Andrew Alden is a science writer, photographer, editor and blogger with a lifelong passion for rocks, minerals, fossils and the planets they come from.

Andrew spent six years with the U.S. Geological Survey, which included research excursions on land and sea. He has been a writer on geological subjects since 1981, host of the earthquakes conference on The WELL since 1992, and About.com's Geology Guide since 1997. He began leading geological tours in 2005.

Andrew holds a bachelors in Earth science from the University of New Hampshire. He has field experience with the U.S. Geological Survey and local government, and is a constantly improving amateur geologist. He is a longtime member of the Geological Society of America and AGU.

I believe not only that geology is the core of all sciences, but also that knowledge of geology benefits every human being of any age. I regularly attend scientific meetings and keep abreast of geological literature, and I love to translate what I learn. For updates, news and commentary that's fresh every day, make the Geology Blog your home page (or add it to your blogroll). I think my map collection and picture gallery is the best combination of its kind on the whole Web. My e-mail newsletter goes out every Monday morning. See my fair use policy encouraging widespread free use of my pictures in school. And I enjoy hearing from readers, even if I can't always respond to every note.

I also blog about my home town in Oakland Geology and twitter as aboutgeology.