The Colorado Plateau lies in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States: western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, southeastern and eastern Utah, and northern Arizona. Most of the area is drained by the Colorado River and its main tributaries.
Images
Images described and linked on this webpage come from a wide variety of USGS science activities and presentations performed by USGS Science Center staff members in the Region 7: Upper Colorado Basin. A search tool is provided to narrow the number of image files shown.
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Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau lies in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States: western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, southeastern and eastern Utah, and northern Arizona. Most of the area is drained by the Colorado River and its main tributaries.
Prescribed Fire at Sunset in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Sunset as seen through the smoke of a prescribed burn in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. The burn was conducted to restore fire as an ecosystem process and reduce hazardous tree densities and fuel loads due to more than 100 years of fire suppression. Foreground trees (Douglas-fir and aspen) were killed during the Cerro Grande fire in 2000.
Sunset as seen through the smoke of a prescribed burn in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. The burn was conducted to restore fire as an ecosystem process and reduce hazardous tree densities and fuel loads due to more than 100 years of fire suppression. Foreground trees (Douglas-fir and aspen) were killed during the Cerro Grande fire in 2000.
Tree-Killing Las Conchas Fire in New Mexico
USGS scientist Craig D. Allen observes the results of the extensive, tree-killing fire that consumed almost all above-ground biomass in this part of the Las Conchas Fire burn area in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. Photo taken in late August 2011, two months post-fire.
USGS scientist Craig D. Allen observes the results of the extensive, tree-killing fire that consumed almost all above-ground biomass in this part of the Las Conchas Fire burn area in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. Photo taken in late August 2011, two months post-fire.
USGS Researcher at Mesa Alta, New Mexico
USGS researcher Craig Allen stands on the edge of Mesa Alta, amid diverse forest and woodland in the uplands of northern New Mexico; note some recently dead ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in the field of view. Forest drought stress is strongly correlated with tree mortality from poor growth, bark beetle outbreaks, and high-severity fire.
USGS researcher Craig Allen stands on the edge of Mesa Alta, amid diverse forest and woodland in the uplands of northern New Mexico; note some recently dead ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir in the field of view. Forest drought stress is strongly correlated with tree mortality from poor growth, bark beetle outbreaks, and high-severity fire.
Ranch in the Green River Valley, Wyoming
A section of the Upper Green River Valley in western Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, showing different ecosystems (such as forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats) whose capacities for carbon storage and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be assessed by the USGS.
A section of the Upper Green River Valley in western Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, showing different ecosystems (such as forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats) whose capacities for carbon storage and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be assessed by the USGS.
Elk in Northwestern Wyoming
Elk congregate on the Camp Creek Feed Ground in northwestern Wyoming.
Elk congregate on the Camp Creek Feed Ground in northwestern Wyoming.
Elk in Northwestern Wyoming
Elk congregate on the Camp Creek Feed Ground in northwestern Wyoming.
Elk congregate on the Camp Creek Feed Ground in northwestern Wyoming.
Rockslide damage to the Golden Gate area near Mammoth Hot Springs
Rockslide damage to the Golden Gate area near Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, as a result of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake.
Rockslide damage to the Golden Gate area near Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, as a result of the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake.
Sapphire Pool, in the Upper Geyser Basin, erupting after the 1959 Hebg
Sapphire Pool, in the Upper Geyser Basin, erupting after the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake.
Sapphire Pool, in the Upper Geyser Basin, erupting after the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake.
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado - 1891
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado - 1891
Old Faithful Geyser erupting, c.1878
Old Faithful Geyser in Upper Geyser Basin. 1878(?). Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden Survey).
Old Faithful Geyser in Upper Geyser Basin. 1878(?). Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories (Hayden Survey).
Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah
Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah. United StatesGeological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). 1868. Plate 96: Clarence King in camp, near Salt Lake City, Utah. October 1868.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.)
Clarence King in camp, Salt Lake City, Utah. United StatesGeological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel (King Survey). 1868. Plate 96: Clarence King in camp, near Salt Lake City, Utah. October 1868.
(Photo by T.H. O'Sullivan.)