalt dike intrusions in a rear-arc region of northern California. The eruptions of three of these flows are thought to have taken place within several hundred years of each other.
USGS EROS Researchers in Idaho
USGS EROS contractor Minsu Kim, left, and USGS Scientist Jeffrey Danielson stand with a GPS device in northern Idaho, where they were part of a research project to conduct topobathymetric research along the Kootenai River of northern Idaho.
Alder root nodules
Root nodules are a symbiotic relationship between a plant and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. A symbiotic relationship is one where both organisms benefit. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria change inorganic nitrogen from the air into ammonia, a form of nitrogen most organisms can use. They also use a process called rock dissolution to release other nutrients, such as calcium and
...
Male leafcutting bee (Megachile) approaching an Origanum
The alfalfa leafcutting bee (Megachile rotundata) is an introduced species common to Southwest Idaho. They originate from the old world, most likely from northeastern Africa or the Middle East. These bees are successful pollinators of various crops and have been imported to North America for use in agriculture and beekeeping.
USGS hydrographer measuring streamflow on Warm Springs Creek, Idaho
Justin McKoon, hydrologic technicians with the USGS Idaho Water Science Center, measures treamflow at USGS streamgage station 13124265, Warm Springs Creek below diversion near Mackay, Idaho.
Image of the Week - Elwha River Dam Removal
In September 2011, the largest dam removal project in U.S. history began.
Two dams built on the Elwha River in the early 1900s created two reservoirs in northwestern Washington. They also greatly reduced the amount of sediment flowing to the river’s delta and blocked salmon migration upstream into Olympic National Park.
Each week, the Earth Resources
Juga sp. snails
Juga sp. snails, the molluscan intermediate host for Nanophyetus salmincola, populate the bottom of a stream bed in a south Puget Sound watershed.
Sunrise at Mount St. Helens
The sun rises at Mount St. Helens (pictured in the distance), with low-level clouds covering Coldwater Lake. The view is from the Coldwater Science and Learning Center, the site of the 2018 GeoGirls field camp program.
Map of study area that includes the states of ID, MT, OR, WA
Map of the study area that includes the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The Columbia and Snake rivers are the two largest rivers in the Columbia River Basin which is shown as a shaded area on the map.
First mission: USGS UAS monitors gas emissions at Mount St. Helens
On September 25, 2018, a team of three scientists based at the USGS–Cascades Volcano Observatory conducted the first-ever USGS-led Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) campaign at Mount St. Helens. The UAS survey was conducted with the permission and coordination of the U.S. Forest Service Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
The team used a multi-rotor UAS (“
A carbonatite here, a glacial moraine there, a zig-zagging fault or two, even a behemoth of a batholith. The geology of the 50 States is an enormous patchwork of varied forms, beautiful in their variance but challenging to present as a single map.
The U.S. Geological Survey awarded approximately $4.9 million this week to six universities and a university-governed non-profit, to support transitioning the west coast “ShakeAlert” earthquake early warning system into a production system.
Join volcano scientists from around the world during scientific meeting and associated public event in Portland.
MEDIA ADVISORY
Twenty-five middle-school girls from 11 cities in Washington and Oregon are participating in the third annual “GeoGirls” outdoor volcano science program at Mount St. Helens, jointly organized by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Mount St. Helens Institute.
From the journals of Lewis & Clark, April 13, 1805 (in the vicinity of Pouch Point Recreation Area - 16 miles south of New Town, North Dakota):
For the Swinomish people of northwestern Washington, water is life. But this symbiotic relationship between man and nature has been disrupted, and increasingly threatened, by sea-level rise and changes in Northwestern storm and rainfall patterns.
At USGS, although the rocks we study are millions of years old, our scientific methods are cutting edge! Here's just one example of how we use creative problem-solving to help crystalize a solution to a complex issue.
Editor: In the public interest and in accordance with FAA regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project. Your assistance in informing the local communities is appreciated.
Today, in 1980, Mount St. Helens unleashed the most devastating eruption in U.S. history. Two years later, USGS founded the Cascades Volcano Observatory to monitor Mount St. Helens and all the Cascades Volcanoes.
May is Volcano Preparedness Month in Washington, providing residents an opportunity to become more familiar with volcano hazards in their communities and learn about steps they can take to reduce potential impacts.
The U.S. Geological Survey along with university, state and private-sector partners will highlight the rollout of Version 1.2 of the USGS ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system on April 10, 2017.
Today’s high-end electronics increasingly rely on mineral commodities...and research into those mineral commodities is increasingly using high-end electronics too!
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Idaho Water Science Center
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Washington Water Science Center
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Fax: (503) 251-3470
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Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Headquarters
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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
Oregon Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit
Idaho Water Science Center - Idaho National Laboratory Project Office
Phone: 208-526-2438
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Snake River Field Station
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 208-426-5200
Fax: 208-426-5210
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
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Corvallis Research Group
fresc_outreach@usgs.gov
Phone: 541-750-1030
Klamath Falls Field Station
Phone: (541) 273-8689
Fax: (541) 273-8692
Marrowstone Marine Field Station
Phone: (360) 385-1007
Fax: (360) 385-7207
Idaho Water Science Center - Boise Field Office
Phone: (208) 387-1300
Fax: (208) 387-1372
Idaho Water Science Center - Post Falls Field Office
Phone: 208-773-4938
Idaho Water Science Center - Groundwater Training Facility
Phone: 208-387-1392
Northwest Washington Field Office
Phone: (360) 312-8155 x2001
Fax: (360) 312-8565
Medford Field Office
Phone: 541-776-4256
Fax: 541-776-4257
Klamath Falls Field Office
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Mid-Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 735-3739
Fax: (509) 735-3723
Upper Columbia Field Office
Phone: (509) 353-2649
Idaho Water Science Center - Idaho Falls Field Office
Phone: 208-529-4287