Geology in a Nutshell

The whole of Earth sciences, compressed to a nutshell.

This underappreciated substance is more important than you know.

This mineral resource has been first a boon, then a bane in its century of commercial existence.

Landslides make landscapes the way sculptors work: by removal.

A skeleton key to this enormous topic.

Volcanoes are places where lava comes from the ground and builds a pile.

The straight story of how Earth began, as today's geologists tell it.

The theory of evolution grows out of common sense and a simple hypothesis.

These tables will help you identify almost any rock you're likely to find.

The first of the three great rock classes is introduced here.

The second of the three great rock classes is introduced with photos.

The three great rock classes--igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic--are introduced with photos, finishing with metamorphic.

Start here for the seismic basics.

The three basic types of fault, with their nomenclature.

Those mysterious earthquake "beachball" diagrams explained.

Volcanism is more than volcanoes: it's what recycles the Earth's crust.

A growing tree of articles about this important geologic commodity.

Introducing coal: how it forms, what's in it, what it tells us.

Pictures, photos, diagrams and maps of geological subjects.