Catalog of maps
This publication contains brief descriptions about the various types of maps made by the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Conversion factors: SI metric and U.S. customary units
The policy of the U.S. Geological Survey is to foster use of the International System of Units (SI) which was defined by the 11th General Conference of Weights and Measures in 1960. This modernized metric system constitutes an international "language" by means of which communications throughout the world's scientific and economic communities may be improved. This publication is designed to familiarize the reader with the SI units of measurement that correspond to the common units frequently used in programs of the Geological Survey. In the near future, SI units will be used exclusively in most publications of the Survey; the conversion factors provided herein will help readers to obtain a "feel" for each unit and to "think metric."
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Discover the many types of maps available from the U.S. Geological Survey
This publication briefly describes various types of maps available through the U.S. Geological Survey.
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Earthquakes
One of the most frightening and destructive phenomena of nature that man experiences is a severe earthquake and its terrible aftereffects. Since long before man existed, probably for more than 4 billion years, the forces within the Earth that produce earthquakes have played an active role in shaping the Earth's surface. These unpredictable catastrophic movements of the Earth have caused a great number of human casualties and extensive property damage. Today man is challenging the assumption that earthquakes must present an uncontrollable and unpredictable hazard to life and property. Scientists have begun to explore the means of predicting earthquakes. Sites of greatest hazard are being identified, and definite progress is being made in designing structures that will withstand the effects of earthquakes.
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Elevations and Distances in the United States
The information in this booklet was compiled to answer inquiries received by the Geological Survey from students, teachers, writers, editors, publishers of encyclopedias, almanacs and other reference books, and people in many other fields of work. The elevations of features and distances between points in the United States were determined from surveys and topographic maps of the Geological Survey or obtained from other sources. Some of this information, compiled from older maps, will be revised as new surveys are completed. For further information, write to the U. S. Geological Survey, 507 National Center.Reston,Virginia 22092.
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EROS Data Center
The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center, located in Sioux Falls, SD, is a data management, systems development, and research field center of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Mapping Division. The Center was established in the early 1970's to receive, process, and distribute data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Landsat satellites. The Center holds the world's largest collection of space and aircraft acquired imagery of the Earth. These holdings include over 2 million images acquired from satellites and over 8 million aerial photographs. The Center is also a major focal point for information concerning the holdings of foreign Landsat ground reception stations and data acquired by other countries' Earth observing satellites. The central U.S. location provides the Center with a unique capability to receive real-time electronic signals from Earth orbiting satellites, used for developing data sets of most of the North American continent.
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The EROS Data Center
The Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Program of the U.S. Department of the Interior, administered by the Geological Survey, was established in 1966 to apply remote-sensing techniques to the inventory, monitoring, and management of natural resources. To meet its primary objective, the EROS Program includes research and training in the interpretation and application of remotely sensed data and provides remotely sensed data at nominal cost to scientists, resource planners, managers, and the public.
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New activities at the U.S. Geological Survey
As the Nation's principal source of information about the configuration of the land surface, the composition and structure of the rocks at and beneath the surface, the distribution and character of its energy, mineral, and water resources, and the nature of natural geologic processes, the U. S. Geological Survey focuses its work on some of the Nation's most critical problems. As the Survey tackles new problems with new techniques, it is fully aware of the resource needs and environmental pressures of an expanding economy and growing population.
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EROS: A space program for Earth resources
The EROS Program, administered by the U. S. Geological Survey, works with representatives of departmental bureaus and offices to coordinate research and application of remote-sensing technology to the day to-day operations of the department. Most of the research and applications have been made possible by the experimental data acquisition systems of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In particular, the EROS Program uses data from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS), from the Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP) of Skylab, and from NASA's Aircraft Program.
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Availability of Earth resources data
The purpose of this booklet is to help the reader to become aware of the volume of Earth resources data that have been collected by agencies of the United States Government and to find out where and how these data may be obtained. Earth resources data as discussed here are those obtained by remote-sensing instruments, including aerial cameras, multispectral cameras, multispectral scanners, and radar. They are obtained by spacecraft and high-altitude aircraft. Also, various agencies have been acquiring vast quantities of conventional aerial mapping photography from low and medium altitudes for more than 50 years. There is also brief information to assist the reader in locating published references and identifying research projects relating to application of Earth resources data to a variety of purposes. In all cases, it is not the intent to say what data are needed or how the data are to be used, but to describe where an interested person can begin to locate Earth resources data.
