Geology: Web Resources

NASA website describing Big Bang theory and associated theories and concepts.

Good overview article on the Origins of the Earth. Make sure to check out the link to a photo gallery of black holes. Both pictures and drawings including in the gallery. Test your knowledge on fun solar system quiz.

Provides scientific explanations about Evolution and the age of the earth and providing thoughtful rebuttals from Creationist perspectives.

An interactive timeline of Earth’s creation and life on Earth. Provides good images and is arranged in an easy-to-follow layout for each time period.

For visual learners out there, this is a great tool to examine how the continents have shifted through time. Begins with Precambrian and goes into the future 250+ years. Good pictures with reference points and labels of areas you will be familiar with from geology classes.

Pictures of fossils in the different time periods. Many pictures from various angles for better familiarization of the species. Gives names, age, size and location where it was found.

Provides scientific explanations about Evolution and the age of the earth and providing thoughtful rebuttals from Creationist perspectives.

General resource from the U.S. Geologic Survey. Provides good graphics for Aquifers, Water Use, Streams, Lakes and Reservoirs and Floods and Droughts.

An interactive water cycle. Great visual for people who learn well with diagrams. Also, make sure to click on the words below the picture to get additional information on each item. Included is also the distribution of water throughout the world.

The National Water Information System supplies real-time data for groundwater, surface water, and water quality which you will be able to search by state or topic. Also statistics are based on daily, monthly and yearly data.

Good for researching water resource publications in the primary literature. Contains brief summaries and direct links to the latest research.

Environmental Protection Agency site with links to various surveys and information on river quality. Make sure to click on the National Assessment Database link. You can search by state to find the water quality data.

Non-profit organization devoted to education and protection of groundwater as a natural resource. Check out the “Get Informed” tab for groundwater basics, threats to this resource, and what you can do to get involved.

Interactive world atlas for water risk areas. Can zoom in and click on regions around the world and get a brief summary of use issues in the area.

A brief history of the drying of the Aral Sea with sequence of satellite images.

Contains short articles about water related geologic topics. It is organized alphabetically which allows for easy searching.

"Established in 1888, The Geological Society of America provides access to elements that are essential to the professional growth of earth scientists at all levels of expertise and from all sectors: academic, government, business, and industry. The Geological Society's growing membership unites thousands of earth scientists from every corner of the globe in a common purpose to study the mysteries of our planet and share scientific findings." --Geological Society of America

"News and information about geology."--Geology.com

"The USGS is a science organization that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and useable information." USGS

USGS video and animation links for up to 14 different geological topics.

A resource for information, photographs, maps and diagrams of the geology of the Commonwealth. From the Geology Department at the College of William and Mary.

Locations of various caves within Virginia. Click on Map Gallery to see drawings of the layout of the caves.

Shows where and when different organisms existed in Virginia. Click on the Fossil Gallery to find any fossil you might be researching. Check out the Famous Flora and Fauna tab and click on the map to learn more information.

With this in mind, the department enhances natural and recreational resources through land management planning, funding, education and regulation. Nearly everyone in Virginia is touched by a DCR activity.

VMNH has developed a strong reputation for significant research and important collections, which now number more than 10 million items.

Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences focuses on research, education, and outreach dealing with the nature of the earth. Our students and faculty investigate earth processes at scales that range from atomic to planetary.

Geology is the study of the Earth. At William & Mary the Geology department takes a broad view on the Earth offering courses that focus on the workings and history of the Earth’s interior, surface, and atmosphere.

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) has a three-part mission to conduct interdisciplinary research in coastal ocean and estuarine science, educate students and citizens, and provide advisory service to policy makers, industry, and the public. VIMS provides these services to Virginia, the nation, and the world.

The principal mission of geology's instructional program is to serve two vital needs of the JMU students.

US Geological Survey manages and distributes many kinds of maps. This tool allows users to search for a location by zip code or place name, and navigate around an interactive map. Digital topographic maps can be downloaded in a GeoPDF format.

Free access to interactive, high-quality, topographic maps and digital data.

National Geographic has built an easy to use web interface that allows anyone to quickly find any quad in the country for downloading and printing. Each quad has been pre-processed to print on a standard home, letter size printer.

This resource is the hydrography component of the National Map, and "is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface water features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells."

This site includes information about volcanoes, their activity, and how they form and erupt. From Oregon State University

The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program (GVP) is housed in the Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, in Washington D.C. We are devoted to a better understanding of Earth's active volcanoes and their eruptions during the last 10,000 years.

This site includes the alert level associated with volcanic eruptions. It is broken up into 4 categories: Normal, Advisory, Watch and Warning. By selecting a volcano you are directed to the Observatory assigned to keeping track of the current status. Most sites have a live video or webcam to watch live. Don’t forget to check out the site about volcanic ash.

Images from NASA Earth Observatory of current and historical volcanoes. Click on the icon for pictures and videos from space of eruptions. Good images to show area affected by volcano. Also, you can look at previous months and years.

Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology – Current events and recent major earthquakes. A great real-time seismic monitor map of the world. The map shows what is happening today, yesterday, 2 weeks ago and past 5 years. Quality map highlighting the “Ring of Fire”.

The Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes – Based out of University of Hawaii at Hilo. CSAV's mission is to provide information on volcanic and natural hazards that occur in Hawaii and worldwide. A great media gallery of images of lava and lightning during an eruption.

Frequently Asked Questions about volcanoes. Categories include: volcanology, effects, lava, interesting facts, North America, etc. You can filter by topic, or scroll to view various links.

The Volcanism Blog by Dr. Ralph Harrington. Through here you can also get to other blogs and sites dedicated to all things volcano.

National Earthquake Information Center – Receives information and quickly updates for most up to date data. Gives real-time list of current earthquakes. Breaks it down into the last 7 days. Click on the link to retrieve a map, details about the location and pictures.

Information about seismic waves associated with earthquakes. For visual learners, this is a good site to see the motions associated with various seismic waves. Click on each wave to see the different ways they move.

NOAA website addressing a variety of issues related to coastal processes, including: climate change, ocean resources, marine debris, water quality, hazards and coastal habitat.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Coastal Program homepage. Links to habitat and resource conservation information.

Quality images of tidal flats and channels

Description of what barrier islands are all about, their sub-environments, and natural and human-influenced processes that affect them

Link to Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Click on Educate and hit Bay Area facts to learn how the Chesapeake Bay was formed and much more.

The Center for Coastal Resources Management at VIMS focuses on the coastal zone. Check out the spot under resources tab – Shoreline Assessment Tool. Takes you to an interactive map of Virginia where you can select different options and it shows you where in Virginia they are located.