Free Topographic Maps – Printable
September 26, 2009 | Digital-Topo-Maps.com
Here is a website where you can view USGS topographic maps and print them from .pdf documents.
There is no charge for the service. Check it out.
Related stories.
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
Free Printable Graph Paper
August 20, 2009 | Waterproof-Paper.com
Here’s where you can get a variety of free printable graph papers in easy to use .pdf files. Grid paper, axis paper, isometric paper, ternary paper, polar paper and more.
Related stories.
|
 |
Census of Marine Life Website
May 26, 2009 | Census of Marine Life
“The Census of Marine Life is a global network of researchers in more than 80 nations engaged in a 10-year scientific initiative to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans. The world’s first comprehensive Census of Marine Life – past, present, and future – will be released in 2010.” Quoted from the COML.org website.
Related stories.
|
 |
Free Triangular Graph Paper
February 24, 2009 | Waterproof-Paper.com
Need triangular graph paper for ternary plots? Here is where you can download a free .pdf file and print all that you need. You can also get isometric paper, polar paper, grid paper, axis paper and more.
Related stories.
|
 |
USGS Ground Water Report
August 18, 2008 | USGS
USGS has published “Ground-Water Availability in the United States” as USGS Circular 1323. “This report examines what is known about the Nation’s ground-water availability and outlines a program of study by the U.S. Geological Survey Ground-Water Resources Program to improve our understanding of ground-water availability in major aquifers across the Nation. The approach is designed to provide useful regional information for State and local agencies who manage ground-water resources, while providing the building blocks for a national assessment.” Quoted from the USGS release.
Related stories.
|
 |
EarthPortal Website
July 25, 2008 | EarthPortal
“The Earth Portal is a comprehensive resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment. It is a means for the global scientific community to come together to produce the first free, expert-driven, massively scaleable information resource on the environment, and to engage civil society in a public dialogue on the role of environmental issues in human affairs.” (from the EarthPortal “About” page)
Related stories.
|
 |
NASA Climate Change Website
July 2, 2008 | NASA
NASA has dedicated part of their website to helping people learn about global climate change and its impact on the planet. They have videos about global change, an interactive sea level viewer, climate time machine, information about the spacecraft that study Earth, and much more.
Related stories.
|
 |
Geography Dictionary
June 28, 2008 | ITS Tutorial School
Here is one of the best Geography Dictionaries on the web with over 1400 clearly-defined terms. It includes terms from physical and human geography as well as many terms from cartography, navigation and geolocation.
This is one to bookmark for future reference.
Related stories.
|
 |
Free Printable Flood Maps
June 21, 2008 | FEMA Flood Maps
FEMA now has an online flood mapping system that allows you to view their Flood Insurance Rate Maps online. In addition you can zoom in on specific areas and produce printable .pdf files. Check out the sample below. In the past their system worked poorly but we just tried it again and it worked great. Check your address to see if you live in a flood hazard area.

Here’s a printable PDF map of Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
Related stories.
|
 |
Printable Ternary Diagram Paper
May 29, 2008 | Waterproof-Paper.com
This paper can be difficult to find. Here’s a website where you can download a PDF and print it for free. Other hard-to-find graphing papers include polar, isometric and isometric dot – all as free PDF files.
Related stories.
|
 |
NASA Image
|
Microsoft WorldWide Telescope Unveiled
May 14, 2008 | BBC
Microsoft has created a tool which allows users to view objects in space from a “virtual telescope”. It is free to the general public.
Related stories.
|
 |
NASA Image
|
NASA Article Archive
May 2, 2008 | NASA / JPL
An archive of NASA news releases, image galleries and articles on a variety of topics related to planetary geology, earth observation, global climate change, monitoring volcanoes, looking beyond our solar system, monitoring the oceans and more. A few of the most popular ones are:
Related stories.
|
 |
Free Printable Topo Maps
April 24, 2008 | digital-topo-maps.com
Here’s a Google map that serves USGS topo map tiles. You can browse topo maps in any of the 48 states and Canada and print a copy of these maps from a PDF document.
Related stories.
|
 |
Ground Water Atlas of the United States
April 23, 2008 | United States Geological Survey
USGS has their Ground Water Atlas of the United States online. It describes the location, extent and geologic/hydrologic characteristics of the important aquifers of the United States.
Related stories.
|
 |
Sighting the International Space Station Over Your Home
April 20, 2008 | NASA
Did you know that you can see the International Space Station orbiting the earth with your unaided eyes? It’s easy if you know when it is above your area and what part of the sky it will pass through. NASA has a website to help you see it.
Related stories.
|
 |
Free Topo Maps
April 10, 2008 | Geology.com
Google has added contour lines to their terrain maps. They are not quite as detailed as USGS topos but for free-to-use maps they are very nice. Contour intervals vary depending upon local relief.
Related stories.
|
 |
Homeowner’s Guide to Geologic Hazards in Arizona
March 28, 2008 | Arizona Geological Survey
I really like to see publications like this placed on the web where citizens have free access to valuable information prepared by government agencies. This publication includes chapters on floods, earthquakes, problem soils, mass movements, subsidence and earth fissures, radon, karst, abandon mines, volcanic hazards and radon. Every state should have a publication like this on their website.
