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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS1987

The National Geographic Names Data Base: Phase II instructions

The Geographic Names Information System is a computer-based information system developed to meet major national needs by providing information for named entities in the United States, its territories, and outlying areas. The National Geographic Names Data Base, a component of the Geographic Names Information System, currently contains most names and associated information recorded on the 1:24,000-scale (or largest scale available) topographic maps of the U.S. Geological Survey. The work involved in this initial compilation of names shown on the topographic-map series, and the development and editing of the National Geographic Names Data Base, is referred to as Phase I. Optimal use and effectiveness of an automated names system require that the names of features not recorded on topographic maps be added. The systematic collection of names from other sources, including maps, charts, and texts, is termed Phase II. In addition, specific types of features not compiled during Phase I are encoded and added to the data base. Other names of importance to researchers and users, such as historical and variant names, are also included. The rules and procedures for Phase II research, compilation, and encoding are contained in this publication.

Circular↗
USGS2012

A national geographic framework for guiding conservation on a landscape scale

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with the global conservation community, has recognized that the conservation challenges of the 21st century far exceed the responsibilities and footprint of any individual agency or program. The ecological effects of climate change and other anthropogenic stressors do not recognize geopolitical boundaries and, as such, demand a national geographic framework to provide structure for cross-jurisdictional and landscape-scale conservation strategies. In 2009, a new map of ecologically based conservation regions in which to organize capacity and implement strategic habitat conservation was developed using rapid prototyping and expert elicitation by an interagency team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey scientists and conservation professionals. Incorporating Bird Conservation Regions, Freshwater Ecoregions, and U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic unit codes, the new geographic framework provides a spatial template for building conservation capacity and focusing biological planning and conservation design efforts. The Department of Interior's Landscape Conservation Cooperatives are being organized in these new conservation regions as multi-stakeholder collaborations for improved conservation science and management.

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management↗
USGS2009

The National Map - geographic names

The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about the official names for places, features, and areas in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the territories and outlying areas of the United States, including Antarctica. It is the geographic names component of The National Map. The BGN maintains working relationships with State names authorities to cooperate in achieving the standardization of geographic names. The GNIS contains records on more than 2 million geographic names in the United States - from populated places, schools, reservoirs, and parks to streams, valleys, springs, ridges, and every feature type except roads and highways. Entries include information such as the federally-recognized name and variant names and spellings for the feature; former names; the status of the name as determined by the BGN; county or counties in which each named feature is located; geographic coordinates that locate the approximate center of an aerial feature or the mouth and source of a linear feature, such as a stream; name of the cell of the USGS topographic map or maps on which the feature may appear; elevation figures derived from the National Elevation Dataset; bibliographic code for the source of the name; BGN decision dates and historical information are available for some features. Data from the GNIS are used for emergency preparedness, mapmaking, local and regional planning, service delivery routing, marketing, site selection, environmental analysis, genealogical research, and other applications.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2002

The National Map - Geographic Names

Governments depend on a common set of base geographic information as a tool for economic and community development, land and natural resource management, and health and safety services. Emergency management and homeland security applications rely on this information. Private industry, nongovernmental organizations, and individual citizens use the same geographic data. Geographic information underpins an increasingly large part of the Nation's economy.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1997

