Geology and Earth Science News and Information

Peridotite is a chromite host rock, a source of diamonds and a possible carbon dioxide sink.

Turquoise - A bluish-green gem material that has been used for over 6000 years.

Cinder Cones are the smallest, simplest, and most common type of volcano.

Rock Art - People have been marking on rocks for thousands of years.

Fluorescent Minerals and rocks glow with spectacular colors under ultraviolet light.

Rock Salt is a sedimentary rock composed of the mineral halite. It has many uses!

Rock & Mineral Kits The best way to learn about rocks and minerals is with specimens!

What is a Geyser? Photos and information about geysers in many parts of the world.

Ticks are a problem for geologists in some areas. Learn to recognize and avoid them.

Granite - The intrusive igneous rock that underlies continents and countertops.

Gem Silica is a blue chalcedony colored by copper. It is the rarest and most valuable chalcedony.

Herkimer Diamonds Doubly-terminated quartz crystals used as specimens and gems.

Homeowners Insurance might not cover earthquake, hurricane and other geohazard damage.

Lapis Lazuli - a metamorphic rock and the most popular blue opaque gemstone in history.

Minerals - Descriptions, photos, articles, properties and uses for common minerals.

What is Geology? The study of Earth materials, structures, processes and life over time.

Diamonds - Learn about the properties of diamond, its many uses, and diamond discoveries.

Olivine - Abundant in Earth*s mantle. A constituent of meteorites. The gem peridot.

Emerald is the most popular green gemstone in the United States and most of the world.

Grape Agate is a popular mineral specimen with the color and the shape of a bunch of grapes.

Wall Maps - Wall maps of the world, continents, states and the USA.

Coal Through a Microscope - Coal is more than a black rock. It is THE most interesting rock.

Free Google Earth software allows you to browse seamless world satellite images. Free.

Gemstones - Colorful images and articles about diamonds and colored stones.

Ant Hill Garnets - tiny gems that ants haul to the surface and discard on their anthill. Honest!

The Unsung Mineral Hero - and the commodity upon which almost everything is built.

What Is The Moho? The Mohorovicic Discontinuity is the mantle/crust boundary.

World*s Largest Diamonds Records for the largest rough, faceted and carbonado diamond.

Cave of the Hands is a cave where ancient people painted hands about 9000 years ago.

The Rock Used to Make Beer - Geologists are beer experts and should know about this rock.

Chalcopyrite - The most important ore of copper for over five thousand years.

Meteorites - Rocks that were once parts of planets or large asteroids.

Copper Kills COVID-19 and many other pathogens to limit the spread of disease.

Mount Etna - The most active volcano in Europe continues an eruption that started in 2001.

Plate Tectonics - Articles and maps about plate tectonics and the interior of Earth.

Geology Tools Rock hammers, field bags, hand lenses, maps, hardness picks, gold pans.

Quartzite is metamorphic rock formed when sandstone is subjected to heat and pressure.

Obsidian - the volcanic rock that cools so quickly that it becomes a natural glass.

Rocks - Galleries of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock photos with descriptions.

Rhyolite An extrusive igneous rock with a high silica content, produced from granitic magma.

Ilmenite - The primary ore of titanium and source of most titanium dioxide.

100+ Gems - Photos of over 100 beautiful gems ranging from the popular to the obscure.

What Is Earth Science? The study of Earth and its neighbors in space. Learn more!

Pictures of Opal - A collection of different types of opal from all around the world and Mars too!

Crater of Diamonds - The only diamond mine in the world where you can be the miner.

Geodes look like ordinary rocks on the outside but can be spectacular inside!

Volcanoes - Articles about volcanoes, volcanic hazards and eruptions past and present.

Extraterrestrial Gems - A number of materials from space are used as attractive gems.

Birthstones are gems assigned to the month of a person*s birth. They are popular gifts in the U.S.

Fire Opal is a transparent to translucent opal with a yellow, orange or red background color.

Rare Earths - Special materials used in electronics, defense, medical & many other products.

The Next Hawaiian Island could be growing in the Pacific Ocean right now. Its name is Lo'ihi.

Labradorite is a feldspar mineral that sometimes exhibits an iridescent play-of-color.

Ruby and Sapphire are the 2nd and 3rd most popular colored stones in the United States.

Mohs Hardness Scale is a set of reference minerals used for classroom hardness testing.

Zircon is the primary ore of zirconium and a gemstone that is available in many colors.

Shale - The rock that has quickly transformed the oil and gas industry.

Bear Attacks - Knowing how to react to a bear encounter or attack could save your life.

Hardness Picks - Test for hardness with precise and easy-to-use hardness picks.

Portable UV Lamp - Short and long wave UV for fluorescent mineral viewing.

Largest Volcano - That title is shared by Tamu Massif, Mauna Kea and Ojos del Salado.

Chalk is a variety of limestone formed from fine-grained marine sediment known as ooze.

Fool*s Gold is a name used for pyrite when its brassy color fools people looking for gold.

Rocks on Mars Many of the rocks found on Mars are not very different from Earth rocks.

Sliding Rocks Mystery - What causes these rocks to slide across a playa in Death Valley?

Geology Books - A variety of books for reference, field trips, reading and more.

