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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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Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO
Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO

Lidar point cloud of St Louis, MO

Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty
Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty

Lidar point cloud of the Statue of Liberty

Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Kansas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Kansas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Kansas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Kansas

Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Kansas

Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas
Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas

Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas- QL2 data. Turbines were spinning as data was being collected.

Lidar point cloud of wind turbines in Texas- QL2 data. Turbines were spinning as data was being collected.

Lidar point cloud over Dulles Airport
Lidar point cloud over Dulles Airport
Lidar point cloud over Dulles Airport
Lidar point cloud over Dulles Airport

Lidar point cloud over Dulles Airport

Lidar point cloud over Tacoma WA bridge
Lidar point cloud over Tacoma WA bridge
Lidar point cloud over Tacoma WA bridge
Lidar point cloud over Tacoma WA bridge

Lidar point cloud over Tacoma WA bridge

Lidar point cloud over Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud over Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud over Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud over Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud over Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud showing structures
Lidar point cloud showing structures
Lidar point cloud showing structures
Lidar point cloud showing structures

An example of a lidar point cloud showing structures

Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC
Lidar point cloud Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud Washington, DC

Lidar point cloud- Pittsburgh, PA
Lidar point cloud- Pittsburgh, PA
Lidar point cloud- Pittsburgh, PA
Lidar point cloud- Pittsburgh, PA

Lidar point cloud- Pittsburgh, PA

Graph of the rate of change in Lousiana coastal wetlands from the 1930s to the present
Louisiana coastal wetland change rates over time
Louisiana coastal wetland change rates over time
Louisiana coastal wetland change rates over time

Graph of land area change rate in coastal Louisiana from 1932–2016.  The red line approximates the long-term land area change rate. 95 out of 100 statistical analyses would produce a very similar trend (dotted blue lines). Credit: USGS

Graph of land area change rate in coastal Louisiana from 1932–2016.  The red line approximates the long-term land area change rate. 95 out of 100 statistical analyses would produce a very similar trend (dotted blue lines). Credit: USGS

Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads 39A and 39B often overwash during storm events
Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads often overwash during storms
Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads often overwash during storms
Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads often overwash during storms

Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads 39A and 39B often overwash during storm events, transporting sand landward. Critical infrastructure may be buried or flooded. In addition, significant landward transport of sand may lead to extensive shoreline erosion.

Low dunes near Cape Canaveral launch pads 39A and 39B often overwash during storm events, transporting sand landward. Critical infrastructure may be buried or flooded. In addition, significant landward transport of sand may lead to extensive shoreline erosion.

Two technicians in a cablecar over a river, with an instrument hanging below them
Lowering an acoustic Doppler current profiler from a cable way.
Lowering an acoustic Doppler current profiler from a cable way.
Lowering an acoustic Doppler current profiler from a cable way.

USGS technicians preparing for a streamflow measurement by lowering an acoustic Doppler current profiler from a cable way on the American River near Fair Oaks, California. 

USGS technicians preparing for a streamflow measurement by lowering an acoustic Doppler current profiler from a cable way on the American River near Fair Oaks, California. 

Excerpt of satellite image showing landslide impacts to roads, agriculture, and a reservoir in the Lares Municipality.
LS Preliminary Puerto Rico
LS Preliminary Puerto Rico
LS Preliminary Puerto Rico

Excerpt of satellite image showing landslide impacts to roads, agriculture, and a reservoir in the Lares Municipality. Points identify the approximate location of roads visibly impacted by landslides. Image filename contains approximate latitude and longitude of this impact location.

Excerpt of satellite image showing landslide impacts to roads, agriculture, and a reservoir in the Lares Municipality. Points identify the approximate location of roads visibly impacted by landslides. Image filename contains approximate latitude and longitude of this impact location.

Big Sur coast. Red squares mark some of the sites damaged by 2016–17 winter storms, including Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas
Map of Big Sur coast with labels
Map of Big Sur coast with labels
Map of Big Sur coast with labels

Big Sur coast. Red squares mark some of the sites damaged by 2016–17 winter storms, including Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas.

Big Sur coast. Red squares mark some of the sites damaged by 2016–17 winter storms, including Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas.

Map of subsea permafrost. Inset map shows location in Alaska and Canada. Map's red line shows actual permafrost extent
Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the Arctic Ocean margin
Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the Arctic Ocean margin
Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the Arctic Ocean margin

Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the U.S. and Canadian Arctic Ocean margin. The inset map shows the location of the larger map. Subsea permafrost on the Canadian margin was delineated in the 1980s (blue curve). The red curve on the U.S.

Map of subsea permafrost distributions on the U.S. and Canadian Arctic Ocean margin. The inset map shows the location of the larger map. Subsea permafrost on the Canadian margin was delineated in the 1980s (blue curve). The red curve on the U.S.

Map of Yellowstone gravity stations measured in 2017
Map of Yellowstone gravity stations measured in 2017
Map of Yellowstone gravity stations measured in 2017
Map of Yellowstone gravity stations measured in 2017

Map of gravity stations measured in 2017 in Yellowstone National Park. Yellow lines are roads, dashed line marks the caldera boundary, black line outlines Yellowstone National Park, green circles note resurgent domes, and red dots are gravity stations.

Map of gravity stations measured in 2017 in Yellowstone National Park. Yellow lines are roads, dashed line marks the caldera boundary, black line outlines Yellowstone National Park, green circles note resurgent domes, and red dots are gravity stations.

Map showing the location of the Delmarva Peninsula with a hillslope shaded relief map of the study area.
Map showing the location of the Delmarva Peninsula
Map showing the location of the Delmarva Peninsula
Map showing the location of the Delmarva Peninsula

Map showing the location of the Delmarva Peninsula with a hillslope shaded relief map of the study area. 

Map of the NE US coast showing several types of data collected by NOAA and the USGS, with explanatory insets
Map shows hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data
Map shows hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data
Map shows hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data

Hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data collected by NOAA and the USGS. Backscatter data give indications of seafloor character. In general, low-backscatter intensity (blue) corresponds to finer-grained material, whereas high-backscatter intensity (orange) corresponds to coarser substrate.

Hill-shaded bathymetric, backscatter, and photographic data collected by NOAA and the USGS. Backscatter data give indications of seafloor character. In general, low-backscatter intensity (blue) corresponds to finer-grained material, whereas high-backscatter intensity (orange) corresponds to coarser substrate.

Two maps; the left hand one shows brown land, blue water, and red arrows. The right hand one shows colored survey tracklines
Maps with key features and shaded relief of the study area
Maps with key features and shaded relief of the study area
Maps with key features and shaded relief of the study area

Left: Key features in and around the Gulf of Alaska. A black rectangle outlines our 2016 study area along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Red arrows indicate relative tectonic plate motions. Right: A shaded relief map of the 2016 study area. Rainbow colors show seafloor depths acquired by the USGS in 2015 and 2016. Red indicates shallower depths.

Left: Key features in and around the Gulf of Alaska. A black rectangle outlines our 2016 study area along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather fault. Red arrows indicate relative tectonic plate motions. Right: A shaded relief map of the 2016 study area. Rainbow colors show seafloor depths acquired by the USGS in 2015 and 2016. Red indicates shallower depths.

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