Geology

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

Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds up the newly discovered diamond, which weighs more than a pound.

Largest Diamond Since 1905 Unearthed by Miners in Botswana

Volcanic eruptions long ago brought the 2,492-carat diamond—the latest in a string of stunning discoveries over the last decade—to the surface

When an asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, it wiped out some 80 percent of the planet's animals, including all of the non-avian dinosuars.

Asteroid That Ended the Dinosaurs Came From Beyond Jupiter, Study Finds

Metal isotopes delivered to Earth by the asteroid reveal it's consistent with space rocks formed in the outer solar system

The Altar Stone lies at the center of the prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England.

Stonehenge's Massive Central Stone May Have Been Shipped From Hundreds of Miles Away

Researchers think they've solved the mystery of the monument's Altar Stone, which could have traveled all the way from Scotland

Maletsunyane Falls in the Lesotho Highlands shows how a river can erode deep valleys into uplifted lands.

Slow-Motion Ripples in Earth's Mantle Built Mysterious and Stunning Highland Landscapes, Study Finds

Following the break-up of an ancient supercontinent, waves propagated through the hot, rocky layer beneath the planet's brittle crust and reshaped its surface over millions of years

A mantle rock sample viewed under a microscope.

Scientists Drill Deeper Into Earth's Mantle Than Ever Before, Probing for the Origin of Life on Earth

The record-setting rock samples will provide insight into the chemical processes that may have kick-started life on our planet

The center of this photo, taken on August 9, shows where the Double Arch formation used to be, before it collapsed on August 8.

Iconic 'Double Arch' Rock Formation Collapses in Utah

Changing water levels and erosion from waves may have contributed to the collapse in the popular Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, as photographed by Neil Armstrong on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Researchers looked at lunar soil samples collected during the Apollo missions for the new study.

Meteorite Strikes Are the Primary Creator of the Moon's Thin Atmosphere, Study Finds

Researchers examined lunar soil samples collected during the Apollo missions to determine which weathering processes contribute most to replenishing the moon's atmosphere

Lava erupts from the Sundhnúkur volcano on June 3, 2024, on the Reykjanes Peninsula near Grindavik, Iceland. The volcano has erupted five times since December 2023, forcing evacuations of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa.

Hidden Underground Magma Pools Fueled Iceland's Volcanic Eruptions, Study Suggests

A subterranean plumbing system of magma beneath the island’s Reykjanes Peninsula may have helped set off the recent series of eruptions that could last for centuries

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