Special Report

Journey to the Center of Earth

The slip of tectonic plates and the fiery eruptions of volcanoes are just the surface manifestations of the beating heart of our planet. Earth is composed of layers, each one playing a different role in protecting all life from solar storms, recycling the planet's crust and even changing our climate. The ground beneath our feet is a dynamic place that affects us every day.

We may marvel at mountains that tower above our heads or hold our breath when confronted with dizzying views of canyons, but none of that would be possible without the inner Earth. Join us as we peel back the layers of our planet, exploring what scientists know about our world and what mysteries remain.

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“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

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

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

This multicolored lily pad is actually a bloom of the iron-based mineral hematite in Brazilian quartz.

Surreal Photos Reveal the Otherworldly Insides of Gemstones

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

Earth's Surface

An illustration of the ERS-2 satellite.

A 5,000-Pound Satellite Is Falling Back to Earth This Week—and Will Likely Land in the Ocean

Christian Thorsberg

Alessandro Rotta Loria and a student in his lab walk through a train tunnel beneath the Chicago Loop.

Chicago May Be Slowly Sinking Because of 'Underground Climate Change'

Margaret Osborne

An illustration of the Snowball Earth with some open water around the equator and a newly proposed patch of ocean at mid-latitudes

How Life Could Have Survived the Frozen ‘Snowball Earth’

A present-day orange demosponge (Agelas oroides) can be found off the coast of Corfu, Greece. Research suggests sponges may have lived on Earth 890 million years ago.

This Sponge Fossil May Be the Earliest Record of Animal Life

Earth's Crust

The earthquake on March 27, 1964, dropped Anchorage’s Fourth Avenue and some cars on it roughly 20 feet below normal.

How the Great Alaska Earthquake Shook Up Science

Christian Elliott

Melting ice redistributes mass to Earth's equator, slowing its spin rate. Changes in Earth's spin affect its synchronization with atomic clocks.

Melting Polar Ice Sheets Are Slowing Earth's Rotation. That Could Change How We Keep Time

Costa Rica's Arenal volcano spews geysers of lava, ash and toxic gases

Why Central American Volcanoes Are Ideal for Studying Earth's Evolution

Pablo Fonseca Q., Knowable Magaziine

A high-temperature hydrothermal vent field discovered on Puy des Folles Seamount on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at approximately 6,562 feet in depth.

See the Breathtaking Ocean Life Found at Deep-Sea Vents

Margaret Osborne

Featured story

Nematodes (blue) wiggle inside a stalactite from a South African gold mine in this image taken with a microscope.

Inner Earth Is Teeming With Exotic Forms of Life

More than a mile below the surface, our planet supports diverse creatures that could give us clues about life across the solar system

Earth's Mantle

A thin slice of the ancient rocks collected from Gakkel Ridge near the North Pole, photographed under a microscope and seen under cross-polarized light

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Geologists Uncover Remnants of Earth’s Mantle That Have Lasted Over 2.5 Billion Years

A new study adds evidence to the idea that Earth's inner core is slowing its spin, though still rotating in the same direction as the planet.

Earth's Inner Core May Be Slowing Its Spin, Another Study Suggests

An illustration of some of the underwater creatures that lived during the Ediacaran Period, roughly 635 million to 541 million years ago.

Earth's Magnetic Field Nearly Collapsed 600 Million Years Ago. Then, Weird and Complex Life Evolved

The earthquake on March 27, 1964, dropped Anchorage’s Fourth Avenue and some cars on it roughly 20 feet below normal.

How the Great Alaska Earthquake Shook Up Science

Christian Elliott

Earth's Core

A new study adds evidence to the idea that Earth's inner core is slowing its spin, though still rotating in the same direction as the planet.

Earth's Inner Core May Be Slowing Its Spin, Another Study Suggests

An illustration of some of the underwater creatures that lived during the Ediacaran Period, roughly 635 million to 541 million years ago.

Earth's Magnetic Field Nearly Collapsed 600 Million Years Ago. Then, Weird and Complex Life Evolved

Melting ice redistributes mass to Earth's equator, slowing its spin rate. Changes in Earth's spin affect its synchronization with atomic clocks.

Melting Polar Ice Sheets Are Slowing Earth's Rotation. That Could Change How We Keep Time

Previous analyses of seismic activity on Mars suggested its core was surprisingly large, with a low density. Two new studies suggest the opposite.

Mars' Core May Be Smaller Than Thought, Wrapped in a Sea of Molten Rock