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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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USGS truck and a scientist standing next to it with boat in tow.
Montana Bound
Montana Bound
Montana Bound

A USGS scientist inventories his equipment at the Columbia Environmental Research Center before embarking on the trip to Montana for fieldwork.

A USGS scientist inventories his equipment at the Columbia Environmental Research Center before embarking on the trip to Montana for fieldwork.

A female scientists overlooks swimming chambers for pallid sturgeon
Preparing Swim Chambers
Preparing Swim Chambers
Preparing Swim Chambers

A biological science technician prepares the swim chambers to assess the swimming abilities of young pallid sturgeon.

A biological science technician prepares the swim chambers to assess the swimming abilities of young pallid sturgeon.

Person placing a pallid sturgeon into the water from the side of a boat.
Releasing a Pallid Sturgeon on the Yellowstone River
Releasing a Pallid Sturgeon on the Yellowstone River
Releasing a Pallid Sturgeon on the Yellowstone River

Student Services contractor, Tanner, Cox releasing a pallid sturgeon on the Yellowstone River. 

Student Services contractor, Tanner, Cox releasing a pallid sturgeon on the Yellowstone River. 

Two people on a gravel surface next to a cliff
River terraces elevated along the Fairweather Fault
River terraces elevated along the Fairweather Fault
River terraces elevated along the Fairweather Fault

USGS scientists Richard Lease and Adrian Bender examine river terraces elevated tens of meters above the modern channel level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Kaknau Creek, Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

USGS scientists Richard Lease and Adrian Bender examine river terraces elevated tens of meters above the modern channel level on the west side of the Fairweather Fault. Location: Kaknau Creek, Icy Point, Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

Tracking the latest moves of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa...
Tracking the latest moves of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa
Tracking the latest moves of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa
Tracking the latest moves of Kīlauea and Mauna Loa

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of Kīlauea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) spanning the past several years. Concentric patterns of colored fringes indicate magma accumulation centered near the summit calderas of both volcanoes.

Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of Kīlauea (left) and Mauna Loa (right) spanning the past several years. Concentric patterns of colored fringes indicate magma accumulation centered near the summit calderas of both volcanoes.

White Heron in Marsh
White Heron in Marsh
White Heron in Marsh
White Heron in Marsh

A white heron flying across a marsh in York County, Virginia.

A white heron flying across a marsh in York County, Virginia.

Landsat satellite image of Russia as an example of Landsat imagery.
Landsat 8 Scenes Top 1 Million
Landsat 8 Scenes Top 1 Million
Landsat 8 Scenes Top 1 Million

How many pictures have you taken with your smartphone? Too many to count? However many it is, Landsat 8 probably has you beat.

How many pictures have you taken with your smartphone? Too many to count? However many it is, Landsat 8 probably has you beat.

USGS scientist sitting on cooler on blacktop at edge of green weedy area at plastic tubing setup
USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples
USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples

USGS NYWSC scientist collecting groundwater samples

View looking northeast at Kīlauea's summit lava lake....
View looking NE at Kīlauea's summit lava lake.
View looking NE at Kīlauea's summit lava lake.
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian
Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian

Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian

Тэнгэрээс орох борооны дусал бүр, аягалан уух ус болгон чинь шив шинэ гэж чи бодож байж магадгүй. Гэвч энэ ус үргэлж оршсоор ирсэн, усны эргэлтийн нэг хэсэг юм шүү дээ.

Усны эргэлт - The Water Cycle, Mongolian

Тэнгэрээс орох борооны дусал бүр, аягалан уух ус болгон чинь шив шинэ гэж чи бодож байж магадгүй. Гэвч энэ ус үргэлж оршсоор ирсэн, усны эргэлтийн нэг хэсэг юм шүү дээ.

 Assessing the spawning movement and habitat needs of riverine Neosho smallmouth bass
Assessing the spawning movement and habitat needs in Utah
Assessing the spawning movement and habitat needs in Utah
Assessing the spawning movement and habitat needs in Utah

Limited information is available about the movements of riverine smallmouth bass in landscapes with prevalent river-reservoir interfaces. This lack of information is especially problematic for the Neosho subspecies of smallmouth bass given the distribution covers an interwoven landscape of rivers and reservoirs.

Limited information is available about the movements of riverine smallmouth bass in landscapes with prevalent river-reservoir interfaces. This lack of information is especially problematic for the Neosho subspecies of smallmouth bass given the distribution covers an interwoven landscape of rivers and reservoirs.

