Geology news, features and articles

The far-reaching science of geology covers everything from ancient fossils to the precious minerals beneath our feet. At Live Science, we deliver geology discoveries that absolutely rock and help you to understand the makeup of our planet. Whether you want to know how to tell the difference between geologic ages, why Earth has a new geologic age or facts about an ancient supercontinent, our expert writers and editors have you covered with the latest geology news, features and articles.
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Hells Canyon caves reveal unexpected finding about America's deepest gorge
By Olivia Ferrari published
About 2,000 feet deeper than the Grand Canyon, Hells Canyon was rapidly carved when a lake spilled over about 2.1 million years ago, new research estimates.

Taal Lake: The volcanic crater that has 'an island within a lake, within an island within a lake, within an island'
By Sascha Pare published
Taal Lake on Luzon Island in the Philippines is a volcanic crater lake with a rare geology of nested islands and water.

Industrial waste is turning into a new type of rock at 'unprecedented' speed, new study finds
By Sascha Pare published
Samples from slag cliffs in England reveal industrial waste products can turn into rock in less than four decades, challenging assumptions about how rocks form.

How much gold is there in the world?
By Sascha Pare published
How much gold have humans mined to date, and how much is left?

Tectonic plates can spread subduction like a contagion — jumping from one oceanic plate to another
By Evan Howell published
Evidence from Earth's deep past suggests dramatic subduction zones can spread like a contagion.

Scientists discover strong, unexpected link between Earth's magnetic field and oxygen levels
By Sascha Pare published
Earth's magnetic field and oxygen levels have increased more or less in parallel over the past 540 million years, suggesting the two factors are linked in some way, researchers say.

Lake Natron: The caustic, blood-red lake in Tanzania that turns animals to 'stone'
By Sascha Pare published
Lake Natron is a soda lake in northern Tanzania with a volcanic geology that maintains the water's pH around 10.5, which is almost as caustic as ammonia. Some life-forms thrive there nevertheless.

The mysterious hill in Sudan that looks like 'landlocked lips'
By Harry Baker published
Earth from space A 2012 Google Earth photo captured a hill formation in Sudan that bears a striking resemblance to human lips. Not much is known about the unusual landmark, but researchers have guessed how it formed.

There's a humongous boulder on a cliff in Tonga. Now we know how it got there.
By Jess Thomson published
A massive boulder named Maka Lahi was recently found about 650 feet from the edge of a cliff in Tonga, and researchers believe that it may have been deposited by a tsunami around 7,000 years ago.
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