Related stories.
|
 |
FEMA for Kids
March 21, 2008 | FEMA
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has an educational website for children. “FEMA for Kids” has educational materials and activities for children, parents and teachers to help children better understand hazards, disasters, mitigation and more.
Related stories.
|
 |
BBC Climate Change Website
March 21, 2008 | BBC
BBC has a special page dedicated to the topic of climate change. There you can find frequently updated news, research reports, features, video/audio clips, fact sheets, carbon calculator and more.
Related stories.
|
 |
Guide to EPA Water Standards
March 2, 2008 | Environmental Protection Agency
All waters can be expected to contain small amounts of contaminants. EPA sets standards for nearly 100 of the most common water contaminants. The standards are guides to be used in determining if water is safe for use.
Related stories.
|
 |
The-Vug.com: Website for Mineral Collectors and Dealers
February 15, 2008 | The Vug
The-Vug.com is a website owned by Justin Zzyzx and Brandy Naugle. Their goal is to provide a portal to mineral dealers on the web and updates when dealers add new materials to their website. The Vug also has a large list of articles, links to mineral museums, a list of mineral clubs, mineral show announcements and much more. If you like minerals check out The Vug.
Related stories.
|
 |
How Much Gas is in the Appalachian Marcellus Shale?
February 12, 2008 | Buffalo Business First
The Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin have long been known to be a source of difficult-to-recover natural gas. A Fredonia State College professor has calculated that Marcellus Shale might contain more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Related stories.
|
 |
Techniques for Surface Water Hydrology
February 3, 2008 | United States Geological Survey
USGS has a number of short courses online and on CD-ROM that are available for anyone to take. They cover a variety of surface water data collection methods.
Web-Based Classes
* Surface-Water Field Methods
* Measurement of Stream Discharge by Wading
* Stage-Discharge Relations – Basic Concepts
* Cableway Safety – Pre-use Inspection
* Overview of Data Collection at Gaging Stations
* Overview of roughness coefficients in western U.S. rivers
CD-Based Classes
* Stream Discharge Measurements Under Ice Cover
* Stream Discharge Measurements From Cableways
* Levels at Streamflow Gaging Stations- A CD-ROM Based Training Class
* Introduction to Suspended-Sediment Sampling
Related stories.
|
 |
Old Faithful Geyser Live!
January 29, 2008 | National Park Service
Yellowstone National Park has its first video web cam. You can use it to see Old Faithful Geyser erupt. When geysers such as Beehive, Lion, or Giantess are erupting, the camera will be aimed at them. Thanks to Rick Steele for sharing this information.
Related stories.
|
 |
SMU Geothermal Laboratory
January 7, 2008 | Geothermal Laboratory
The Geothermal Laboratory at Southern Methodist University has an impressive collection of maps, databases and other information on the geothermal characteristics of North America. They also have information related to geothermal heat pumps for heating and cooling buildings.
Related stories.
|
 |
Geothermal Potential of Canada Map
January 7, 2008 | Canadian Geothermal Energy Agency
Geologic Survey of Canada has put together a geothermal potential map of Canada. It classifies Canada into areas suitable for high temperature electrical generation (these are mainly in British Columbia and areas where warm water heat pumps/heat exchanges might be possible.
Related stories.
|
 |
Support Science Learning at DonorsChoose.org
January 1, 2008 | DonorsChoose
Here is a website that I have visited a few times that some readers of Geology.com might appreciate. This organization receives proposals for classroom projects, mainly from K-12 teachers, and posts them for review by anyone who would like to help.
This morning there were 18 projects returned in a search for “Geology” and scores of projects in searches for “Science”. Several were from teachers who would like to have mineral specimens, one teacher wanted a weather station (for years this teacher’s class graphed daily temperatures from a thermometer and students enjoyed learning that way), one teacher simply wanted paper and art supplies so students could draw as part of a science lesson.
Most were from schools in high needs areas. Some of the projects that I reviewed sounded great. If you would like to help, the support that you send goes to DonorsChoose.org. They purchase the materials and have them delivered to the school. You don’t have to pay for the entire project. You can contribute any amount.
Some enthusiastic K-12 teachers are trying to deliver the science that we enjoy to their students – and they hope to do it in a way that goes beyond the resources available. You might enjoy helping one of them.

Related stories.
|
 |
Orbit Diagrams of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids
December 9, 2007 | NASA Near Earth Object Program
The NASA Near Earth Object Program has a collection of animated orbit diagrams for the 911 known asteroids that have an orbit that is potentially hazardous to earth. Just click on the name of the asteroid to get a control panel that allows you to advance the orbit in increments or watch an animation.
Related stories.
|
 |
Geologic Maps of California
November 16, 2007 | California Geological Survey
The California Geological Survey has an area on their website where you can download a large number of geologic maps in .pdf format. There you can find 7.5 minute and 30×60 minute geologic maps, landslide maps, mineral production maps and more. A few other states are placing maps like these online and the USGS has an online National Geologic Map Database where you can do research and download some of the maps.
Related stories.
|
 |
Identifying Meteorites
November 15, 2007 | Aerolite Meteorites
Lots of people are curious about meteorites or find an interesting rock that they suspect might be a meteorite. Here are links to some of the best-on-the web resources that you can use to get a preliminary answer. They can help you decide if your specimen might be a meteorite that is worth more detailed investigation.
See also: Have You Found a Space Rock?
Related stories.
|
 |
|
|
 |