Geology

Half of Devil's Kettle Falls plunges underground — then simply disappears

The Mystery of Minnesota's Disappearing River

Half a river is missing in the Judge C.R. Magney State Park

Pluto may be home to a hazy atmosphere, nitrogen glaciers and possibly even an underground ocean.

There's Flowing Ice on Pluto

And maybe an underground ocean

How Did Nobody Notice Five Million Pounds of Rock Fall Off Half Dome?

The park is always changing, but this time nobody realized it

The Allosaurus was a true terror of the Jurassic world.

What Killed the Dinosaurs in Utah's Giant Jurassic Death Pit?

Paleontologists are gathering evidence that may help crack the 148-million-year-old mystery, including signs of poisoned predators

Lake Jökulsárlón shimmers with the reflection of a magnificent iceberg. This lake, located at the edge of Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest ice cap, formed slowly when part of the glacier began to recede in the 1920s. The glacier continues to calve (split), releasing more icebergs into the expanding lake.

A New Photo Exhibition Depicts Just How Dramatic Mother Earth Can Be

Iceland, the land of fire and ice, brings vivid focus to the raw power of a geophysically active Earth

The hydrophobic bacteria that coat the ceilings of some dark lava caves produce a gorgeous golden sparkle.

How Bacteria Make This Underground, Awe-Inspiring Cave Shine Gold

These underground tubes at Lava Beds National Monument include sparkling gold ceilings that even NASA wants to study

An active basalt lava flow in the wild (from a volcano, not from the lab)

To Better Understand Lava, an Artist and Scientist Make Their Own

A lab at Syracuse University creates melts basaltic rock in a modified furnace

How Many Craters Are There On Earth?

Not as many as you might think

Colorized radar images from the Cassini spacecraft show some of the many lakes on Titan

Lakes on Saturn’s Moon are Really Sinkholes Filled With Liquid Methane and Ethane

Strange and changeable lakes might form just as certain water-filled lakes do on Earth

Dinosaurs likely weren't around to witness this lovely view from the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Dinosaurs (Probably) Never Saw the Grand Canyon

The canyon likely didn't exist in time to be a hang out for giant lizards

A satellite photo of the 2011-12 eruption that created Sholan island in the Red Sea.

Watch a Volcanic Island Form in the Red Sea

Magma troughs and earthquake swarms gave rise to two new islands near Yemen

Mountains don't all look like this.

Most Mountains Don't Come With Pointy Peaks

Some mountains actually get wider as you go up

At 3.3 million years old, tools unearthed at the Lomekwi 3 excavation site in Kenya, like the one pictured above, represent the oldest known evidence of stone tools, researchers suggest.

The Oldest Stone Tools Yet Discovered Are Unearthed in Kenya

3.3 million-year-old artifacts predate the human genus

Asteroid Impacts Once Made the Earth's Oceans Boil for A Whole Year

Life had it rough back then

The Cosmic Navel is larger than it appears in this image—it spans about 200 feet wide and is between 16 and 65 feet deep.

How the Giant "Cosmic Navel" Formed in Utah

The unique landform in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is essentially one of the biggest potholes on Earth

Watch A Dangerous Yet Lovely Volcano Erupt in Chile

Calbuco volcano springs to life after more than 40 years of dormancy

Scientists use underwater vehicles like these to study eruptions beneath the surface.

This is What An Underwater Volcano Sounds Like

Decoding the noises of magma and bubbles will help scientists study explosions from afar

This dizzying crowd of Douglas fir trees gives off a refreshing scent.

How to Travel by Scent

We tend to privilege our sense of sight, but why not be led by your nose?

The as-yet-unnamed new volcanic island in Tonga, explored by GP Orbassano.

What's It Like to Take the First Photos of a New Volcanic Island?

Meet the man who climbed to the top and took these stunning shots

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Ask Smithsonian: What's the Deepest Hole Ever Dug?

The answer to the question, says a Smithsonian researcher, is more about why we dig, than how low you can go

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