Geology
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![People on a small wooden boat gliding across Lake Kivu with hills in the background.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/X9Q65Nu3QiCFNNpQfCqEuZ-320-80.jpg)
Lake Kivu: The ticking time bomb that could one day explode and unleash a massive, deadly gas cloud
By Sascha Pare published
Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes, sits along a tectonic plate boundary called the East African Rift, which is dotted with hot springs that feed carbon dioxide and methane into the water.
![Yellowstone National Park staff examine the damage caused by a geyser eruption in Biscuit Basin. We see a broken boardwalk and damaged guardrails.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/fvLHTfWocm5NnddrGRLDd5-320-80.jpg)
'Spectacular and definitely hazardous': Yellowstone geyser erupts, firing steam and debris over nearby tourists
By Sascha Pare published
A hydrothermal eruption Tuesday (July 23) morning surprised visitors walking among the colorful hot springs in Yellowstone National Park's Biscuit Basin, near the famous Old Faithful geyser.
![A scenic photo of the Andean plateau with a lake and mountains in the background](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ZSnKhawXZcTfsVukHceZaX-320-80.jpg)
Andes region formed in 4 stages over the last 24 million years, new modeling study suggests
By Nathaniel Scharping, Eos.org published
Paleostress modeling shows how a region of the Andean Plateau was uplifted and formed beginning more than 20 million years ago.
![Digital rendition of the earth's core shown from a quarter](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/td6kD7tuxU9SV9HkDDadkf-320-80.jpg)
Earth's plate tectonics fired up hundreds of millions of years earlier than we thought, ancient crystals reveal
By Stephanie Pappas published
New research hints that plate tectonics began earlier than 4 billion years ago — not long after Earth had formed.
![The Dragon Eye at dusk with the surrounding bay in the background. The eye is lit for the photograph.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jCSBxRTh98Acc3Hq7JS9KQ-320-80.jpg)
Norway's Dragon's Eye: The fantastical 'pothole' that emerged from ice 16,000 years ago
By Sascha Pare published
Norway's photogenic "Dragon's Eye" likely formed around 20,000 years ago, when all of Scandinavia sat beneath an enormous mass of ice called the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet.
![An aerial view of the helium drilling site near Babbitt, northern Minnersota.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/H53BPNRBo4nhtJTyZ9RcPa-320-80.png)
Massive helium reservoir in Minnesota is even more 'mind-boggling' than we thought, new data suggest
By Sascha Pare published
New seismic data show that a helium reservoir discovered in February in northern Minnesota is larger than initial estimates indicated, inching the project closer to commercial extraction.
![An astronaut photo of a winding grenn-color river covered partly by shadows from canyon walls](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/thXLJPVsU5FDBcWCsaTPaj-320-80.png)
Earth from space: Green River winds through radioactive 'labyrinth of shadows'
By Harry Baker published
This 2018 astronaut photo shows a striking section of the Green River as it winds through Utah's "Labyrinth Canyon." The canyon's steep walls cast long shadows that hide many secrets, including caves and abandoned uranium mines.
![Aerial view of the Argyle diamond mine with exposed earth and infrastructure.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8ipizD2xb6wK5taRyZ3aqV-320-80.jpg)
Argyle mine: Earth's treasure trove of pink diamonds born during a supercontinent's break up
By Sascha Pare published
During 37 years of operations, the now-closed Argyle mine produced more than 865 million carats (191 tons) of rough diamonds and 90% of the world's pink diamonds.
![A lonely rider at Altay Mountains.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/R4hCqjVkeiXuQenXMa9MrS-320-80.jpg)
Boiling rocks from Earth's crust tore an ocean into Mongolia 410 million years ago
By Stephanie Pappas published
An ocean that opened up in what is now Mongolia 410 million years ago was created by a hot upwelling of rock known as a mantle plume.
![A satellite photo of the Sahara showing colorful rock folds and salt flats that look like abstract art](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WWYVMhkgfHL5XqUEQHAQfe-320-80.jpg)
Earth from space: Near-lifeless 'Land of Terror' looks like an alien landscape in the Sahara
By Harry Baker published
A 2017 satellite image of the Sahara's Tanezrouft Basin shows the abstract beauty in ancient rock folds and colorful salt flats that have been sculpted in this terrifying region over millions of years.
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