A diversity of gemstones are produced in the United States. However, the $11 million per year in domestic production is tiny compared to the $23.5 billion that are imported.
Raven Maps are beautiful examples of shaded-relief wall maps that display the elevation of a state in vibrant colors. These large maps look great in a classroom, den or office. Use one to mark the locations of your work or company.
The Mosquito Fault cuts through the open pit at the Climax Mine displacing the molybdenite ore body. You can see a great photo of the fault at the Leadville Geology Facebook page.
Since 1972 the “Roadside Geology” series has provided introductory information on the geology of states and small regions of the United States.
The books provide a combination of maps, travel logs, photos and commentary for the geology that can be seen along highways or visited at parks and public viewing areas. They are popular with geologists, teachers, students and others who are interested in the Earth.
Geology.com and RockTumbler.com are both GeoShops.com websites.
Lots of people enjoy going to fee mining sites where you can prospect inactive surface mines, mine tailings, soil, sediments or outcrops and keep any rocks, gems, minerals or fossils that you find. Examples include: Herkimer Diamond Mines where you can search for doubly-terminated quartz crystals, and Crater of Diamonds where you might be lucky enough to find a real diamond.
GeoCorps America is a program offering paid, short-term geoscience positions in some of the most beautiful natural areas in the world.
Just a few of the Fall/Winter Positions….
Curator Intern – Dinosaur National Monument
GIS Technician – Delaware Water Gap
Hydrological Technician – Redwoods National Park
Physical Science Technician – Grand Canyon National Park
Guest Scientist – Yosemite National Park
“Over a trial period of ten months, 143 volunteers collected, improved, or deleted data on more than 6,400 structures in Colorado. The volunteers’ actions were accurate and exceeded USGS quality standards. In the Colorado pilot project the volunteer-collected data showed an improvement of approximately 25 percent in both location and attribute accuracy for existing data points. Completeness, or the extent to which all appropriate features were identified and recorded, was nearly perfect.” Quoted from the USGS summary.
The Colorado Geological Suvey shares aerial images of two ancient landslides that consist of about 635,000,000 cubic feet of mobilized debris and cover an area of about 2.3 square miles.
Do you know about sackungen? Learn about them on the Leadville Geology Facebook page. They are produced by a combination of glacial action and gravity.
The Colorado Geological Survey shares a aerial photo of a bowl-shaped feature with a distinct rim that is about 110 meters across. Could it be an impact structure?
“On March 18, 2013, the newly launched Landsat Data Continuity Mission began to send back images of Earth from both of its instruments — the Operational Land Imager and the Thermal Infrared Sensor. This view of Fort Collins, Colorado, is among the satellite’s first images.” Quoted from the NASA image release.
The folks at MyTopo.com are now printing supersized topo maps; large enough make a huge 8′ x 5′ (or 5′ x 8′) map that will look fantastic on the wall of your office, conference room, lobby, cabin or den. These maps are custom-centered on any location that you pick using their online map-making tool.
We are affiliates of MyTopo.com and receive a commission on sales.
“The United States Geological Survey has published: In-Place Oil Shale Resources Examined by Grade in the Major Basins of the Green River Formation, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.”
If you have not seen very many sills, then you should visit the Leadville Geology Facebook page. Vince Matthews has posted dozens of photos showing sills in roadcuts, natural outcrops and cross-sections. There’s also a video about how sills form.
NASA’s Earth Observatory has an interesting satellite image of a cold front pushing a dust storm across the border between Colorado and Kansas in early January 2013. Drought in these areas is contributing to recurrent dust storms.
Petrified Forest National Park is the most famous location in the world for observing petrified wood. It is one of several government and private parks in the United States that feature petrified wood.
This is not a brand new publication, however, USGS has a nice .pdf map of the Grand Canyon that can be used for online reference and for student projects. It can be viewed online, printed on a plotter and cropped with a graphics program to create printed hand-outs. The title is: “Geologic Map of the Grand Canyon 30′ x 60′ Quadrangle, Coconino and Mohave Counties, Northwestern Arizona“.
Are rock glaciers a mass of moving ice covered with a surface of rocks or are they a mass of rocks with interstitial ice? The collapse of a rock glacier in Colorado reveals the truth – at least for this rock glacier.
On November 19th the U.S. Department of the Interior releases Colorado River water from Lake Powell reservoir under its new science-based protocol for adaptive management of Glen Canyon Dam.
Since the dam was constructed in 1963 the river has not experienced its natural high flows. These controlled high flow experiments give the river an opportunity to redistribute sediments and scientists an opportunity to observe the change.
“The focus of this study is to investigate landslides and consequent losses which affected Colorado in the year 2010. Total direct costs of landslides in Colorado for the year 2010 were approximately $9,149,335.” Quoted from the USGS report.
An article on the MSNBC.com website explores volcanic hazards in the southwestern United States and how geologists are starting to coordinate their mitigation, forecasting and planning efforts.
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Homeowners Insurance usually does not cover damage caused by floods, landslides, earthquakes and other geohazards.
Frac Sand is a high-purity silica sand used in hydraulic fracturing to enhance the flow of oil and gas from tight rock units.
Diamonds from Coal? Diamonds form under a variety of conditions that rarely involve coal as a source of carbon.
Fluorescent Minerals glow with spectacular colors when illuminated in the dark with an ultraviolet lamp.
Helium is a byproduct of the natural gas industry. Its most important use is in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.
Canada Diamond Mines: Canada is the third largest producer of gem-quality diamonds in the world.
Utica Shale: New wells in eastern Ohio prove that the Utica Shale will be a major source of natural gas and natural gas liquids.
Spectacular Fossils of the Green River Formation. Some of the world's best-preserved fossil fish from an intermountain lake.
Opals: Gem quality opal is one of the most spectacular gemstones. A single stone can flash with every color of the spectrum.
