Geology and Earth Science News and Information


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Diamonds
Earthquakes
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Plate Tectonics
Rocks
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Teacher Resources
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Volcanoes
World Maps
World Records

Novarupta Volcanic Eruption: June 6, 1912

Most Powerful Eruption of the 20th Century: The relative size of the Novarupta eruption compared to other volcanoes on the basis of cubic miles of magma ejected. Novarupta was rated VEI 6 on the volcanic explosivity index. USGS Image.

Types of Maps
Types of Maps
Types of Maps - Explore some of the most popular types of maps that have been made.
Ant Hill Garnets
Ant Hill Garnets
Ant Hill Garnets - tiny gems that ants haul to the surface and discard on their anthill. Honest!
Lightning Strikes Map
Lightning Strikes Map
Lightning Strikes Map by NASA shows the worldwide distribution of lightning activity.
What Is The Moho?
What Is The Moho?
What Is The Moho? The Mohorovicic Discontinuity is the mantle/crust boundary.
Fee Mining
gem mining near me
Dig for Gems at dozens of sites across the United States. Keep what you find at most locations.
Peridotite
Peridotite
Peridotite is a chromite host rock, a source of diamonds and a possible carbon dioxide sink.
Fool*s Gold
Fool*s Gold
Fool*s Gold is a name used for pyrite when its brassy color fools people looking for gold.
Geology News
news about geology
Geology News including: Earth science, mining, gemology, maps, metals, archaeology, and more.
Misconception
Diamonds from Coal
Diamond Misconception - Many people think that diamonds form from coal. Not True!
Rock and Mineral Kits
Rock Kits
Rock & Mineral Kits The best way to learn about rocks and minerals is with specimens!
Labradorite
Labradorite
Labradorite is a feldspar mineral that sometimes exhibits an iridescent play-of-color.
Hematite
Hematite on Mars
Hematite - The most important ore of iron. A source of mineral pigment since prehistory.
Great Lakes
Great Lakes Map
Great Lakes : Map of the Great Lakes with surrounding states and provinces.
Birthstones
Birthstones
Birthstones are gems assigned to the month of a person*s birth. They are popular gifts in the U.S.
Cinnabar
Cinnabar
Cinnabar - the only important ore of mercury. Used in pigments until its toxicity was realized.
Minerals
Minerals
Minerals - Descriptions, photos, articles, properties and uses for common minerals.
Mineral Rights
Mineral Rights
Mineral Rights - Who owns the minerals under your land? Who wants to buy them?
Rocks
Rocks
Rocks - Galleries of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rock photos with descriptions.
Watch out for Ticks!
Ticks
Ticks are a problem for geologists in some areas. Learn to recognize and avoid them.
What is a Geyser?
What is a Geyser?
What is a Geyser? Photos and information about geysers in many parts of the world.
Strawberry Quartz
Strawberry Quartz
Strawberry Quartz is a red to pink quartz with inclusions that look like strawberry seeds.
Obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian - the volcanic rock that cools so quickly that it becomes a natural glass.
Troglobites
Troglobites
Troglobites are creatures that have adapted to a permanent life in the darkness of a cave.
Opals
Opal
Pictures of Opal - A collection of different types of opal from all around the world and Mars too!
Ethiopian Opal
Ethiopian opal
Ethiopian Opal - The new opal heavyweight that might give Australia a run.
Shale
Shale
Shale - The rock that has quickly transformed the oil and gas industry.
Granite
Granite
Granite - The intrusive igneous rock that underlies continents and countertops.
Uses of Gold
Uses of Gold
The Many Uses of Gold - Unique properties make gold one of the most useful metals.
Rock Art
Rock Art
Rock Art - People have been marking on rocks for thousands of years.
Gem Silica
Gem Silica
Gem Silica is a blue chalcedony colored by copper. It is the rarest and most valuable chalcedony.
What Is Earth Science?
What Is Earth Science?
What Is Earth Science? The study of Earth and its neighbors in space. Learn more!
Google Earth - Free
Download Google Earth Free
Free Google Earth software allows you to browse seamless world satellite images. Free.
Where Is Belarus?
Belarus - Ukraine border
Belarus forms a 400-mile long border with northern Ukraine, about 50 miles north of Kyiv.
Diamonds
Diamonds
Diamonds - Learn about the properties of diamond, its many uses, and diamond discoveries.
What is LNG?
What is LNG?
What is LNG? Liquefied Natural Gas. The gas is condensed into a liquid for efficient transport.
