Here's a short list of places to shop or gifts to get for that person who loves geological things. These range from serious to wacky, plus a few items to make your jaws drop. Not on the list are books—for those, visit the book reviews.
Bob's Rock Shop
Bob doesn't sell rocks at his rock shop, but this great Web destination has advertisers who do—or you can get a subscription to Rock & Gem magazine here.
The Brunton Co.
Makers of world-standard field tools for geologists, starting with the compasses many of us know as simply "Bruntons."
Desert Guides
An assortment of books about getting around, even finding wealth, in the desert, from desertusa.com.
Earth Stuff
Rocks, minerals, tools, fossils, and books for smart kids from Science Stuff of Austin, Texas.
Field Tools
Hammers, leather stuff, sieves and more: three good suppliers are Forestry Suppliers, Kooter's and Amateur Geologist.
Fulgurites
When lightning strikes the ground, sediments are fused together by the energy. Various mineral dealers sell the melted results.
Earth Magazine
The best popular magazine for those who take geology seriously (formerly Geotimes).
Gifts for Cavers
All kinds of bat-shaped things, even bat guano for your plants, from the Speleobooks catalog.
GSA Geologic Jigsaw Puzzle
The Geological Society of America has one of Yosemite Valley.
Top Stone Rolling Fountains
Large stone spheres, spinning suspended on water—for the person or client who has everything. I love this site.
Magnifiers
One can never have too many 10X magnifiers. Here are the best.
The Mineral Gallery
There are hundreds of mineral shops on the Web, but the Mineral Gallery probably has the best selection of minerals.
The Plate Tectonics Globe
Instead of the usual countries and seas, this globe has the crustal plates. Other models include the mantle and core, too.
Rockpick Legend Co.
Rocks4u.com is just what it says: rocks for you—plus tools, books, fossils, tumbling equipment, and some informational pages for teachers too.
Sphere's To You
They call themselves the biggest seller of stone spheres in the world. Their selection is incredible.
U.S. Geological Survey Bench Mark Replicas
Full-size reproductions in pewter of those cool brass markers; earrings and more besides. Many summits and landmarks available, including (get this) the South Pole.
U.S. Geological Survey Maps
Find them here, by state, by locality, or by latitude and longitude.
