Unified Interior Regions

The traditional emphasis on dense, fast-growing conifer-dominated forests in the Pacific Northwest raises questions about the health of dozens of animal species that depend on shrubs, herbs and broad-leaf trees, a new analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Oregon State University suggests.

Scientists have refined calculations of some historic Skagit River floods so that they are slightly lower than previously calculated, but still within the plus-or-minus 15-percent margin of error of previous calculations, according to a report released today by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

A report published by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) contains a regional map and associated database that inventory 61 locations of reported natural asbestos and fibrous amphibole occurrences in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States, including the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

Water managers in Idaho and Washington will soon have a new tool available to help manage water supplies that depend on the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie aquifer. 

Groundwater discharging to streams through springs and seeps is a major source of streamflow in the upper Klamath Basin, helping to sustain flow during the dry months of late summer and fall, according to a report recently released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Oregon Water Resources Department.

Today, the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory web site is posting a summary of current information regarding the Three Sisters area of central Oregon, which has been the site of slow uplift over a broad region since 1997.

Federal, state, and local agencies, Tribes and university scientists today released a research plan to advance scientific understanding of the nearshore areas of Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Nearshore Science Partnership’s plan will support the research goals of the Governor’s broader Puget Sound Partnership’s science plan to guide the restoration of the Sound.

Federal, state, and local agencies, Tribes and university scientists today released a research plan to advance scientific understanding of the nearshore areas of Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Nearshore Science Partnership’s plan will support the research goals of the Governor’s broader Puget Sound Partnership’s science plan to guide the restoration of the Sound.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is releasing a 12 minute video of Mount St. Helens, taken by staff at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO).

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is releasing a 12 minute video of Mount St. Helens, taken by staff at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO).

It has been two years since Mount St. Helens began its current dome-building eruption.  Join CVO scientists for a retrospective and analysis of the ongoing eruption.