Through the integration of four science disciplines (geology, water resources, biological resources, and geography), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

The USGS is the science provider of choice in accessing information to help resolve complex natural resource problems across the Nation and around the world.

Geographers at the USGS seek to understand the locational patterns across the Earth's landscape through mapping the terrain, monitoring changes over time, analyzing how and why changes occur, and using this information to model the processes of change and to predict how changes might occur in the future. By applying the methods of geography to scientific studies, geographers help define relationships between places, features, and events. They provide the spatial framework within which geologic, water resource, and biologic information can be located and upon which interdependencies and processes can be understood.



Geography seeks to build, maintain, and apply The National Map, a consistent framework for geographic knowledge needed by the Nation. It provides public access to high-quality geospatial data and information from multiple partners to help inform decisionmaking by resource managers and the public. The National Map enhances America's ability to access, integrate, and apply geospatial data at global, national, and local scales.