Images

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

The USGS Souris River at Foxholm, N.D. streamgage (center of photo) is half inundated by water about 30 miles northwest of Minot. This water channel, normally only about 30 feet wide, runs through a wildlife preserve.

USGS hydrologist Brent Hanson is interviewed by media at the flooded Souris River in Foxholm, N.D., about 30 miles northwest of Minot. A flooded road can be seen in the background.

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

As the Souris River flooded during the early summer of 2011, it overcame levees in the city of Minot, N.D., causing about 11,000 people to evacuate their homes. The record-breaking flood crested on July 25 at over 26,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) and 24 feet - nearly 13 feet over flood stage - according to U.S.

Haybales in the low-lying floodplain adjacent to the Yellowstone River were inundated with water in early June 2011.

Release of 80,000 cfs from Oahe Dam, near Pierre SD on May 27, 2011.  This is the largest release since Oahe Reservoir Filled in 1959.  Releases are expected to increase to 150,000 cfs before mid-June.

USGS Crews collecting a discharge measurement on the Missouri River downstream of Oahe Reservoir near Pierre, SD.  Releases from Oahe Reservoir are at 80,000 cfs on May 27 and projected to increase to 150,000 by mid-June at the latest.  Evacuations in Pierre, SD  have been issued and sandbagging in an effort to protect homes and infrastructure is ongo

Releases of 80,000 cubic feet per second from Oahe Dam near Pierre, SD, on May 27, 2011, during 2011 Missouri River flood.

A camp lies flooded on the edge of the Florida Gas Canal. Rising floodwaters during the 2011 flood have inundated many hunting camps and residences. Flooded even before the additional water from the Morganza Spillway arrived, these camps were built on land that is usually well above the water level and safely back from the canal's edge.

A houseboat lies at anchor in the Florida Gas Canal. Houseboats are a common feature in the Atchafalaya Basin, where people live in them year round, or merely keep them as a hunting or vacation camp. Many of them are riding out the 2011 floodwaters by raising or lowering the mooring ropes that anchor them to trees.

A view of the north end of Lake Murphy on the East Side of the Atchafalaya Basin. This section of Lake Murphy is home to a stand of young cypress trees that have successfully colonized an area. Cypress trees are known as a climax species, as their presence often indicates an area that has stabilized with nutrients and water flow.

Left to Right: Bill Stiles, Dan Kroes

A herd of deer swim across the Atchafalaya River (Main Channel). Rising floodwaters have forced many creatures from their traditional habitats.  Deer, raccoons, alligators, and many other traditionally forest-dwelling creatures have been seen swimming across areas that had formerly been dry land.

A USGS streamgage station lies mostly submerged. Following rising floodwaters during the 2011 flood, USGS crews removed sensitive streamgage equipment and replaced them with special, pressure-operated streamgage monitoring equipment that could survive being inundated with water.

Left to Right: Bill Stiles, Penny Frederick, George Arcement, Dan Kroes, Phil Turnipseed

Left to Right: Phil Turnipseed, T Bradley Keith

Invasive Giant Salvinia clogs one end of Lake Murphy. Lake Murphy is home to three of Louisiana's most problematic invasive aquatic plant species: Giant Salvinia, Water Hyacinth, and Hydrilla. As the record-setting 2011 floodwaters push through the Atchafalaya Basin, USGS crews are monitoring these invasive species to see what effects the water have on them.