Geology

Computer simulated global view of Venus' northern hemisphere. 

Did Venus Have Oceans? This Surprising New Study Suggests Not, a Theory That Could Upend the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

The astronomers behind the research looked to the output from the nearby planet's toxic volcanoes for clues

A man spotted the scar while looking at Google Earth satellite imagery earlier this year.

A Man Noticed a Strange Shape on the Ground on Google Earth. It Turned Out to Be the Mark of an Undetected Tornado

Geoscientists in Australia suggest a strong tornado swept across the Nullarbor Plain in November 2022 and made the 6.8-mile-long scar on the landscape—without anyone noticing

The near side of the moon has been studied more extensively than the far side.

The Far Side of the Moon Was Volcanically Active, New Studies Confirm

Scientists analyzed the first and only rock samples from the region, which were brought back to Earth as part of a recent Chinese mission

Seismologist Won-Young Kim examines signals from a network of seismometers monitoring for earthquakes in New York, New Jersey and New England.

Geologists Finally Explain New Jersey's Strange Earthquake That Rocked the Northeast in April

A new study suggests the seismic energy traveled outward from a previously unmapped fault, emanating from the hypocenter in bouncing waves that shook distant areas

Allosaurus

This Captivating Guide Uncovers the History and Mystery of Dinosaurs in 50 Fossils

A paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London chronicles the age of the famous and fascinating massive reptiles

A rock layer showing the S2 impact tsunami bed with chunks of ripped-up seafloor

A Giant Meteorite Ripped Up the Seafloor and Boiled Earth's Oceans 3.26 Billion Years Ago. Then, Life Blossomed in Its Wake

Geologists suggest the catastrophic impact of "S2" delivered key nutrients to the oceans, prompting microorganisms to thrive

A color-enhanced photo of Pluto that was captured by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015

The Seven Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made About Pluto

Though technically not a planet, it has as rich geology as any of its planetary siblings in the solar system

Researchers found roughly 40 depressions on the lake bed of Lake Michigan within the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

Mysterious Craters Discovered on the Bottom of Lake Michigan Could Hold Lessons About Early Life on Earth

Scientists aren't sure how the circular indentations some 450 feet below the surface formed, but they hope to investigate further

Agafia Lykova was born while her family was living alone in the wilderness. She is the only surviving member of the family.

This Russian Family Lived Alone in the Siberian Wilderness for 40 Years, Unaware of World War II or the Moon Landing

In 1978, Soviet geologists stumbled upon a family of five in the taiga. They had been cut off from almost all human contact since fleeing religious persecution in 1936

Mount Everest seen at sunset, as the peak’s height continues to grow at a rate of about two millimeters per year.

Geologists Reveal a Surprising Reason Why Mount Everest Grows Taller Each Year

Earth's highest peak has gained as much as an extra 165 feet in elevation as the planet's crust adjusts due to erosion from a river, according to a new study

Massive columns and karst formations decorate the vast chamber of Cenote Xulo.

Divers in Mexico's Underwater Caves Get a Glimpse of Rarely Seen Artifacts, Fossils and Human Remains

Cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula are time capsules preserving remnants of Maya culture and fossils of extinct megafauna

This fossil palm leaf (Sabalites sp.) found in Alaska can be seen in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Sixty million years ago, dense, wet forests covered North America, and many plants, including palms, grew in places such as Alaska where temperatures are too frigid for them today. A new study published in Science gives scientists a picture of when the Earth was warm and when it was cool over the past 485 million years.

In a Landmark Study, Scientists Discover Just How Much Earth's Temperature Has Changed Over Nearly 500 Million Years

Researchers show the average surface temperature on our planet has shifted between 51.8 to 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit

An illustration of Earth with a ring.

Did Earth Once Have a Ring Like Saturn? Geologists Find Evidence for a Halo of Orbiting Space Rocks 466 Million Years Ago

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

A vertebra fossil of an extinct dolphin species found at the site.

Construction Project Unearths Millions of Fossils Beneath a Los Angeles High School

The discoveries include sharks, shorebirds, mammals and saber-toothed salmon, with the oldest remains dating to almost nine million years ago

A mountain in the Dickson Fjord after 33 million cubic yards of its rock and ice collapsed in a landslide.

A Mysterious Seismic Signal Lasted Nine Days Last Year. It Was a Mega-Tsunami Caused by Climate Change, Researchers Say

A melting glacier caused a mountain in Greenland to collapse into a narrow fjord, setting off an oscillating wave that rattled seismic detectors around the world

When earthquakes squeeze quartz crystals, the mineral generates electricity that attracts gold particles.

How Large Gold Nuggets Form in Quartz Crystals During Earthquakes

Quartz, which can generate electricity, attracts large chunks of gold when stressed and squeezed by seismic shaking, according to a new study

Intense flooding continued on August 7, after the sudden draining of a glacial lake near the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska.

When a Glacial Dam Burst, an Alaskan Town Was Hit With a Sudden Flood

From Alaska to Peru and the Himalayas, glacial lakes are suddenly breaking free and causing deaths and millions of dollars in damages

Biocrust in Utah

Inside the Effort to Save Earth's Biocrusts

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem that you can help protect

A track of dinosaur footprints preserved in floodplain deposits in Brazil. The tracks date to around 120 million years ago.

'Matching' Dinosaur Footprints Discovered in Africa and South America

The fossils show how dinosaurs may have crossed between landmasses around 120 million years ago, when the continents were still connected

An artist's rendition of a magma ocean on a volcanic planet. Scientists have theorized that our moon was covered in a magma ocean for millions of years after it formed.

Our Moon Was Likely Covered in a Magma Ocean Long Ago, and New Data From India's Lunar Rover Supports That Theory

Soil composition measurements from the Chandrayaan-3 mission reveal white rock called ferroan anorthosite, which would have floated to the surface in an ocean of magma

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