The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Mineral Resources Program's interactive Geologic Map of U.S. States provides a large amount of information on geology, natural resources, and environmental data for every U.S. state, including:
Surface and bedrock geology
Mineral resources
Geochemical and geophysical data
Water monitoring sites
Partial soil and land use data
All of the maps are also available as Google Earth files that can be downloaded and used on personal computers and mobile devices.
The development of unconventional natural gas resources in the last decade has reshaped the energy mix in the U.S. Decisions that are being made now – often in sectors that may not have an obvious connection to gas production – will determine the energy mix over the coming decades. The 2014 Critical Issues Forum, entitled America’s Increasing Reliance on Natural Gas: Benefits and Risks of a Methane Economy, reflected the strong interest and concerns associated with the development of natural gas resources. The two-day event was held at the Forth Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on November 19-20, 2014.
The Forum examined the 5- to 30-year outlook for the development of a natural gas-dominant energy sector in North America and discussed the associated benefits and risks. Presentations highlighted our current understanding of the interrelated geological, environmental, and economic aspects of natural gas development and stimulated discussion on two overarching questions:
Is a natural gas-dominant economy achievable in North America?
Would a natural gas-dominant economy be desirable?
The U.S. Department of Energy's visualization of per person energy use allows you to explore what the average energy usage for your state looks like in the form of burritos, dynamite, and other more relatable metrics. Because most people can't visualize what it means to use 148,600,000 BTU, this visualization is particularly useful for putting personal energy usage into perspective.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's thermal springs map displays the location and temperature of thermal springs throughout the U.S. The hot springs shown on the map are color-coded based on recorded temperature (red = boiling, orange = hot, yellow = warm, black = information not available). Users can click on individual hot spring locations to find the hot spring name, location, and most recently recorded temperature.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service Watch, Warning, and Advisory Display map shows up-to-date weather warnings and advisories for the continental U.S. The map covers a wide range of weather hazards including tornadoes, thunderstorms, hurricanes, tropical storms, flash and coastal floods, blizzards, winter storms, snow, freezing rain and ice storms, and high winds.
Users can click on individual parts of the map for more specific information down to the county level.
The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy's interactive map shows the locations of abandoned coal mines throughout the state of Virginia. The map allows users to explore a range of mine features. These features are important because abandoned mines have many land-related problems such as landslides, stream sedimentation, hazardous structures, dangerous highwalls, subsidence, loss of water, acid mine drainage, and open mine portals.
The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy provides a large amount of information on Virginia's geology and natural resources in interactive map form, including:
Surface geology
Geothermal suitability
Sinkholes
Water wells
Mineral resources and mining operations
Topographic maps and aerial imagery
The map allows users to select multiple layers that can be overlain on each other. By doing this, users can see how different features are related.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Operating Nuclear Power Reactors interactive map shows all the nuclear power reactors that are regulated by the NRC and provides information about the operator, model, and power output for each reactor.
Click here to access the Operating Nuclear Power Reactors interactive map