Geology

We all know the cartoons of prehistoric people running from dinosaurs aren't realistic. But many animals living today have ancestors from that time.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Everyone knows that once a bone has fossilized, it's hard as a rock, right? So how did scientists find soft tissue inside a broken dinosaur bone?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Sometimes dinosaur fossils are too large and heavy to display without damaging them. How are those enormous models built? And what makes them look so realistic?

By Tracy V. Wilson

It's not a trick; before you are a number of reptilian footprints in the rock. They're dinosaur tracks, preserved for thousands of years. But how did they possibly get there?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Some people believe that dinosaurs were relatives of today's birds. But, you might ask, if that's so, why didn't they have feathers? Funny you should ask.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Sand dunes belch, moan and hum. They roll across the desert, seeking out new locales. You might even say they breed. It's no wonder people call these giant sand formations lifelike.

By Debra Ronca

Ever since its discovery in 2000, a dinosaur fossil named Leonardo has held the interest of paleontologists the world over. A 3-D model of the animal even toured the world. So what's the big deal?

By Tracy V. Wilson

Did you know that sand dunes can sing? And, their artistic curves certainly make for a gorgeous photograph. In fact, you might call the sand dune the diva of the desert.

By Debra Ronca

Crack open any science textbook and the authors will tell you that such things don't happen. So how did a couple of paleontologists and an acid bath turn that widespread belief on its head?

By Robert Lamb

The end of Earth will likely come about because of the sun in our solar system. This much you might already know, but we actually have an approximate date.

By Robert Lamb

How, in today's world, could a cave this massive go undetected for so long?

By Patrick J. Kiger

These ancient wonders aren't static sculptures; they vibrate and shift throughout the day, creating a variety of sounds as they stretch their aging, eroding 'bones.'

By Nathan Chandler

Massive gypsum crystals were discovered beneath Mexico's Sierra de Naica Mountain in very inhospitable environs — to humans anyway.

By Mark Mancini

Scientists set up two stations to capture this strange seismic activity.

By Mark Mancini

Petrified wood can be found all over the world, but how is it created?

By Mark Mancini & Desiree Bowie

Split as if by a laser, the Al Naslaa rock in Saudi Arabia's Tayma Oasis baffles scientists and amateur geologists alike. How did this perfect split happen?

By Laurie L. Dove

Curious about healing crystals and their meanings? Here's the lowdown on 12 of the most popular stones for wellbeing.

By Dominique Michelle Astorino

Trovants, found only in a small town in Romania, are stones that actually seem to move and grow. But are they alive?

By Jennifer Walker-Journey

Tanzanite is so rare, it is sourced from just an 8-square-mile (20-square-kilometer) area in Tanzania. It was first discovered in the late 1960s and it burst onto the jewelry scene thanks to Tiffany & Co.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D. & Austin Henderson

The Mohs hardness scale is used by geologists and gemologists as a way to help identify minerals using a hardness test. How does it work?

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

Not all deserts have sand and they're certainly not all hot. They're just extremely dry and have little vegetation. That means deserts are located all over the planet, including at super-high elevations.

By Sharise Cunningham

This beautiful pink quartz is found in numerous places throughout the world and is thought to be associated with unconditional love.

By Carrie Whitney, Ph.D.

The element lithium is one of just three created during the Big Bang and has been used for mental health care for decades. But now it's in higher demand than ever before.

By Allison Troutner

Ash flows, deadly gases and vog are just a few of the other reasons why we all need to respect volcanoes.

By Brittany Brand

If you think the largest desert in the world is hot and sandy, think again. These 10 deserts spanning the globe are massive, but they're not all sunbaked.

By Mitch Ryan