Geology and Earth Science News and Information

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Phytoplankton Blooms - Satellite images of explosive marine plankton blooms.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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