How to Focus a Hand Lens / Hand Magnifier

Hand lenses / hand magnifiers are very useful tools for studying small objects such as rocks, flowers, or bugs. Young children especially benefit from the use of a hand-held magnifier as they are often not able to use a microscope but can easily operate the hand magnifier.

New Ask-a-Geologist Question: Layered Rock

Question: What is the term for the layering of sedimentary rock?

EARTHQUAKES

Earthquakes usually occur when the Earth’s crust moves along a fault, a break in the Earth’s crust, causing the location of the land to shift.

Here are some of our latest “Ask-a-Geologist” questions & answers

Q:  What is in magma that makes up a rock?
A:  Magma is the term used for liquid rock which forms deep below the Earth’s surface.  Magma can be composed of many different things such as silicates, alkalis, iron and magnesium.  The composition of the magma will determine the type of rocks which it will eventually [...]

Every heard of a Herkimer Diamond?

OK, today I thought I would talk a little about Herkimer Diamonds.  If you know what they are, you’ll probably agree with me that they are so cool!
Sorry!  Herkimer Diamonds are not real diamonds.  Herkimer Diamonds are actually quartz crystals that are naturally formed with points on both ends of the crystal.  These crystals are [...]

The Rock Cycle – Dig Into Geology

One of the most interesting topics in geology is the Rock Cycle.  The Rock Cycle is the method by which minerals are made into sedimentary and igneous rocks, which are then made into metamorphic rocks.  The cycle continues when all of these sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks break down into mineral and small rock pieces [...]