Geology

A man fills up buckets with dirt while hunting for diamonds at Crater Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

Finders, Keepers: Five of the Best Places to Go Gem Hunting in the U.S.

From diamonds to emeralds, the United States is full of buried bling

The fragile crystals are created when alcohol dries.

These Stunning Images Capture the Unseen Beauty of Booze

Drink to the magic of polarized light microscopy

A beach in Juneau, Alaska. Sea levels in Alaska are not rising, but dropping precipitously due to a phenomenon known as glacial isostatic adjustment.

Melting Glaciers Are Wreaking Havoc on Earth's Crust

Sea levels are dropping, earthquakes and volcanoes are waking up, and even the earth's axis is moving—all because of melting ice

This fossil is really, really old.

Scientists Think They Could Have Found Earth’s Oldest Fossil

Was a young Earth old enough to support life 3.7 billion years ago?

Many boundaries between geologic eras are marked by physical golden spikes. This one, in South Australia, marks the end of the Ediacaran period, 635 million years ago.

Where in the World Is the Anthropocene?

Some geologists believe we’ve entered a new era. Now they have to search for the rocks that prove it

LiDAR imaging of the bioherms beyond the Great Barrier Reef, which is marked in red.

The Great Barrier Reef Has Been Hiding Another Massive Reef

The iconic coral reef sits above an even deeper one

Rescuers search for survivors following the earthquake that struck central Italy early this morning.

The Geology Behind Italy’s Catastrophic Quake

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook the Apennine Mountains—and given the region’s geology, that’s no surprise

Murray Buttes may look like an earthbound mesa, but there's a difference: It's on Mars.

Here's a Panoramic Glimpse of the Curiosity Rover's Next Destination

Welcome to Murray Buttes. You are now free to rove about the landscape

This 340-Million-Year-Old Ocean Crust Could Date Back to Pangaea

Researchers believe they've found the world's oldest ocean crust

White Sands National Monument in New Mexico is known for its snow-white dunes.

Six Places to Spot the World's Most Breathtaking Sand Dunes

From snow-white sand to dunes taller than the Empire State Building, the Sahara has nothing on these majestic deserts

The Great Blue Hole, a 354-foot deep cavern and popular dive site in Belize's Lighthouse Reef

Explore Some of the World's Deepest Blue Holes

The Dragon Hole in the South China Sea is now the "world's deepest" underwater sinkhole. Learn why these geologic wonders form in oceans around the globe

"UnderLA" brings projections of the Earth's lithology to a concrete-bound stretch of the Los Angeles River.

A New Installation Turns the L.A. River Into Art

The river’s surreal landscape is the perfect place to make a statement about water use

San Andreas fault near Parkfield, California

Tides Trigger Tiny Earthquakes Along the San Andreas Fault

The spring tides trigger small tremors deep in the fault, revealing the fault's structure

A map of gravity variations on the Earth's seafloor, which mostly correspond to underwater ridges and the edges of Earth's tectonic plates.

Study Says Earth's Plate Tectonics May Be Just a Phase

New models suggest that earth's plates could grind to a halt in about five billion years.

A scientist looks at mirror segments for the NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The mirrors underwent cryogenic testing—made possible by scarce helium gas—to see how they would respond to extreme temperatures. Now, scientists have found a huge cache of helium gas that could make the element more accessible to scientists.

Scientists Found a Huge Reservoir of Much-Needed Helium

Helium is used in everything from particle accelerators to MRI machines, and a dearth of the gas has long plagued researchers

Sacel Castle was the primary home of the Nopcsa family, which traced its roots in the area to the 14th century.

History Forgot This Rogue Aristocrat Who Discovered Dinosaurs and Died Penniless

Now fallen into shadow, the Romania-born Baron Franz Nopcsa was a groundbreaking scientist, adventurer -- and would-be king

Watch Scientists Make Their Own Lava

Basaltic rock and a lot of heat equals a homegrown brew that’s as beautiful as it is dangerous

The Sierra Nevadas were created by the fault that defines an entire state.

Land Around the Infamous San Andreas Fault Is on the Move

Scientists mapped how California rises and falls around its most famous fault

Prospecting for fossils in the Morrison Formation near Shell, Wyoming

Hunting Lost Worlds in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin

A geology tour with Kirk Johnson, Director of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, and Will Clyde, a geology professor at University of New Hampshire

Portland, Oregon could be in the crosshairs of one of America's worst disasters if (or when) a 9.0 earthquake hits the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Here’s How the Pacific NW Is Preparing for “The Big One”

It’s the mother of all disaster drills for what could be the worst disaster in American history

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