Tourmaline
Tourmaline
Tourmaline - an extremely colorful mineral and gem material.
Petrified Wood
Petrified Wood
Petrified Wood is a fossil that forms when silica replaces and infills the cavities of wood.
Geodes
Geodes
Geodes look like ordinary rocks on the outside but can be spectacular inside!
The British Isles
British Isles
Names Used for Great Britain, British Isles, United Kingdom, and Ireland. What they mean.
Tallest Mountain
Tallest Mountain
Tallest Mountain - Everest has rivals in tallness, altitude and distance to the center of Earth.
What is a Maar?
What is a Maar?
What is a Maar? The second most common volcanic landscape feature on Earth.
Hawaiian Hot Spot
Hawaiian Hot Spot
How did the Hawaiian Islands Form? The power of a moving plate over a stationary hot spot.
100+ Gemstones
colored stones
100+ Gems - Photos of over 100 beautiful gems ranging from the popular to the obscure.
Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The East Africa Rift System - The extensive fault system that is tearing Africa apart.
Where Is Ukraine?
Ukraine
Ukraine is an independent state in eastern Europe that shares a border with Russia to its east.
Turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise - A bluish-green gem material that has been used for over 6000 years.
Wall Maps
Wall Maps
Wall Maps - Wall maps of the world, continents, states and the USA.
Canadian Diamonds
Canadian Diamonds
Canadian Diamond Mines produce some of the largest and highest quality diamonds!
Underwater Volcano
Lo'ihi Seamount
Hawaii*s Next Island could be growing in the Pacific Ocean right now. Its name is Lo*ihi.
Coal Close Up
Coal Through a Microscope
Coal Through a Microscope - Coal is more than a black rock. It is THE most interesting rock.
Largest Earthquake
Largest Earthquake
Largest Earthquake ever recorded - Magnitude 9.5. Chile, 1960.
Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal Drilling
Horizontal Drilling has opened new resources and significantly improved productivity.
Herkimer Diamonds
Herkimer Diamonds
Herkimer Diamonds Doubly-terminated quartz crystals used as specimens and gems.
Grape Agate
Grape Agate
Grape Agate is a popular mineral specimen with the color and the shape of a bunch of grapes.
Fossils
fossil
Fossils are remains, traces or imprints of ancient life. They reveal Earth's biological history.
Teacher Resources
Teacher Resources
Teacher Resources - K-12 resources for teaching about earth science.
DeLorme Atlas
DeLorme Atlas
Topo Maps - The DeLorme Atlas is an entire state of topo maps in one convenient book.
Fluorescent Minerals
Fluorescent Minerals
Fluorescent Minerals and rocks glow with spectacular colors under ultraviolet light.
What is Geology?
What is Geology?
What is Geology? The study of Earth materials, structures, processes and life over time.
Largest Diamonds
world's largest diamonds
World*s Largest Diamonds Records for the largest rough, faceted and carbonado diamond.
Emerald
Emerald
Emerald is the most popular green gemstone in the United States and most of the world.
UV Mineral Lamp
UV Mineral Lamp
Portable UV Lamp - Short and long wave UV for fluorescent mineral viewing.
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics - Articles and maps about plate tectonics and the interior of Earth.
Rock Tumblers
Rock Tumblers
Rock Tumblers - All about rock tumblers and rock tumbling. Read before you buy a tumbler.
Hardness Picks
hardness picks
Hardness Picks - Test for hardness with precise and easy-to-use hardness picks.
Bear Map
Bear Map
Range of Bear Species - Where you might encounter different types of bears.
San Andreas Fault
What is the San Andreas Fault?
What is the San Andreas Fault? Map, photos and description of the fault.
Chalk
chalk
Chalk is a variety of limestone formed from fine-grained marine sediment known as ooze.
Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli - a metamorphic rock and the most popular blue opaque gemstone in history.
Olivine
Olivine
Olivine - Abundant in Earth*s mantle. A constituent of meteorites. The gem peridot.
Darvaza Gas Crater
Darvaza Gas Crater
The Doorway to Hell is a flaming sinkhole seeping natural gas that has been burning for decades.
Ruby and Sapphire
ruby and sapphire
Ruby and Sapphire are the 2nd and 3rd most popular colored stones in the United States.
Rock Salt
Rock Salt
Rock Salt is a sedimentary rock composed of the mineral halite. It has many uses!
Cinder Cones
Cinder Cones
Cinder Cones are the smallest, simplest, and most common type of volcano.
Largest Volcanoes
Largest Volcanoes
Largest Volcano - That title is shared by Tamu Massif, Mauna Kea and Ojos del Salado.
