Geophysics

Glaciers are rivers of ice and are the largest moving objects on Earth. Learn about glaciers and find out how much freshwater are frozen in glaciers.

By Ed Grabianowski & Desiree Bowie

In its purest form, it's odorless, nearly colorless and tasteless. It's in your body, the food you eat and the beverages you drink. All forms of life need it. What substance is more necessary to our existence than any other? Water.

By Shanna Freeman

Waterfall, or Cataract, a stream of water that falls in one or more steep descents.

The Earth is split up into 24 time zones based on longitudinal lines. But those lines all converge at the North and South poles, so what's the time there?

By Mark Mancini

It's not just the size that differentiates a lake from a pond. The real distinctions flow much deeper.

By Sharise Cunningham

You've probably heard of the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, but do you know the difference?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

You've probably heard of the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, but do you know the difference?

By Michelle Konstantinovsky

The Arctic Circle is a region marked by frigid temperatures, strange sunlight and glaciers galore. And for hundreds of thousands of people, it's also home sweet home.

By Mark Mancini

Ice volcanoes form when it's freezing cold outside and choppy water is forced to erupt through a hole in the ice around a body of water, cascading down into the classic shape of a volcano.

By Jesslyn Shields

Since its discovery in 1870, the Wyoming cone geyser Old Faithful has wowed spectators with its predictable eruptions, but its eruptions are not quite as predictable or prodigious as they once were.

By Mark Mancini

The stratosphere is one of Earth's five atmospheric layers that also includes the troposphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere.

By Mark Mancini

The world has only had time zones since the late 1800s. Some people think we should eliminate them and have just one universal time instead.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Lakes seem like serene places to escape and enjoy peace and quiet. So you'd probably be surprised to learn that a lake can actually explode without warning. It's happened, with deadly consequences.

By Mark Mancini

The Ancient Earth visualization map shows the movement of the planet's tectonic plates in a really cool way.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Prior to the mid-1990s, the magnetic north pole traveled at speeds of around 9 miles per year. Now, it's 34 miles annually. What accounts for the acceleration?

By Mark Mancini

Sastrugi are gorgeous snow formations found in the polar north, but they're also no fun to travel over.

By Jesslyn Shields

The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world, but it's gradually shrinking thanks to a changing climate.

By Jesslyn Shields

The autumnal equinox is the day Earth is perfectly angled to the sun, so the day and night are of equal length. Well, almost.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

The unique, annual sea ice phenomenon is created when pure, salt-free river water hits cold, saline seawater near the beaches of Hokkaido.

By Christopher Hassiotis

For centuries, ancient cultures celebrated the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, as the "day the sun came back." Here are five enlightening facts about the winter solstice.

By Kathryn Whitbourne

Scientists from The Ohio State University have drilled longest ice core from outside the poles.

By Mark Mancini

You could stack the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty in Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. But, do you know what the deepest lake in the world is?

By Jesslyn Shields

Sarah Palin never really said she could see Russia from her house. But how far is Russia from Alaska anyway? And can you see one country from the other?

By Mitch Ryan

The seven largest countries in the world account for nearly half of the world's land area, but one is far larger than the rest. Do you know what the largest country is?

By Jesslyn Shields

The Decade Volcanoes don't erupt every 10 years, so what is a decade volcano and what puts a volcano on the list?

By Jesslyn Shields