California experiencing its worst drought in over a century

California experiencing its worst drought in over a century

USGS is reporting that the lack of precipitation throughout California for the much of the past three months has only exacerbated the dryness and is causing varying degrees of low levels of streamflow in the northern two-thirds of the state. Low

Extreme drought in California

Extreme drought in California

On January 17, 2014, amid California's driest year on record, Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency in the state. Rivers and water reservoirs in California are dangerously low after the driest years on record.

"Today I'm

20 years after devastating M6.7 Northridge earthquake, Los Angeles

20 years after devastating M6.7 Northridge earthquake, Los Angeles

At 4:30 on the morning of January 17, 1994, some 10 million people in the Los Angeles region of southern California were awakened by the shaking of an earthquake. The earthquake, named for its epicenter in the town of Northridge, was a magnitude 6.7 (M = 6.7,

Changing landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, California

Changing landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, California

Have the ecosystems of California's Channel Islands changed over the decades? A project matching archival photos with modern images is offering USGS and National Park Service researchers a time machine to look into the past.

USGS Western Ecological Research

Massive wildfire still raging near Palm Springs, California

Massive wildfire still raging near Palm Springs, California

A wildfire that broke out in a remote part of the Los Padres National Forest, California (US), on July 15 is still spreading. Evacuations have started on the first day as flames consumed over 500 acres of trees and brush within several hours. Air tankers and

Increased seismic activity at Mount Shasta in northern California, US

Increased seismic activity at Mount Shasta in northern California, US

Mount Shasta volcano showed signs of elevated seismicity since June 11, 2013. The volcano typically displays a relatively low rate of earthquake occurrence. Earthquake-Report connects the recent uptick in seismicity at Mount Shasta, the Greenville earthquake

Californian shores witness mysterious mass stranding of sea lion pups

Californian shores witness mysterious mass stranding of sea lion pups

A worrying large number of dehydrated and emaciated sea lions are washing ashore Central and Southern Californian coastline from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Hundreds of these sick sea lion have been admitted to rescue centers so far and rescue groups are reporting

Strong earthquake M 6.4 struck of the coast of Baja California, USA

Strong earthquake M 6.4 struck of the coast of Baja California, USA

Strong earthquake with recorded magnitude 6.4 struck off the west coast of Baja California on December 14, 2012 at 10:36 UTC according to USGS. Epicenter was located 262 km (162 miles) SSW of Avalon, California and 268 km (166 miles) WSW of Rosarito, Mexico at