3D maps created by computer processing of air photos show what the Mud Creek area looked like before and after the landslide
3D maps of air photos show views from before and after the landslide
3D maps of air photos show views from before and after the landslide
3D maps of air photos show views from before and after the landslide

Topographic “point clouds” (or 3D maps) created by computer processing of air photos show what the Mud Creek area looked like on March 8, 2017 (top), May 19 (center), and May 27 (bottom).

Topographic “point clouds” (or 3D maps) created by computer processing of air photos show what the Mud Creek area looked like on March 8, 2017 (top), May 19 (center), and May 27 (bottom).

View from the sky of a steep mountainous coastline with a massive landslide that's taken out the road.
Mud Creek landslide May 27 2017
Mud Creek landslide May 27 2017
Mud Creek landslide May 27 2017

View from an airplane looking at the Mud Creek landslide on the Big Sur coast that occurred May 20, 2017.

Measuring streamflow using bridge crane, Powder River at Sussex
Measuring streamflow using bridge crane, Powder River at Sussex
Measuring streamflow using bridge crane, Powder River at Sussex
Measuring streamflow using bridge crane, Powder River at Sussex

Measuring streamflow using bridge crane and AA meter, Powder River at Sussex

Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats during spring/summer.
Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats
Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats
Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats

Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats during spring/summer. NWHC is investigating use of community guano samples from summer roosts for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) surveillance.

Tables are placed below bat boxes to collect guano from roosting bats during spring/summer. NWHC is investigating use of community guano samples from summer roosts for Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) surveillance.

Color satellite image of Mount Taranaki in New Zealand
100 Millionth Landsat download with labels
100 Millionth Landsat download with labels
100 Millionth Landsat download with labels

The 100 millionth Landsat scene downloaded from the Landsat data archive at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Landsat 8 scene was acquired on May 24, 2017 of WRS-2 Path 73, Row 87.

The 100 millionth Landsat scene downloaded from the Landsat data archive at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Landsat 8 scene was acquired on May 24, 2017 of WRS-2 Path 73, Row 87.

USGS staff get ready to deploy the chirp 512i sub-bottom profiling system from the stern of a research vessel.
Deploying seismic gear
Deploying seismic gear
Deploying seismic gear

USGS staff are preparing to deploy the Edgetech 512i sub-bottom profiling system from the stern of a research vessel.  The sub-bottom profiling system was used to map the geologic structure and sediments beneath the seafloor.

USGS staff are preparing to deploy the Edgetech 512i sub-bottom profiling system from the stern of a research vessel.  The sub-bottom profiling system was used to map the geologic structure and sediments beneath the seafloor.

Wamego Boatramp
Kansas River at Wamego Boatramp
Kansas River at Wamego Boatramp
Kansas River at Wamego Boatramp

Photo of the Kansas River and boatramp underneath KS-99 highway at Wamego, Kansas. 

Photo of the Kansas River and boatramp underneath KS-99 highway at Wamego, Kansas. 

Image of the chirp 512i sub-bottom profiling system towed behind a research vessel during a seafloor mapping research effort.
Seismic system deployed from research vessel
Seismic system deployed from research vessel
Seismic system deployed from research vessel

Image of the chirp 512i sub-bottom profiling system towed behind a research vessel during a seafloor mapping research effort. USGS staff, Alex Nichols, is in the foreground of the image.

Image of the chirp 512i sub-bottom profiling system towed behind a research vessel during a seafloor mapping research effort. USGS staff, Alex Nichols, is in the foreground of the image.

Cooperators gather to learn about Otowi Streamgage in New Mexico
Cooperators learn about Otowi Streamgage in New Mexico
Cooperators learn about Otowi Streamgage in New Mexico
Cooperators learn about Otowi Streamgage in New Mexico

Many eyes watch the amount of water running past the important Otowi streamflow gage. On May 23rd, Tyson Hatch from the New Mexico Water Science Center (NMWSC) presented an overview of the streamgaging activities of the Otowi Gage to participants of the Rio Chama Basin and San Juan-Chama Project Tour.

Many eyes watch the amount of water running past the important Otowi streamflow gage. On May 23rd, Tyson Hatch from the New Mexico Water Science Center (NMWSC) presented an overview of the streamgaging activities of the Otowi Gage to participants of the Rio Chama Basin and San Juan-Chama Project Tour.

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