USGS Geological Science in our National Parks
Pictured above: A rare rainstorm
over Travertine Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park. |
Beginning with the leadership of the great explorers and geologists
Clarence King and John Wesley Powell, the USGS has provided the
nation with scientific information about the regions that have become
our national parks. We continue this tradition today , conducting
geologic research in parks throughout the nation, in partnership
with the Geologic Resources Division of the National Park Service.
The USGS Geology Discipline is proud of its outstanding history
of addressing the needs of the Nation for accurate and timely information
and research on geologic hazards, resources, and geologic processes.
For more than 120 years, we have provided essential scientific information,
research, and products to aid the management of the Nation's earth
resources and to reduce the human and monetary effects of natural
disasters.
Through our diverse scientific expertise, we are monitoring, assessing,
and researching causes of earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes,
conducting geologic mapping of land and seafloor resources, and
assessing energy and mineral resources. We produce scientific reports,
maps, and digital data each year and we are committed to making
the information more accessible and useful to a wide array of users
including resource managers, scientists, educators, policy makers,
and the general public. We provide comprehensive, high quality,
and timely scientific information to help the resource managers
of the National Park Service meet their mission goals.
National Park Service Mission:
"...to promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which
purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic
objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment
of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them
unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
-National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1.
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