Cave of the Hands
Cave of the Hands
Cave of the Hands is a cave where ancient people painted hands about 9000 years ago.
Gems from Space
Gems from Space
Extraterrestrial Gems - A number of materials from space are used as attractive gems.
Geology Books
Geology Books
Geology Books - A variety of books for reference, field trips, reading and more.
Types Of Eruptions
Types Of Eruptions
Types of Volcanic Eruptions - A description of the most common eruption types.
Quartzite
quartzite
Quartzite is metamorphic rock formed when sandstone is subjected to heat and pressure.
Fire Opal
Fire Opal
Fire Opal is a transparent to translucent opal with a yellow, orange or red background color.
Crater of Diamonds
Crater of Diamonds
Crater of Diamonds - The only diamond mine in the world where you can be the miner.
Tanzanite
tanzanite
Tanzanite was unknown until a few decades ago but it has erupted into wide popularity.
Don*t Go To Jail
Don't Go To Jail
Know the Rules before removing rocks, fossils or minerals from public or private property.
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite
Chalcopyrite - The most important ore of copper for over five thousand years.
Gifts That Rock
Gifts That Rock
Gifts That Rock - What are the most popular gift items in the Geology.com store?
Mineral Hardness
Mohs Hardness Test
Mohs Hardness Scale is a set of reference minerals used for classroom hardness testing.
Bear Attacks
Bear Attacks
Bear Attacks - Knowing how to react to a bear encounter or attack could save your life.
Gemstones
Gemstones
Gemstones - Colorful images and articles about diamonds and colored stones.
Meteorites
Meteorites
Meteorites - Rocks that were once parts of planets or large asteroids.
Copper
Copper
Copper is a metal used in coins, electronics, pipes, wiring, motors, alloys and many other products.
Coquina
Coquina
Coquina - A porous limestone composed almost entirely of fossil debris.
Rare Earth Elements
Rare Earth Elements
Rare Earths - Special materials used in electronics, defense, medical & many other products.
Blue Flames
Blue Flames
Blue Flames and the largest highly acidic lake in the world at Kawah Ijen Volcano.
Geology Tools
Geology Tools
Geology Tools - Rock hammers, field bags, hand lenses, maps, hardness picks, gold pans.
Green River Fossils
Green River Fossils
The Green River Formation is one of the most famous rock units in the world for its fossils.
Gold Pans
Gold Pans
Gold Pans and Panning Kits - classifiers, snuffer bottles. Learn how to pan for Gold.
Andalusite
Andalusite
Andalusite is a metamorphic mineral and a strongly pleochroic gem material.
The Brewery Rock ?
diatomite
The Rock Used to Make Beer - Geologists are beer experts and should know about this rock.
Rhyolite
Rhyolite
Rhyolite An extrusive igneous rock with a high silica content, produced from granitic magma.
Hurricane Names
Hurricane Names
How Are Hurricanes Named? There is a plan for naming tropical storms.
Mineraloids
Mineraloids
Mineraloids are amorphous naturally-occurring inorganic solids that lack crystallinity.
Sliding Rocks
Sliding Rocks
Sliding Rocks Mystery - What causes these rocks to slide across a playa in Death Valley?
Waterproof Paper
Waterproof Paper
Waterproof Paper - Don't take chances with your field notes and maps. Use waterproof paper.
Ilmenite
Ilmenite
Ilmenite - The primary ore of titanium and source of most titanium dioxide.
Record Lightning
Lake Maracaibo Lightning
World Record Lightning - this lake has more lightning than any other place in the world.
Volcanoes
Volcanoes
Volcanoes - Articles about volcanoes, volcanic hazards and eruptions past and present.
Expansive Soil
Expansive Soil
Expansive Soil causes more damage than floods, hurricanes & tornadoes combined.
Hand Lens
Hand Lens
Hand Lens A 10-power folding magnifier in a metal case. A frequently used lab and field tool.
Earthquake Maps
California Earthquake Maps
California Earthquake Maps - A collection of isoseismal maps for earthquakes in California.
Spinel
Spinel
13 Gemmy Facts About Spinel - Is spinel the world*s most overlooked gem?
Volcanic Explosivity
Volcanic Explosivity
Volcanic Explosivity - Rating volcanic eruptions based upon the volume of tephra ejected.
Map of the Oceans
Map of the Oceans
Map of the Oceans - showing the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans.
Spatter Cones
Spatter Cones
Spatter Cones are small, steep, volcanic cones built of welded basaltic lava.