Digital shaded-relief image of Alaska

One of the most spectacular physiographic images of the conterminous United States, and the first to have been produced digitally, is that by Thelin and Pike ( USGS I-2206, 1991 ). The image is remarkable for its crispness of detail and for the natural appearance of the artificial land surface. Our goal has been to produce a shaded-relief image of Alaska that has the same look and feel as the Thelin and Pike image. The Alaskan image could have been produced at the same scale as its lower 48 counterpart (1:3,500,000). But by insetting the Aleutian Islands into the Gulf of Alaska, we were able to print the Alaska map at a larger scale (1:2,500,000) and about the same physical size as the Thelin and Pike image. Benefits of the 1:2,500,000 scale are (1) greater resolution of topographic features and (2) ease of reference to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (1987) Alaska Map E and the statewide geologic map (Beikman, 1980), which are both 1:2,500,000 scale. Manually drawn, shaded-relief images of Alaska's land surface have long been available (for example, Department of the Interior, 1909; Raisz, 1948). The topography depicted on these early maps is mainly schematic. Maps showing topographic contours were first available for the entire State in 1953 (USGS, 1:250,000) (J.H. Wittmann, USGS, written commun., 1996). The Alaska Map E was initially released in 1954 in both planimetric (revised in 1973 and 1987) and shaded-relief versions (revised in 1973, 1987, and 1996); topography depicted on the shaded-relief version is based on the 1:250,000-scale USGS topographic maps. Alaska Map E was later modified to include hypsometric tinting by Raven Maps and Images (1989, revised 1993) as copyrighted versions. Other shaded-relief images were produced for The National Geographic Magazine (LaGorce, 1956; 1:3,000,000) or drawn by Harrison (1970; 1:7,500,000) for The National Atlas of the United States. Recently, the State of Alaska digitally produced a shaded-relief image of Alaska at 1:2,500,000 scale (Alaska Department of Natural Resources, 1994), using the 1,000-m digital elevation data set referred to below. An important difference between our image and these previous ones is the method of reproduction: like the Thelin and Pike (1991) image, our image is a composite of halftone images that yields sharp resolution and preserves contrast. Indeed, the first impression of many viewers is that the Alaskan image and the Thelin and Pike image are composites of satellite-generated photographs rather than an artificial rendering of a digital elevation model. A shaded-relief image represents landforms in a natural fashion; that is, a viewer perceives the image as a rendering of reality. Thus a shaded-relief image is intrinsically appealing, especially in areas of spectacular relief. In addition, even subtle physiographic features that reflect geologic structures or the type of bedrock are visible. To our knowledge, some of these Alaskan features have not been depicted before and so the image should provide earth scientists with a new "look" at fundamental geologic features of Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS1989

Mammals of the Braulio Carrillo- La Selva Complex, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's La Selva-Braulio Carrillo complex encompasses a 60-km protected corridor of Caribbean rain and cloud forest extending from 30 m at the La Selva Biological Station to 2,906 m at the top of Volcán Barva. The 52,000-ha complex covers four life zones and two transitional zones, including tropical wet forest, tropical wet forest cool-transition, tropical premontane wet-transition rain forest, tropical premontane rain forest, lower montane rain forest, and montane rain forest. Located in the northeastern part of the country, the area is representative of Central American Caribbean slope forests that extend from Mexico to Panama. The extensive elevational gradient of the complex provides protected habitat for a variety of altitudinal migrants. With support from the National Geographic Society and Rice Foundation, the Organization for Tropical Studies organized a biological survey of the complex in early 1986. The mammal team worked at six sites along the elevational transect established by the expedition: 300 m, 700 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m, 2,050 m, and 2,600 m. We supplemented our collecting records with unpublished records made available by colleagues, records in the published literature, and specimens in museum collections. In addition, observations recorded by a variety of observers at the La Selva Biological Station are summarized. The mammal fauna of the complex comprises 142 species including 79 bats, 23 rodents, 15 carnivores, 7 marsupials, 6 edentates, 4 artiodactyls, 3 primates, 2 rabbits, 2 shrews, and 1 perissodactyl. At least 10 additional species are likely to occur there. The only species of mammal likely to have been extirpated from the area is the giant anteater. Recognizing the importance of the area to wildlife and to mankind in general, the government of Costa Rica added 13,500 ha to the complex on 13 April 1986. This area, previously known as the “Zona Protectora,” provided the mid-elevational link between the lowlands of the La Selva Biological Station and the montane forests of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Unfortunately, destruction of the rain forests surrounding the complex will soon render it an isolated island of protected forest. Thus, the area will become increasingly valuable as a refuge for many species with home ranges that require extensive tracts of undisturbed habitat.

North American Fauna↗
USGS2000

Diana H. Wall, ESA President 1999-2000

A more polite term for workaholic is over-achiever, and Diana Harrison Wall could easily serve as the type specimen for both words. Her ability to multi-task is a great boon for the Ecological Society of America. That characteristic drive has also been essential to Wall’s own personal success, since it pushed her to persevere during the lean years when a woman’s place was NOT in the field or laboratory. Diana is a very strong role model for young ecologists through her enthusiasm for science, her remarkable scientific achievements, and her leadership skills. In addition to advising her many graduate students, Diana-as-role-model has been featured in many news media, including PBS TV shows such as “Horizons” and “Discovery,” National Geographic magazine, and the New York Times. She is highlighted on the ESA Web site: “What Do Ecologists Do? Focus on Ecologists.”

Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America↗
USGS1960

Color of the tarsi and toes of the black rail

Examination of two fresh specimens of the Black Rail ( Laterallus jamaicensis ) has prompted us to call attention to the color of the tarsi and toes of this species, since our observations do not agree with published accounts. Audubon (Ornithological Biography, vol. IV; 361, 1838) and Friedmann (Birds of North and Middle America, U.S. Nat'l. Mus. Bull., 50: 154, 1941) state that the tarsi and toes are bright yellowish-green. Descriptions in other publications are similar. Prominent bird artists, including Fuertes, have depicted the color of these appendages as yellowish-green, yellow, or green; while Allan Brooks' illustration of this species (The Book of Birds, vol. I, National Geographic Society, p. 291, 1932) shows pink legs. An adult female specimen was collected by J. A. Hagar, C. S. Robbins, and R. E. Stewart near Elliott Island, Maryland, on 8 June 1958. A second adult Black Rail, presumed to be a female by its dull color and call, was caught alive by the authors in the same area on 17 June 1958, and is still held in captivity. The tarsi and toes of these two birds show no trace of yellow or green. They appear grayish, matching "Flint" (plate 56-1C) or "Gunmetal" (plate 48-2C) in Maerz and Paul's "A Dictionary of Color" (1930), and "blackish-brown" in the color charts provided with Palmer and Reilly's "A Concise Color Standard" (Am. Ornith. Union Handbook Fund, 1956). A grayed-off blackish-brown would seem to be an appropriate description.

The Auk↗
USGS2012

Status and trends of land change in the Western United States--1973 to 2000

Preface U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–A is the first in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Western United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes B, C, and D provide similar analyses for the Great Plains, the Midwest–South Central United States, and the Eastern United States, respectively. The assessments of land-use and land-cover trends are conducted on an ecoregion-by-ecoregion basis, and each ecoregion assessment is guided by a nationally consistent study design that includes mapping, statistical methods, field studies, and analysis. Individual assessments provide a picture of the characteristics of land change occurring in a given ecoregion; in combination, they provide a framework for understanding the complex national mosaic of change and also the causes and consequences of change. Thus, each volume in this series provides a regional assessment of how (and how fast) land use and land cover are changing, and why. The four volumes together form the first comprehensive picture of land change across the Nation. Geographic understanding of land-use and land-cover change is directly relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders, including land and resource managers, policymakers, and scientists. The chapters in this volume present brief summaries of the patterns and rates of land change observed in each ecoregion in the Western United States, together with field photographs, statistics, and comparisons with other assessments. In addition, a synthesis chapter summarizes the scope of land change observed across the entire Western United States. The studies provide a way of integrating information across the landscape, and they form a critical component in the efforts to understand how land use and land cover affect important issues such as the provision of ecological goods and services and also the determination of risks to, and vulnerabilities of, human communities. Results from this project also are published in peer-reviewed journals, and they are further used to produce maps of change and other tools for land management, as well as to provide inputs for carbon-cycle modeling and other climate change research. This report is only one of the products produced by USGS on land-use and land-cover change in the United States. Other reports and land-cover statistics are available online at http://landcovertrends.usgs.gov .

Professional Paper↗
USGS2015

Status and trends of land change in the Great Plains of the United States--1973 to 2000

