This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. It introduces visitors to the volcanic landforms of Lava Beds National Monument in California, the site of extensive recent and Quaternary volcanism. Features include cinder and spatter cones, lava flows, and the monument's extensive network of lava tubes, many of which are open to the ... Full description.

This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. It introduces visitors to the landscapes of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, including 14,410-foot Mount Rainier, an active volcano of the Cascades Range. Views include the volcano, nearby Tatoosh Range, and glacial landforms and streams associated with Carbon, Paradise, and ... Full description.

This virtual tour features three-dimensional images from the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) collection. It introduces visitors to the geology and landforms of Pinnacles National Monument in California, the location of a belt of Tertiary volcanic rocks (tuff, breccia, and ash of rhyolite, dacite, and andesite composition). The location of the Pinnacles volcanic area near the San Andreas Fault ... Full description.

This portal provides links to selected United States Geological Survey (USGS) educational resources that may be useful to educators in secondary school grades. Many of these resources can be used directly in the classroom, as preparation for lessons or demonstrations, or as resources for teacher education and curriculum development. Major topic areas include biology, geography, geology, and water ... Full description.

This resource provides a brief overview of the upcoming International Polar Year (IPY) and United States Geological Survey (USGS) initiatives and resources that help support the observance. Topics include a history of IPY (this will be the third IPY) and the role of the USGS in polar research. The education section provides links to USGS resources on glaciation, the North and South Pole, Alaska, climate ... Full description.

This collection of resources is intended to commemorate the centennial of the Great 1906 Earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco. Items include maps, books and articles, photos and video, field trip ideas, interactive features, and simulations. Of particular interest is 'Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country', a general interest publication that provides information about earthquake hazards ... Full description.

This lesson uses interactive diagrams of ground shaking from the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake to teach students about the mechanics involved in the rupture of a fault and the propagation of seismic waves as an earthquake progresses. They will understand that earthquakes begin at a point; that a long section of a fault can rupture during an earthquake; that the earth shakes in all different directions ... Full description.

This downloadable compilation of articles was originally published as a series of weekly features in The San Francisco Chronicle. They present some of the new understanding gained and scientific advances made in the century since the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Topics include lessons learned from the 1906 earthquake, the uses of seismograms, recognizing active faults, investigating faults ... Full description.

This map, produced by the United States Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Mexican Consejo Recursos de Minerales, combines geology and topography of the North American continent. The map, woven from a geologic map and a shaded relief image, reveals the geologic history of North America through the interrelation of rock type, topography and time to highlight regional surface ... Full description.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition was the first of many government surveys of natural resources in the American West, a task taken over in later years by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The discussion includes the early surveys of the West (by King, Powell, Hayden, and Wheeler) and their relation to the USGS mission. There is also a page devoted to scientific discoveries made by Lewis and ... Full description.