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 data for this visualization come from the EIA State Energy Data System and represent 2012 energy use.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Volcano Hazards Program's visualization shows the projected ash cloud for three differently-sized, hypothetical eruptions of Mount St. Helens. The visualizations depict a simulation of the spread of volcanic ash, based on a combination of wind data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and volcanologist-derived eruption size parameters.

National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC)

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.

Click here to use the thermal springs viewer.

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 Washington Division of Geology and Earth Resources' interactive map of Washington provides a huge variety of information on the state's geology and natural resources, including:

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

Source: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch program maps below-normal 7-day average streamflow, identified through comparison to historical streamflow readings, to produce their DroughtWatch map. The map identifies drought conditions ranging from extreme hydrological droughts to below normal streamflow conditions across the entire U.S.

Click here to use the DroughtWatch interactive map

Source: U.S. Geological Survey WaterWatch

The U.S. Geological Survey's Volcanoes and Current Activity Alerts map shows the location and activity levels of all volcanoes in the United States. The map allows for filtering based on both location and current volcano status. Each volcano is depicted by a small colored triangle with different colors indicating various volcano alert levels:

• Green = normal
• Yellow = advisory
• Orange = watch
• Red = warning

Users can click on individual volcanoes to see that volcano's page on the USGS website.

The U.S. Geological Survey's WaterWatch Flood Map allows you to find areas currently experiencing flood and high flow conditions across the United States. The map is updated daily and provides the option to search flood conditions by state or water-resources region. 

Click here to use the WaterWatch flood map.

Source: U.S. Geological Survey WaterWatch