Preface U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–B is the second in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Great Plains of the United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes A, C, and D provide similar analyses for the Western United States, the Midwest–South Central United States, and the Eastern United States, respectively. The assessments of land-use and land-cover trends are conducted on an ecoregion-by-ecoregion basis, and each ecoregion assessment is guided by a nationally consistent study design that includes mapping, statistical methods, field studies, and analysis. Individual assessments provide a picture of the characteristics of land change occurring in a given ecoregion; in combination, they provide a framework for understanding the complex national mosaic of change and also the causes and consequences of change. Thus, each volume in this series provides a regional assessment of how (and how fast) land use and land cover are changing, and why. The four volumes together form the first comprehensive picture of land change across the Nation. Geographic understanding of land-use and land-cover change is directly relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders, including land and resource managers, policymakers, and scientists. The chapters in this volume present brief summaries of the patterns and rates of land change observed in each ecoregion in the Great Plains of the United States, together with field photographs, statistics, and comparisons with other assessments. In addition, a synthesis chapter summarizes the scope of land change observed across the entire Great Plains of the United States. The studies provide a way of integrating information across the landscape, and they form a critical component in the efforts to understand how land use and land cover affect important issues such as the provision of ecological goods and services and also the determination of risks to, and vulnerabilities of, human communities. Results from this project also are published in peer-reviewed journals, and they are further used to produce maps of change and other tools for land management, as well as to provide inputs for carbon-cycle modeling and other climate change research. This report is only one of the products produced by USGS on land-use and land-cover change in the United States. Other reports and land-cover statistics are available online at http://landcovertrends.usgs.gov .

Great Plains↗
USGS2015

Status and trends of land change in the Midwest–South Central United States—1973 to 2000

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–C is the third in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Midwest–South Central United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes A, B, and D provide similar analyses for the Western United States, the Great Plains of the United States, and the Eastern United States, respectively. The assessments of land-use and land-cover trends are conducted on an ecoregion-by-ecoregion basis, and each ecoregion assessment is guided by a nationally consistent study design that includes mapping, statistical methods, field studies, and analysis. Individual assessments provide a picture of the characteristics of land change occurring in a given ecoregion; in combination, they provide a framework for understanding the complex national mosaic of change and also the causes and consequences of change. Thus, each volume in this series provides a regional assessment of how (and how fast) land use and land cover are changing, and why. The four volumes together form the first comprehensive picture of land change across the Nation. Geographic understanding of land-use and land-cover change is directly relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders, including land and resource managers, policymakers, and scientists. The chapters in this volume present brief summaries of the patterns and rates of land change observed in each ecoregion in the Midwest–South Central United States, together with field photographs, statistics, and comparisons with other assessments. In addition, a synthesis chapter summarizes the scope of land change observed across the entire Midwest–South Central United States. The studies provide a way of integrating information across the landscape, and they form a critical component in the efforts to understand how land use and land cover affect important issues such as the provision of ecological goods and services and also the determination of risks to, and vulnerabilities of, human communities. Results from this project also are published in peer-reviewed journals, and they are further used to produce maps of change and other tools for land management, as well as to provide inputs for carbon-cycle modeling and other climate change research.

Professional Paper↗
USGS2016

Status and trends of land change in the Eastern United States—1973 to 2000

Preface U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–D is the fourth in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Eastern United States between 1973 and 2000. Volumes A, B, and C provide similar analyses for the Western United States, the Great Plains of the United States, and the Midwest–South Central United States, respectively. The assessments of land-use and land-cover trends are conducted on an ecoregion-by-ecoregion basis, and each ecoregion assessment is guided by a nationally consistent study design that includes mapping, statistical methods, field studies, and analysis. Individual assessments provide a picture of the characteristics of land change occurring in a given ecoregion; in combination, they provide a framework for understanding the complex national mosaic of change and also the causes and consequences of change. Thus, each volume in this series provides a regional assessment of how (and how fast) land use and land cover are changing, and why. The four volumes together form the first comprehensive picture of land change across the Nation. Geographic understanding of land-use and land-cover change is directly relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders, including land and resource managers, policymakers, and scientists. The chapters in this volume present brief summaries of the patterns and rates of land change observed in each ecoregion in the Eastern United States, together with field photographs, statistics, and comparisons with other assessments. In addition, a synthesis chapter summarizes the scope of land change observed across the entire Eastern United States. The studies provide a way of integrating information across the landscape, and they form a critical component in the efforts to understand how land use and land cover affect important issues such as the provision of ecological goods and services and also the determination of risks to, and vulnerabilities of, human communities. Results from this project also are published in peer-reviewed journals, and they are further used to produce maps of change and other tools for land management, as well as to provide inputs for carbon-cycle modeling and other climate change research. This report is only one of the products produced by USGS on land-use and land-cover change in the United States. Other reports and land-cover statistics are available online at http://landcovertrends.usgs.gov .

