Nationwide Rivers Inventory Update 2024

New River | Credit: NPS

In 2024, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) completed a federal lands update of the Nationwide Rivers Inventory (NRI).

The update integrated readily available planning information from an array of wild and scenic river-administering agencies including regional NPS staff, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Forest Service (USFS).

The update removed 320 miles of rivers that have been designated as wild and scenic rivers, updated attribute information for existing NRI river segments, corrected existing geospatial data to reflect river shape and mileage more accurately, and added approximately 1,300 segments (nearly 10,000 miles) to the NRI.

The update brought the total number of segments to just under 4,500, and the total mileage in the NRI to approximately 90,000 miles.

As part of the effort, NPS released a new online interactive map where users can Explore the Nationwide Rivers Inventory.

Black Elk Peak - South Dakota

Black Elk Peak - Black Hills National Forest

The highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains will now be called Black Elk Peak on federal maps.  Located in South Dakota, the summit had been labeled Harney Peak on federal maps since 1896.

The feature is located in the Black Elk Wilderness of Black Hills National Forest in Pennington County in southwestern South Dakota.

The name change was approved August by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN). The name Black Elk Peak was formally proposed to the BGN in October 2014.

The BGN sought opinions from the U.S. Forest Service and the South Dakota Board on Geographic Names (SDBGN), which in turn sought opinions from the county government, numerous local, State, and Tribal organizations, and the general public.

The new name is now considered official for use in federal maps and publications. State and local governments as well as commercial entities generally follow the federal use of geographic names.

photo credit: Gary Chancey - Black Hills National Forest

source: U.S. Geological Survey

Greenland Facts and Information

This article includes a brief overview of Greenland as well as variety of facts, statistics, and other information.

Greenland is the world's largest island. The majority of the land is ice-capped and unsuitable for human habitation.

In its native language, Greenland is called Kalaallit Nunaat, which means “the Country of the Greenlanders”.

Greenland is a self governing country that is part of the kingdom of Denmark.

Greenland has political and cultural ties with Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.

The currency of Greenland is the Danish krone (DKK).

Greenland withdrew from the European Union in 1985. Its relations with the EU are now guided by a special agreement. Greenland's exit from the EU is sometimes known as "Grexit."

Nuuk, the capital, is home to approximately one quarter of Greenland's population.

Fishing is the main industry in Greenland. In addition to commercial fishing, Greenlanders practice subsistence fishing, sealing, whaling, and other activities.

Greenland is home to some of North America's most iconic animals, including seals, walruses, whales, polar bears, arctic foxes, arctic wolves, reindeer, musk oxen, lemmings, snow hares, and many species of birds.

The longest day of the year, June 21, is a national holiday.

Greenland is a member of the Arctic Council, Nordic Council, and other international organizations.

sources: Statistics Greenland, Government of Greenland, CIA World Factbook

USGS Field Photographs Collection

The U.S. Geological Survey has made part of a huge national repository of geographically referenced USGS field photographs publicly available, according to a recent announcement.

Images in the collection can be located by using a new mapping portal called the Land Cover Trends Field Photo Map. The collection contains over 33,000 geo-referenced field photos with associated keywords describing the land-use and land-cover change processes taking place.

Initially, nearly 13,000 photos from across the continental US will be available to the public, yet the online collection will grow as more processed photos become available. Photos may also be found on the USGS Earth Explorer website.

“This is a treasure trove of royalty and copyright-free photography collected using consistent procedures,” said Chris Soulard, project leader and USGS research geographer.

“The benefit of these photos being hosted by the USGS is equal access to all without copyright concerns and quality control,” said Jason Sherba, USGS geographer and project web-developer.

The photography was collected as part the USGS National Land Cover Trends Project, a research effort that spanned over ten years and represented one of USGS’ largest cross-center research efforts.

source: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

Highest Mountain in North America - Denali

A new, official height for Denali has been measured at 20,310 feet, 10 feet lower than the previous elevation, According to the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Denali (also known as Mount McKinley) is the highest mountain on the North American continent. It is located in the USA, in the state of Alaska.

According to USGS, the new elevation is due to advances in technology to better measure the elevation at the surface of the Earth.

To establish a more accurate summit height, the USGS partnered with NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS), Dewberry,  CompassData, (a subcontractor to Dewberry), and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, to conduct a precise Global Positioning System (GPS) measurement of a specific point at the mountain’s peak.

Denali National Park where the mountain is located, was established in 1917. Each year, more than 500,000 people visit the park.

An Overview of North America

North America is one of the world's great continents.

Wikipedia defines North America as:

"North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea."

Occupying North America are 23 countries; Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States of America (USA).

There are also many dependent territories: Anguilla (UK), Aruba (Netherlands), Bermuda (UK), Bonaire (Netherlands), British Virgin Islands (UK), Cayman Islands (UK), Clipperton Island (France), Curacao (Netherlands), Greenland (Denmark), Guadeloupe (France), Martinique (France), Montserrat (UK), Navassa Island (USA), Puerto Rico (USA), Saba (Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy (France), Saint Martin (France), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France), Sint Eustatius (Netherlands), Sint Maarten (Netherlands), Turks and Caicos Islands (UK), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USA).