Geology and Earth Science News and Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Geology News - News about geology, earth science, energy, and more. Updated daily.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Science of Fireworks Learn how the colors and shapes are created.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phytoplankton Blooms - Satellite images of explosive marine plankton blooms.