US Geological Survey

The U.S. Geological Survey, established in 1879, is a multidisciplinary science organization known as USGS. It focuses on biology, geography, geology, and geospatial information, collecting, monitoring, analyzing, and providing scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and problems. As one of the largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agencies in the United States, USGS provides scientific information to describe and understand the earth, minimize the loss of life and property from natural disasters, and manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources. The agency also supports programs for conservation of terrestrial and endangered resources, administers a biological informatics program, and operates programs for earthquake, landslide, and volcano hazards, data preservation, and astrogeology. Additionally, USGS operates the National Geospatial Program Office, which facilitates the development of key standards and data models, and maintains a location in Tacoma, Wash.