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Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA. This is a time to reflect, to honor those who lost their lives, and to stand with their families and loved ones.Please observe a moment of silence on September 11 at 8:46 a.m.…
We generally emphasize the following four points: a) Select a coordinate system (also called a "position format") you feel comforatble using. We suggest using Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) or latitude/longitude. Most users find UTM coordinates easier to locate on USGS…
There is great concern that the dead marsh areas could be seriously affected by major storm events. Local, state, and federal agencies are working together to determine what, if any, short-term measures can be implemented, and to put in place long-term remediation strategies. The Governor's…
Oil has been produced from the Bakken Formation since the 1950’s. However, drilling has increased significantly in the last several years. The USGS does not maintain statistics on oil production, however, this information can be obtained from publicly available sources like the North Dakota…
Although both are sea waves, a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different unrelated phenomenona. A tidal wave is a shallow water wave caused by the gravitational interactions between the Sun, Moon, and Earth. A tsunami is a sea wave caused by an underwater earthquake or landslide (usually triggered…
Earthquakes occur on faults - strike-slip earthquakes occur on strike-slip faults , normal earthquakes occur on normal faults , and thrust earthquakes occur on thrust or reverse faults. When an earthquake occurs on one of these faults, the rock on one side of the fault slips with respect to the…
Sometimes, yes. A few historic large regional earthquakes (>M 6) are considered by scientists to be related to a subsequent eruption or to some type of unrest at a nearby volcano. The exact triggering mechanism for these historic examples is not well understood, but the volcanic activity probably…
During the three giant caldera-forming eruptions that occurred between 2.1 million and 640,000 years ago, tiny particles of volcanic debris ( volcanic ash ) covered much of the western half of North America, likely a third of a meter deep several hundred kilometers from Yellowstone and several…
Lava and Lava Flows The temperature of basalt lava at Kilauea reaches 1,160 degrees Celsius (2,120 degrees Fahrenheit). -- USGS/VHP Website, 1998 The tube system (lava tubes) of episode 53 (Pu'u O'o eruption, Hawaii) carried lava for 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the vent to the sea. So…
The public may download digital aerial photography products for free in two different digital formats from the EROS Data Center . For those who specifically need paper or film products, there is a list of USGS Business Partners who provide aerial photographic research and image printing services.…
Yes, please go to Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) to sign up for free.
There may be occasional equipment or database problems where erroneous data are reported for short periods of time until corrections can be made. This is why it is important to look at a record of streamflow such as the 7-day hydrograph plots rather than a single point in time. However, most of the…