Professional Paper↗
USGS1992

Use of remote sensing and GIS to identify Flamingo habitat in the Argentine Altiplano

The Argentine altiplano is a remote area which has never been adequately mapped. It is an arid region with harsh climate, little vegetation, sparse population, and an average elevation of over 3,500 feet. Little is known about the large populations of three species of flamingos which nest and feed in the altiplano lakes. In a study funded by the National Geographic Society satellite data (Landsat MSS and TM data) were used to map the location of major water bodies and to analyze the spectral characteristics of the aquatic ecosystems in the altiplano. A comparison of the two images revealed dramatic changes in the size, depth, and spectral reflectance of the lakes utilized by the flamingos.

Altiplano↗
USGS2009

Velocity mapping in the Lower Congo River: A first look at the unique bathymetry and hydrodynamics of Bulu Reach

The lower Congo River is one of the deepest, most powerful, and most biologically diverse stretches of river on Earth. The river’s 270 m decent from Malebo Pool though the gorges of the Crystal Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean (498 km downstream) is riddled with rapids, cataracts, and deep pools. Much of the lower Congo is a mystery from a hydraulics perspective. However, this stretch of the river is a hotbed for biologists who are documenting evolution in action within the diverse, but isolated, fish populations. Biologists theorize that isolation of fish populations within the lower Congo is due to barriers presented by flow structure and bathymetry. To investigate this theory, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and American Museum of Natural History teamed up with an expedition crew from National Geographic in 2008 to map flow velocity and bathymetry within target reaches in the lower Congo River using acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) and echo sounders. Simultaneous biological and water quality sampling was also completed. This paper presents some preliminary results from this expedition, specifically with regard to the velocity structure andbathymetry. Results show that the flow in the bedrock controlled Bulu reach of the lower Congo is highly energetic. Turbulent and secondary flow structures can span the full depth of flow (up to 165 m), while coherent bank-to-bank cross-channel flow structures are absent. Regions of flow separation near the banks are isolated from one another and from the opposite bank by high shear, high velocity zones with depth-averaged flow velocities that can exceed 4 m/s.

Lower Congo River↗
USGS2000

Geographic Information for Analysis of Highway Runoff-Quality Data on a National or Regional Scale in the Conterminous United States

Spatial data are important for interpretation of water-quality information on a regional or national scale. Geographic information systems (GIS) facilitate interpretation and integration of spatial data. The geographic information and data compiled for the conterminous United States during the National Highway Runoff Water-Quality Data and Methodology Synthesis project is described in this document, which also includes information on the structure, file types, and the geographic information in the data files. This 'geodata' directory contains two subdirectories, labeled 'gisdata' and 'gisimage.' The 'gisdata' directory contains ArcInfo coverages, ArcInfo export files, shapefiles (used in ArcView), Spatial Data Transfer Standard Topological Vector Profile format files, and meta files in subdirectories organized by file type. The 'gisimage' directory contains the GIS data in common image-file formats. The spatial geodata includes two rain-zone region maps and a map of national ecosystems originally published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; regional estimates of mean annual streamflow, and water hardness published by the Federal Highway Administration; and mean monthly temperature, mean annual precipitation, and mean monthly snowfall modified from data published by the National Climatic Data Center and made available to the public by the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University. These GIS files were compiled for qualitative spatial analysis of available data on a national and(or) regional scale and therefore should be considered as qualitative representations, not precise geographic location information.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1991

National aerial photography program as a geographic information system resource

The National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) is jointly funded by Federal agencies and States that choose to participate in a 50-50 cost sharing cooperative arrangement. The NAPP is designed to acquire black-and-white (B&W) or color infrared (CIR) photography at a scale of 1:40,000. The status of NAPP flying, now going into the first year of its second 5-year cycle, is reviewed to inform the user community of NAPP's coverage. The resolution, geometric quality and flight parameters are used to estimate the system's cartographic potential to produce orthophotoquads, digital elevation models, topographic maps and digital information to meet national map accuracy standards at 1:12,000 and 1:24,000-scale and serve as a geographic information system resource. Also, a technique is presented to compute the optimum scanning spot size (15 ??m) and storage required for converting the B&W or CIR photography to digital, machine-readable pixel form. The resulting digital NAPP data are suitable for a wide variety of new applications, including use in geographic information systems.

Conference Paper↗