The Green River in eastern Utah once carved soft sediment into meanders on a floodplain. Then the land and mountains rose and the river dug deep, preserving those meanders in stone.
Published Mar 17, 2014The Salmon River in Idaho, one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the United States, rushes through a geologic wonderland of wooded ridges, eroded bluffs, and stone towers and crags.
Published Jul 22, 2020The old river has cut compelling patterns and formations into the red rocks of Utah.
Published Sep 18, 2018You can almost sense the invisible tectonic forces within the Earth when you look at this geological icon from space.
Published Apr 14, 2014Trees have long been cherished here for timber and for the colors they bring to “the Fall Rhapsody.”
Published Oct 24, 2020Acquired May 1, 2011, this natural-color image shows the James River completely filling the river valley near Jamesville, South Dakota.
Published May 3, 2011Floods and new infrastructure have long since separated the distinctive bend in the river that was portrayed by landscape painter Thomas Cole in 1836.
Published Oct 15, 2017Acquired April 2, 2011, and February 27, 2011, these natural-color images show rising waters on the Kuiseb River, which flowed all the way to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in decades.
Published Apr 12, 2011Cliffs, waterfalls, and a wide mix of vegetation line a river that winds through the Great Plains in Nebraska.
Published May 29, 2016Acquired June 5, 2011, and May 19, 2005, these false-color images compare conditions along the James River near Mitchell, South Dakota.
Published Jun 7, 2011he largest tributary of the Colorado River between Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon, the Paria River flows southeast from its headwaters in southernmost Utah to join the Colorado River between Page, Arizona, and Marble Canyon. The Paria River provides spectacular scenery, and is known for the very narrow “slot” canyons that it cuts through the layered rocks of the Colorado Plateau.
Published Jun 23, 2008Acquired June 5, 2011, and May 19, 2005, these false-color images compare conditions around Lewis and Clark Lake in South Dakota.
Published Jun 7, 2011As they prepare for a satellite that will measure the height and areal extent of rivers in unprecedented detail, hydrologists have released a better map of North American river widths.
Published Jul 9, 2015A satellite image offers inky evidence of the organic-rich freshwater that the Suwannee River delivers to the Gulf of Mexico.
Published Oct 27, 2018A second round of spring flooding on the Red River was captured in an astronaut photo from April 9, 2009.
Published Apr 27, 2009Meandering across a wide, relatively flat plain, the White River of Arkansas is no stranger to flooding. With regularity, spring rains push the river over its banks, inundating the flood-adapted forest that surrounds it. The river reached its fifth highest crest of 33.78 feet on April 19, 2008.
Published Apr 26, 2008