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Building stones of our Nation's Capital
The buildings of our Nation's Capital serve as an unusual geologic display, for the city has been constructed with rocks from quarries throughout the United States and many distant lands. Each building is a unique museum that not only displays the important features of various stones and the geologic environment in which they were formed, but also serves as an historic witness to the city's growth and to the development of its architecture. This booklet describes the source and appearance of the stones used in Washington, D.C.; it includes a map and a walking guide to assist the visitor in examining them.
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National Cartographic Information Center (NCIC)
The National Cartographic Information Center (NCIC), established by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, in July 1974, provides a national information service to make cartographic data of the United States more easily accessible to the public and to various Federal, State, and local agencies. At present, more than 30 Federal agencies collect and prepare cartographic data. Existing data include more than 1.5 million maps and charts, 25 million aerial and space photographs, and 1.5 million geodetic control points.
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Steps to the moon
On July 20, 1969, man walked on the surface of the Moon and began a new chapter of his studies that will eventually disclose the geologic nature of the Earth's nearest neighbor. Although he has finally reached the Moon and sampled its substance, much work and study remain before he will know the full scientific significance of the first landing. This booklet briefly summarizes the steps man has taken to understand the Moon and what he thinks he has learned to date as a result of his centuries-long speculations and studies.
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Man against volcano: The eruption on Heimaey, Vestmann Islands, Iceland
The U.S. Geological Survey carries out scientific studies in the geological, hydrological, and cartographic sciences generally within the 50 states, but also in cooperation with scientific organizations in many foreign countries for the investigation of unusual earth science phenomena throughout the world. The following material discusses the impact of the 1973 volcanic eruption of Eldfell on the fishing port of Vestmannaeyjar on the island of Heimaey, Iceland. Before the eruption was over, approximately one-third of the town of Vestmannaeyjar had been obliterated but, more importantly, the potential damage had been reduced markedly by the spraying of seawater onto the advancing lava flows, causing them to be slowed, stopped, or diverted from the undamaged portion of the town. The Survey's interest and involvement in the Heimaey eruption in Iceland was occasioned by the possibility that the procedures used to control the course of the flowing lava and to reduce the damage in a modern town may some day be needed in Hawaii and possibly even in the continental United States. This publication is based on the observations of two USGS geologists, Richard S. Williams, Jr. and James G. Moore, as well as on information from the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Icelandic scientists' reports through the Center for Short-Lived Phenomena, and other published scientific reports. A number of Icelandic scientists studied the scientific aspects of the eruption and the engineering aspects of the control of lava flows, in particular, Professors Thorbjb'rn Sigurgeirsson and Sigurdur Thorarinsson of the University of Iceland Science Institute. Also, Icelandic governmental officials provided logistical and other support, in particular, Mr. Steingnmur Hermannsson, Director, Icelandic National Research Council and Professor Magnus Magnusson, Director, University of Iceland Science Institute.
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Access routes to the U.S. Geological Survey's EROS Data Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
The EROS Data Center is a part of the Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) Program of the Department of the Interior, managed by the U.S. Geological Survey. It is the national center for the processing anddissemination of spacecraft and aircraft acquired photographic imagery and electronic data of the Earth's resources. The center also trains and assists users in the application of such data. The EROS Data Center provides access to Landsat data, aerial photography acquired by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and photography and other remotely sensed data acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from research aircraft and from Skylab, Apollo, and Gemini spacecraft.
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Geologic setting of the John Day Country, Grant County, Oregon
One of the Pacific Northwest's most notable outdoor recreation areas, the "John Day Country" in northeastern Oregon, is named after a native Virginian who was a member of the Astor expedition to the mouth of the Columbia River in 1812. There is little factual information about John Day except that he was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, about 1770. It is known also that in 1810 this tall pioneer "with an elastic step as if he trod on springs" joined John Jacob Astor's overland expedition under Wilson Price Hunt to establish a vast fur-gathering network in the Western States based on a major trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River.
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Geologic maps : Portraits of the Earth
The picture above is a portrait of many square miles of the Earth's surface. The purpose of this leaflet is to explain how this portrait was made, how it can tell us about what lies beneath the surface of the ground, and other ways in which it can be useful to mankind.
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Geologic time
The Earth is very old 4 1/2 billion years or more according to recent estimates. This vast span of time, called geologic time by earth scientists, is difficult to comprehend in the familiar time units of months and years, or even centuries. How then do scientists reckon geologic time, and why do they believe the Earth is so old? A great part of the secret of the Earth's age is locked up in its rocks, and our centuries-old search for the key led to the beginning and nourished the growth of geologic science.
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