Uses of Marble
Uses of Marble
The Uses of Marble are numerous and diverse. You will be surprised by how it is used.
Charoite
Charoite
Charoite is a purple silicate mineral, found only in Russia, used as a gem material.
E.T. Volcanoes
Solar System Volcanoes
Solar System Volcanoes - Earth is not the only location of volcanic activity.
Largest Hurricanes
Largest Hurricanes
Largest Hurricanes Are they determined by wind speed, value of damage, most deaths?
Debris Flows
Debris Flows
Debris Flows are moving masses of loose mud, sand, soil, rock and water.
Pele's Hair
Pele's Hair
Pele's Hair and Pele's Tears are two unusual types of lava found at Kilauea and Mauna Loa.
Sand Photo Collection
Sand
Sand from Around the World . A photo gallery showing the diversity of the material we call "sand".
Mineral Luster
luster
What Is Luster? Luster is the light-reflecting characteristics of a mineral specimen.
Tallest Tsunami
Tallest Tsunami
Tallest Tsunami - A wave with a run-up height of 1720 feet occurred in Lituya Bay, Alaska.
Soapstone
Soapstone
Soapstone is a metamorphic rock with properties that make it suitable for a variety of projects.
Helium
Helium
Helium is a byproduct of the natural gas industry. Its most important use is in MRI.
Crystal Habit
Crystal Habit
Crystal Habit is the external shape displayed by a crystal or an aggregate of crystals.
Lab-Grown Diamonds
Lab-Grown Diamonds
Lab-Grown Diamonds? What are they? Can people really make diamonds? Are they real?
Canary Islands
Canary Islands
Where Are the Canary Islands? Off the northwest coast of Africa, 60 miles west of Morocco.
June 6th 1912
Novarupta
Novarupta - The most powerful volcanic eruption of the 20th century occurred in the U.S.A.
Field Courses
Field Camps
Field Courses - Over 80 field courses for undergraduate geology students.
Fireworks & Minerals
Minerals and Fireworks
The Science of Fireworks Learn how the colors and shapes are created.
Uses of Talc
uses of talc
Talc is a soft mineral used in cosmetics, paper, paint, ceramics and many other products.
The Acid Test
The Acid Test
The Acid Test - Geologists use dilute hydrochloric acid to identify carbonate minerals.
Zircon
Zircon
Zircon is the primary ore of zirconium and a gemstone that is available in many colors.
Crushed Stone
Crushed Stone
The Unsung Mineral Hero - and the commodity upon which almost everything is built.
Corundum
Corundum
Corundum is the third hardest mineral. It is also the mineral of ruby and sapphire.
American Gemstones
U.S. Gemstones
Mined in America - Small mines in the United States produce a diversity of beautiful gemstones.
Colored Diamonds
Colored Diamonds
Colored Diamonds are diamonds with a noticeable body color. They can sell for over $1M/carat.
Citrine
Citrine
Citrine is the transparent variety of quartz with a yellow to orange to reddish color.
Rocks on Mars
Rocks on Mars
Rocks on Mars Many of the rocks found on Mars are not very different from Earth rocks.
Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite - a manganese mineral used as an ore, a pink gem and an ornamental stone.
Mars Meteorites
Mars Meteorites
Mars Meteorites Mars rovers have found dozens of meteorites while exploring the red planet.
US Diamond Mines
US Diamond Mines
US Diamond Mines - Did you know that diamonds have been mined in the United States?
Morganite
Morganite
Morganite is an orange to pink gemstone, a variety of beryl, that is growing rapidly in popularity.
Greatest Ocean Depth
Deepest Point in the Ocean
Deepest Point in the Ocean The deepest point in the ocean is in the Mariana Trench.
Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners Insurance
Homeowners Insurance might not cover earthquake, hurricane and other geohazard damage.
Azurite
Azurite
Azurite - Used as an ore of copper, a pigment, ornamental stone and gem material.
Utica Shale
Utica Shale
Utica Shale is a major source of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids in PA, OH and WV.
Tallest Waterfall
Tallest Waterfall
Angel Falls in Venezuela is the tallest waterfall in the world - it is 3212 feet tall.
Storm Surge
Storm Surge
Storm Surge can be the most damaging and deadly aspect of a hurricane.
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius
Mount Vesuvius - geology, history, maps, facts and more about the Vesuvius eruptions.
Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna - The most active volcano in Europe continues an eruption that started in 2001.
Life on Europa?
Life on Europa
Life on Europa (a moon of Jupiter) could exist in a salty ocean below its frozen surface.