# @usgs on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DchFob0mn7M
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69687802-usgs-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/e51556a099.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-26T20:38:14.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (@USGS) — https://gondola.cc/USGS

## Caption

What secrets lie within Olympic National Park’s forests, lakes, and skies? 

From tracking bats to uncovering ancient earthquakes, USGS scientists are working with the National Park Service to reveal how Olympic’s natural systems change, connect, and respond to emerging challenges.

📷 1: Lunch Lake, olympic_nps, Washington. Credit: Robin Munshaw

📷 2: Radio antennae, Olympic NP. USGS scientists are using radio nanotags and acoustic monitoring to track bats. The data can help scientists understand winter activity and how white-nose syndrome may affect western bat populations. Olympic NP is an important place to study the disease because western bats may use different winter habitats and hibernation behaviors than bats elsewhere. Credit: USGS

📷 3: Beneath Ozette Lake is a 14,000-year archive of earthquakes. Sediment layers in this glacially carved lake, near the Cascadia Subduction Zone, can preserve evidence of past shaking. USGS scientists map the lake and collect sediment cores (pictured) to investigate earthquake history and improve understanding of Pacific Northwest seismic hazards. Credit: USGS

📷 4:  Naegleria fowleri is a naturally occurring amoeba found in warm freshwater that can cause a rare but serious illness to people. USGS scientists sampled thermally influenced recreational waters in Olympic (including Olympic Hot Springs, pictured) and four other western parks to check for the amoeba's presence and concentration. The findings help support public awareness and monitoring efforts. Credit: Ben Amstutz

📷 5: For decades, fish were introduced into naturally fishless mountain lakes across the Olympic Peninsula for recreational fishing, a practice that can affect native amphibian populations and alter lake ecosystems. USGS scientists sampled 117 remote mountain lakes using environmental DNA, a method that detects genetic material left behind in water. This noninvasive approach helps scientists map the distribution of introduced and native species, like the Cascade frog pictured, across Olympic’s rugged wilderness lakes. Credit: Maureen Ryan

#NationalParkWeek

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