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Geology

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.

Age of Humans

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.

Cool Finds

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.

Journey to the Center of Earth

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.

Cool Finds

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

Journey to the Center of Earth

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

Journey to the Center of Earth

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.

Cool Finds

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

Journey to the Center of Earth

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.

Journey to the Center of Earth

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.

New Research

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

Journey to the Center of Earth

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.

New Research

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

Family Travel

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.

Trending Today

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

The longer a structure has been exposed to the water, the more weathered it appeared.

New Research

This “Lost Underwater City” Was Actually Made by Microbes

Though these formations may not be evidence of a lost city, they show off some intriguing chemistry

Yellowstone's Grand Prismatic Spring is the largest hot spring in the park. But what gives it its vivid rainbow colors?

The Science Behind Yellowstone’s Rainbow Hot Spring

The Grand Prismatic Spring might seem photoshopped, but there’s very real science beneath its vibrant colors

A 2.7-billion-year-old micrometeorite extracted from limestone found in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Journey to the Center of Earth

Ancient Spacedust Reveals Surprising Twist in Evolution of Earth’s Early Atmosphere

Mini fossil meteorites are providing new insights about how our ancient atmosphere evolved into its current state

Journey to the Center of Earth

What Caused the 2011 D.C. Earthquake?

A thinning mantle led to the 5.8 magnitude shake in the Southeast, and more may be in store

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