Geology and Earth Science News and Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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