Geology: Related Content

  • A photo of an arid ocean cliff in Chile's Atacama Desert with the ocean below.

    Exploring Chile's Marine Fossil Record in the Atacama Desert

    Smithsonian curator of fossil marine mammals Nick Pyenson and a team of collaborators are heading into Chile's Atacama Desert, shown here. They'll study a rich bonebed of fossil marine vertebrates that lived off the Chilean coast around 8 million years ago.

  • grains of sand collected from Orient Point, Long Island, NY

    Sand from Orient Point, Long Island, New York

    There are different types of beaches and multiple factors that influence the formation of sand. Many beaches may look alike, but they are actually very different from each other. Wave patterns, geology, and other factors shape the composition, size, texture, and color of sand. Grains can be big or small, rough or smooth, glittery or dull, and made of light shells or dark minerals.

  • 10 grains of star shaped sand collected from southern Japan

    Star Sand Grains Collected from Southern Japan

    There are different types of beaches and multiple factors that influence the formation of sand. Many beaches may look alike, but they are actually very different from each other. Wave patterns, geology, and other factors shape the composition, size, texture, and color of sand. Grains can be big or small, rough or smooth, glittery or dull, and made of light shells or dark minerals.

  • The Sant Ocean Hall: Life in the Sand Exhibit

    Sandy beaches are home to a Diversity of Life
    In the Shores and Shallows Gallery of the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall, a beach display features magnified grains of sand and the tiny beach critters that live between them.
  • A diagram of the different soil layers located at Hare Harbor, Quebec in 2008. Wood chips were located at the deepest layer, then whale bone, then codfish bones.

    Underwater Archaeological Stratigraphy

    An underwater archaeological stratigraphy reveals the different levels of soil in Hare Harbor, Quebec. The stratigraphy – a process archeologists use to help date materials by identifying soil layers – showed the deepest level of soil (labeled G) contained wood chips, possibly the residue of site construction. The second level contained large whale bones (labeled E), marking a period when whales were caught and processed. The third level, the top-most, was full of codfish bones (labeled B).

  • a colored shakemap from the M5.8 Virginia Earthquake depicts the shake range and epicenter of the earthquake

    Map of the Magnitude 5.8 Virginia Earthquake of 2011

    On August 23, 2011 a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck the East Coast of the United States. The earthquake map shown here, generated by the U.S. Geological Survey and regional seismic network operators, shows the ground motion intensity that followed the earthquake. These maps are used for earthquake response, recovery, preparation, and planning.

  • A Guide to Earthquake Lesson Plans

    It isn’t everyday that a magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes the East Coast of the United States. But on August 23, 2011, people from Georgia to New England felt the rumble and shaking of an earthquake whose epicenter was in Mineral, Va. The East Coast is historically a low risk zone. What exactly happened and how might educators use this event in the classroom?

  • Demonstrating an Earthquake's Seismic Waves

    On August 23, 2011 a 5.8 earthquake emanated from the little-known Central Virginia Seismic Zone. The epicenter was near Mineral, VA, but the tremor shook homes, schools, and office buildings in Washington, DC, including Smithsonian Institution buildings, and beyond.

  • All About Glaciers

    The National Snow and Ice Data Center provides access to their data collection; as well as some general information on glaciers and the life story of a glacier.

  • A bird sits atop an outcrop of rocks surrounded by turbulent water.

    Offshore Rock Island

    A still from The Changing Sea, part of the 19th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital.

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