Geology

Though the new method can't produce these large sparklers yet, it may be an important part of future diamond production.

Weird New Type of Carbon Is Harder (and Brighter) Than Diamond

Dubbed Q-carbon, the material is magnetic, emits a soft glow and can be used to grow diamonds faster and cheaper than ever before

The trailhead to Supai Village, part of the vast Grand Canyon area. Supai is the only the human settlement within the Grand Canyon.

Visit the Only Village Inside the Grand Canyon

Supai is so remote, mail is delivered by mule train

The rapidly moving Mount Baldy dune has consumed everything in its sandy wake, including fungus-ridden black oak trees that are thought to be the source of the mysterious tunnels.

New Insights Behind the Sand Dunes That Swallowed a Boy

Scientists have confirmed that fungus-ridden trees are to blame

“If I go look for dinosaurs, I will find them, because there’s tons of them out there,” says Kirk Johnson, the director of the National Museum of Natural History and the star of a new Nova series "Making North America."

Smithsonian’s Kirk Johnson Steps Up to Be the Rock Star of Geology

The new PBS science series “Making North America” features the director of the National Museum of Natural History

Wyoming Has a Crack Problem (And It’s Not What You Think)

A mysterious tear in the ground is the state's new social media star and a testament to the fast fury of Mother Nature

Did Life on Earth Really Start 4.1 Billion Years Ago? Not So Fast

Don’t rewrite the Earth’s history just yet

A person stands in front of a fault in Utah. Better understanding how rocks behave under stress and along faults like this could help geologists more accurately identify places at risk of earthquakes.

Big Quakes Can Trigger Other Shakes Thousands of Miles Away

According to new research, when a big one strikes, more than aftershocks can follow

Earth’s Gravity Is Reshaping the Moon

Leaving cracks on the surface as it slowly contracts

Turkey's 'Fairy Chimneys' Were Millions of Years in the Making

Nature built them, but humans made them their own

"The Nut," an ancient volcanic plug on Tasmania in Australia

Scientists Recently Realized That 1,240 Miles of Volcanoes Were Connected

Now the Cosgrove Volcano Track is the longest on Earth

Lightning strikes near the U.S. Capitol building

Lightning Strikes Can Change Rocks' Atomic Structure

New research suggests that rock crystals melt under the intense force and heat of lightning

People walk past the damaged Durbar High School a few days after the major earthquake that struck Nepal in April.

What Happened When a Disaster Preparedness Expert Was Caught in an Earthquake

In this Generation Anthropocene podcast, geologist Anne Sanquini gives her first-hand account of April's disaster in Nepal

Why Don't Balancing Boulders Fall During Earthquakes?

The interaction of nearby fault lines may lessen ground shaking around some balancing rocks

Debris still litters Durbar Square in Kathmandu, seen in June 2015.

Why the Nepal Earthquake Was Especially Bad for Cultural Sites

The major quake sparked a resonance in the basin that made taller buildings more likely to topple

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

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