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Images

Explore our planet through photography and imagery, including climate change and water all the way back to the 1800s when the USGS was surveying the country by horse and buggy.

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fog and pilings in a river
Early morning fog and pilings at Oswego River near Phoenix, NY
Early morning fog and pilings at Oswego River near Phoenix, NY
Early morning fog and pilings at Oswego River near Phoenix, NY

Early morning fog  and pilings at Oswego River near Phoenix, NY -  index velocity gaging station

Early morning fog  and pilings at Oswego River near Phoenix, NY -  index velocity gaging station

Image: Cross Section of Sagittal Otolith
Cross Section of Sagittal Otolith
Cross Section of Sagittal Otolith
Cross Section of Sagittal Otolith

Cross section of a sagittal otolith from a juvenile Chinook salmon 79 days after emergence. The letters represent: H = hatch, E = emergence, FF = first feed, FW = freshwater residence, TDCK = tidal delta check, and D = tidal delta residence (40x objective).

Cross section of a sagittal otolith from a juvenile Chinook salmon 79 days after emergence. The letters represent: H = hatch, E = emergence, FF = first feed, FW = freshwater residence, TDCK = tidal delta check, and D = tidal delta residence (40x objective).

Image: Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

Image: Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

Image: Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture
Mountain Lane and Pasture

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

A pasture and a bucolic country lane near Lake Glenville, North Carolina.

Image: Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

Image: Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine
Setting a Beach Seine

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

Members of the Nisqually tribe and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service setting a beach seine in the Nisqually Reach of Puget Sound.

Image: Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Image: Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Image: Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income forits owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income forits owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Image: Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm
Tree Farm

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

This tree farm in the mountains of western North Carolina generates income for its owners each year during North America's December holiday seasons.

Image: Field of Sorghum
Field of Sorghum
Field of Sorghum
Field of Sorghum

Field of grasses tentatively identified as sorghum.

Field of grasses tentatively identified as sorghum.

Image: Live Oaks Along the Suwannee River at White Springs
Live Oaks Along the Suwannee River at White Springs
Live Oaks Along the Suwannee River at White Springs
Live Oaks Along the Suwannee River at White Springs

Moss-hung live oaks along the Suwannee River at White Springs.

Image: Suwannee River at White Springs
Suwannee River at White Springs
Suwannee River at White Springs
Suwannee River at White Springs

View of Suwannee River at White Springs looking upstream.  USGS has maintained a gage here since 1906, the longest period of record stream gage in the state. 

View of Suwannee River at White Springs looking upstream.  USGS has maintained a gage here since 1906, the longest period of record stream gage in the state. 

Man wears a backpack and holds a small device in one hand, a pole in the other, on a beach with coastal mountains far off.
Mobile GPS unit
Mobile GPS unit
Mobile GPS unit

USGS Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher walks along South Jetty Beach, south of Ventura Harbor in southern California, to record beach elevations using a handheld computer and mobile GPS equipment.

USGS Ocean Engineer Gerry Hatcher walks along South Jetty Beach, south of Ventura Harbor in southern California, to record beach elevations using a handheld computer and mobile GPS equipment.

Image: Wood Stork
Wood Stork
Wood Stork
Wood Stork

Numbers of Wood Storks are declining

Numbers of Wood Storks are declining

Image: 2007 Landslide in La Jolla, California
2007 Landslide in La Jolla, California
2007 Landslide in La Jolla, California
2007 Landslide in La Jolla, California

This event occurred on October 4, 2007 in La Jolla, California. A landslide, perhaps first indicated in July by cracks appearing in pavement and homes along Soledad Mountain Road, struck suddenly when a massive slab of hillside broke loose, sending tons of dirt cascading toward streets below.

This event occurred on October 4, 2007 in La Jolla, California. A landslide, perhaps first indicated in July by cracks appearing in pavement and homes along Soledad Mountain Road, struck suddenly when a massive slab of hillside broke loose, sending tons of dirt cascading toward streets below.

Underwater photograph of jellyfish floating, they appear to be glowing.
Jellyfish offshore of central California
Jellyfish offshore of central California
Jellyfish offshore of central California

This photograph of the seafloor off the California coast also shows jellyfish in the water column. This photograph was collected as part of the California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program.

This photograph of the seafloor off the California coast also shows jellyfish in the water column. This photograph was collected as part of the California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program.

Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California
Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California
Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California
Fish on seafloor, Offshore Northern California

A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.

A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.

Image: Fish Swimming Underwater Offshore Northern California
Fish Swimming Underwater Offshore Northern California
Fish Swimming Underwater Offshore Northern California
Fish Swimming Underwater Offshore Northern California

A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.

A kelp greenling fish swimming above a seafloor of mixed gravel, cobble and rock outcrop with scattered shell. Fish is approx. 20 cm (8 inches) long. Image acquired 1 km (0.62 miles) offshore Half Moon Bay, California at a depth of 14 meters (46 ft). Also in the image are encrusting sponges, red algae (seaweed), and orange cup corals.

Image: California Coast Seafloor
California Coast Seafloor
California Coast Seafloor
California Coast Seafloor

This photograph is of the seafloor off the California coast and shows jellyfish in a water column. This photograph supports the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), which was initiated in 2007 by the California Ocean Protection Council.

This photograph is of the seafloor off the California coast and shows jellyfish in a water column. This photograph supports the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP), which was initiated in 2007 by the California Ocean Protection Council.