What We Do

Permafrost in Alaska and mountain permafrost in the contiguous states forms the physical foundation on which terrestrial ecosystems and infrastructure rest. Factors that influence permafrost can include: climate, physical terrain, hydrology, vegetation, geology, soil, and disturbances. The geologic monitoring manual provides methods to establish the status and trends of geologic resources within dynamic ecosystems.

The dynamic nature of glaciers strongly influences the hydrologic, geologic, and ecological systems in the environments in which they exist. Glacier change is important because it provides basic data for understanding and assessing past, current, and possible future conditions of the local, regional, and global environment. The geologic monitoring manual provides methods to establish the status and trends of geologic resources within dynamic ecosystems.

By standing in the same places that an early photographer stood and taking a new picture, we can compare how the landscape has, or has not, changed.

A surprising result in a natural climate change experiment inspires hope of a resilient future for Alaska’s old-growth, temperate rainforests.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports.

Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park.

Olympic National Park mostly contains igneous and sedimentary rocks that were formed in the last 60 million years. Many of these rocks geologic formations were deposited offshore as an accretionary prism and were uplifted and folded by the tectonic convergence between the Juan de Fuca and North American plates.

Mount Rainier National Park in Washington preserves the largest active volcano in the Cascade Range. It also contains more than 29 major glaciers and is the greatest single-peak glacial system in the contiguous United States.