Geology

Geological Side Trips from Interstate 80: Through Folsom to Loomis

Geological Side Trips from Interstate 80: Through Folsom to Loomis

An hour of crowded freeway or a jaunt through granite, greenery and history? The choice is yours.

 
Landslide at the Calaveras Reservoir

Landslide at the Calaveras Reservoir

The long-running dam replacement project must pause to deal with a sleeping monster.

 
Gallegos Winery and the Hayward Fault

Gallegos Winery and the Hayward Fault

The new BART extension will bring riders to one of the best exposures of the Hayward fault.

 
Side Trips from Interstate 5: Great Valley Rivers and Grasslands

Side Trips from Interstate 5: Great Valley Rivers and Grasslands

It takes a million years to make a land this big and flat. Take a few hours to experience it.

 
A New "Rosetta Stone" Tropical Ice Core

A New "Rosetta Stone" Tropical Ice Core

The climate record from the Peruvian glacier Quelccaya is as near to perfect as we can get.

 
How Flooding Fields Could Alleviate Water Supply Stress

How Flooding Fields Could Alleviate Water Supply Stress

A new approach to small-scale water "banking" could relieve stress on both the water supply and levees in California's San Joaquin Valley.

 
The Rocks of Devil's Slide

The Rocks of Devil's Slide

Lovers of geology look forward to inspecting the roadcut along old Route 1 at Devil's Slide next year.

 
Historic Devil's Slide Tunnels Finally About To Open

Historic Devil's Slide Tunnels Finally About To Open

It's been a long time coming. The first highway tunnels to open in California in nearly fifty years are about ready for motorists.

 
Scientists Celebrate a Long-Dead Whale

Scientists Celebrate a Long-Dead Whale

Why is a rotting whale on the Antarctic seafloor exciting to geologists?

 
The Ant-Driven Landscape

The Ant-Driven Landscape

Invasive ant species have powerful—and poorly known—effects on a region's soil.

 
Still Mining Gold in the Golden State

Still Mining Gold in the Golden State

California is not yet finished producing the gold that made it wealthy and famous.

 
Aboard the Tugnacious With Dr. Doom

Aboard the Tugnacious With Dr. Doom

The scientist dubbed “Dr. Doom” for his dire pronouncements about California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is retiring after 33 years working on the troubled ecosystem that's central to California's water supply.

 
Side Trips from Interstate 5: Kettleman Hills

Side Trips from Interstate 5: Kettleman Hills

This side trip takes you into the quiet range of hills that runs along the freeway south of Coalinga.

 
Infrasound Takes a Bow

Infrasound Takes a Bow

Last week's events pushed the obscure subject of infrasound into the news. That was music to my science-obsessed ears.

 
Romantic Spots for Bay Area Geologists (and Those Who Love Them)

Romantic Spots for Bay Area Geologists (and Those Who Love Them)

Don't be surprised, be delighted if your current or future romantic partner treats you to a day straight up on the rocks.

 
Welcoming Pinnacles to the Elite Club of National Parks

Welcoming Pinnacles to the Elite Club of National Parks

If you visit the slice of Central California serenity known as Pinnacles, you might notice the sign out front now says, “National Park.”

 
Geological Sounds

Geological Sounds

Geology can be heard as well as seen: here's a tour of some sounds that Earth makes.

 
What Makes California's Quake Warning System So Timely?

What Makes California's Quake Warning System So Timely?

In the age-old war between Northern and Southern California, a change in the science has changed the politics.

 
Geological Outings Around the Bay: San Bruno Mountain

Geological Outings Around the Bay: San Bruno Mountain

There is no Bay Area peak more central than San Bruno Mountain, and it's remarkably unspoiled.

 
Placing a Bet on the Surface of Mars

Placing a Bet on the Surface of Mars

As Curiosity gets ready to use its rock drill for the first time, we can hypothesize on what it will find.