Water Resources Publications

If you are not familiar with our naming and numbering convention for publications, please see referencing a report. This listing contains clarification of the types of reports (e.g., report series) and their associated prefixes for use in accessing reports online.

Browse Our Reports:

Circulars - Purpose: To present to general or scientific audiences short summmaries or articles of short-term, popular, or local interest.

Digital Data Series

Fact Sheets - Purpose: To describe WRD programs, projects, products, and water-resources topics to either a general or professional audience. Water Fact Sheets are concise and timely publications that increase the understanding and visibility of WRD activites and accomplishments.

Hydrologic Investigations Atlases - Purpose: To present reports on hydrology or geohydrology in map format to a wide range of hydrologically oriented audiences.

Open-File Reports - Purpose: To make available (1) data reports, (2) reports of preliminary findings that would be of interest to few persons other than the cooperating agency, and (3) reports and maps pending publication elsewhere but requiring immediate release, and (4) timely information describing WRD programs, projects, products, and water-resources topics.

Professional Papers - Purpose: To present comprehensive or topical reports on any field in the earth sciences. This series is commmonly used for summaries of wide popular, scientific, or geographic interest, and for significant scientific contributions--generally on topics other than hydrology.

Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations - Purpose: To present to technically oriented audiences reports on methods and techniques used in collecting, analyzing, and processing hydrologic data.

Water Data Reports

Water-Resources Investigations Reports - Purpose: To (a) present to interdisciplinary audiences comprehensive or topical interepretive reports and maps that are mainly of local or short-term interest; (b) provide a medium of release for reports and maps that would not be feasible in any other series or journal or that would be published quickly.

Water-Supply Papers - Purpose: To present significant interpretive results of hydrologic investigations of broader than local interests.

Water Errata Sheets

Posters - Purpose: To present to a selected audience information on a specialized subject in a form that does not warrant formal publication.

Some Reports of National and Regional Interests

General Interest Publications

Reports in other languages

U.S. Geological Survey Publications and Products

New Publications of the U.S. Geological Survey

Educational Resources

Reports by Scientific Disciplines

Mapping

Geology

Biology