Geology and Earth Science News and Information

Homeowners Insurance might not cover the types of damage that you think it should.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sunstone - A gem feldspar with aventurescence caused by light reflecting from platy inclusions.

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

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

June 6, 1912 - The most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred in Alaska.

Rock-Forming Minerals - most of Earth*s crust is made-up of a small number of minerals.

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

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

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

What is LNG? The use of LNG as an energy source is growing rapidly. Learn more about LNG.

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

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

Salt Domes - Salt structures that are often associated with oil and natural gas accumulations.

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

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

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

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

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

Diamond Production leaders include: Botswana, Russia, Angola and Canada.

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

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

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

Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.

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

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

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

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

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

Eagle Ford Shale - One of the most prolific oil and gas producers in the United States.

Geology Dictionary - contains thousands of geological terms with their definitions.

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

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

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

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

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

Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ammolite is a fossil and a gemstone. It is shell material from fossil ammonites.

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

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

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

Helium is a byproduct of the natural gas industry. Its most important use is in MRI.

Azurite Granite ? A white granite with blue orbs of azurite. A new material from Pakistan.

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

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

Sonora Sunrise is a gem material of Mexico composed of red cuprite and blue-green chrysocolla.

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

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

Abandoned Mine Accidents kill several people every year. Education can prevent deaths.

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

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

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

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

Kyanite is a metamorphic mineral used to make porcelain, abrasive products and gems.

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

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

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

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

Facts About Copper - Information about copper uses, production, resources and more.

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

Variscite is a yellowish green to bluish green mineral. It is similar to turquoise and cut as a gem.

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

552 Carats - Dominion finds the largest diamond in North American history at Diavik.

Moldavite is a gem material born about 15 million years ago when a pair of asteroids struck Europe.

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

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

Garnet is best known as a red gemstone. It occurs in any color and has many industrial uses.

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

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

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

Landslides A USGS fact sheet about landslides and events that trigger them.

Green Diamonds - one of rarest and most valuable diamond colors.

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

Molybdenite is the primary ore of molybdenum which is used in superalloys and as a lubricant.

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

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

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

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

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

Arctic Ocean Seafloor Map - The ridges, basins, shelves and rifts defining the Arctic seafloor.

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

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

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

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

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

Rhodonite - a manganese silicate used as a minor ore of manganese and as a gemstone.

Utica Shale is confirmed as a major source of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oil Fields from Space - Night views of Earth show the distribution of oil field activity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Frac Sand - A specialty sand used to maintain porosity in hydraulic fracturing.

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