Rhodochrosite - a manganese mineral used as an ore, a pink gem and an ornamental stone.

Cinnabar - the only important ore of mercury. Used in pigments until its toxicity was realized.

The Uses of Marble are numerous and diverse. You will be surprised by how it is used.

Largest Earthquake ever recorded - Magnitude 9.5. Chile, 1960.

Know the Rules before removing rocks, fossils or minerals from public or private property.

Rock Tumblers - All about rock tumblers and rock tumbling. Read before you buy a tumbler.

Mars Meteorites Mars rovers have found dozens of meteorites traveling around the red planet.

The Acid Test - Geologists use dilute hydrochloric acid to identify carbonate minerals.

Gold Pans and Panning Kits - classifiers, snuffer bottles. Learn how to pan for Gold.

Mount Vesuvius - geology, history, maps, facts and more about the Vesuvius eruptions.

Ethiopian Opal - The new opal heavyweight that might give Australia a run.

What is the San Andreas Fault? Map, photos and description of the fault.

Debris Flows are moving masses of loose mud, sand, soil, rock and water.

Diamond Misconception - Many people think that diamonds form from coal. Not True!

Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.

Mined in America - Small mines in the United States produce a diversity of beautiful gemstones.

Talc is a soft mineral used in cosmetics, paper, paint, ceramics and many other products.

Tallest Tsunami - A wave with a run-up height of 1720 feet occurred in Lituya Bay, Alaska.

Hand Lens A 10-power folding magnifier in a metal case. A frequently used lab and field tool.

Hematite - The most important ore of iron. A source of mineral pigment since prehistory.

Corundum is the third hardest mineral. It is also the mineral of ruby and sapphire.

World Record Lightning - this lake has more lightning than any other place in the world.

US Diamond Mines - Did you know that diamonds have been mined in the United States?

Pyroxene Minerals are a group of chain silicate minerals found in igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Utica Shale is a major source of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in PA, OH and WV.

Blue Flames and the largest highly acidic lake in the world at Kawah Ijen Volcano.

Waterproof Paper - Don't take chances with your field notes and maps. Use waterproof paper.

Volcanic Explosivity - Rating volcanic eruptions based upon the volume of tephra ejected.

Teacher Resources - K-12 resources for teaching about earth science.

Deepest Point in the Ocean The deepest point in the ocean is in the Mariana Trench.

Charoite is a purple silicate mineral, found only in Russia, used as a gem material.

Morganite is an orange to pink gemstone, a variety of beryl, that is growing rapidly in popularity.

Petrified Wood is a fossil that forms when silica replaces and infills the cavities of wood.

Citrine is the transparent variety of quartz with a yellow to orange to reddish color.

Diabase - the rock selected for Stonehenge and transported 240 miles in 2100 BC.

Types of Maps - Explore some of the most popular types of maps that have been made.

Mineral Rights - Who owns the minerals under your land? Who wants to buy them?

Angel Falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall in the world - it is 3212 feet tall.

Coquina - A porous limestone composed almost entirely of fossil debris.

Gifts That Rock - What are the most popular gift items in the Geology.com store?

Colored Diamonds are diamonds with a noticeable body color. They can sell for over $1M/carat.

Mineraloids are amorphous naturally-occurring inorganic solids that lack crystallinity.

The Many Uses of Gold - Unique properties make gold one of the most useful metals.

Soapstone is a metamorphic rock with properties that make it suitable for a variety of projects.

Novarupta - The most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred in the U.S.A.

Tanzanite was unknown until a few decades ago but it has erupted into wide popularity.

Azurite - Used as an ore of copper, a pigment, ornamental stone and gem material.

Methane Hydrate deposits contain more fuel value than all other fossil fuels combined.

The East Africa Rift System - The extensive fault system that is tearing Africa apart.

Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.

Range of Bear Species - Where you might encounter different types of bears.

Largest Hurricanes Are they determined by wind speed, value of damage, most deaths?

Sand is a diverse material. This gallery includes photos of sand from around the world.

Field Courses - Over 80 field courses for undergraduate geology students.

Names Used for Great Britain, British Isles, United Kingdom, and Ireland. What they mean.

Hydraulic Fracturing increases well yield by fracturing the reservoir rock with fluid injection.

Mount Cleveland is an active volcano in the Aleutian Islands and a threat to air traffic.

Tallest Mountain - Everest has rivals in tallness, altitude and distance to the center of Earth.

Topo Maps - The DeLorme Atlas is an entire state of topo maps in one convenient book.

Expansive Soil causes more damage than floods, hurricanes & tornadoes combined.

Types of Volcanic Eruptions - A description of the most common eruption types.

Solar System Volcanoes - Earth is not the only location of volcanic activity.

How did the Hawaiian Islands Form? The power of a moving plate over a stationary hot spot.

What is a Maar? The second most common volcanic landscape feature on Earth.

How Are Hurricanes Named? There is a plan for naming tropical storms.

Storm Surge can be the most damaging and deadly aspect of a hurricane.

Lightning Strikes Map by NASA shows the worldwide distribution of lightning activity.

California Earthquake Maps - A collection of isoseismal maps for earthquakes in California.