| OLogy: Earth |
About 90% of volcanic eruptions happen at the bottom of the ocean. Some meteorites are as old as the solar system. The Western United States is one of the best places in the world to find dinosaur fossils. |
Photos: courtesy of AMNH
See if you can find north by making your own compass.
Explore Earth's deepest mysteries with these nine books.
All Photos and Illustrations: courtesy of AMNH
Make a model of Earth's layers that's good enough to eat!
Photos: Diamond: courtesy of AMNH, Rondi Davies calcite and topaz: USGS; jadeite: courtesy of AMNH; all other photos: courtesy of AMNH
Create your own crystals with sugar. Then enjoy your tasty treat!
Photos: Explore How Plates Affect Your World: Alaska earthquake: USGS; Mount St. Helens: U.S. Department of Interior; San Francisco earthquake: USGS; Hawaii: NASA; Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Chile earthquake: USGS; Mount Etna: NASA; Turkey earthquake: USGS; Mount Kilimanjaro: NASA; Himalayas mountains: NASA; Krakatau volcano: courtesy of R.W. Decker, http://www.doubledeckerpress.com; Mount Fuji: NASA and AMSR-E; How Plates Affect Our Planet: Mount Rainier: United States Geological Survey (USGS); Himalayas mountains: NASA; Appalachian mountains: National Park Service (NPS); Alaska earthquake: USGS; San Francisco earthquake: USGS; Hawaiian hot spot: USGS; Old Faithful geyser: INEEL; Illustrations: flat maps of the Earth: courtesy of AMNH; plate movements, event icons, Pangaea: Eric Hamilton; Earth cutaway: courtesy of AMNH
Discover how Earth's tectonic plates form oceans, continents, and mountains.
Photos: Rondi Davies and all rocks: courtesy of AMNH, Roderick Mickens
Meet six rocks that travelled to the Museum from places like Mexico, Scotland, and even outer space.
Photos: Introductory Page: jade objects: courtesy of AMNH; George Harlow: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; Jade Around the World: China: all photos: courtesy of AMNH; Mesoamerica: all photos: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; New Zealand: all photos: courtesy of AMNH; Other Places: taishu: Museum of Itoigawa City; Switzerland: Peter Vollenweider/Natural History Museum Bern; all other photos: courtesy of AMNH; What Makes Jade Special: Raw Jade: all photos: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Colors & Patterns: all photos: courtesy of AMNH; Translucency: jade: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; George Harlow: courtesy of AMNH, Roderick Mickens; Durability: tools: courtesy of AMNH; diamond: courtesy of AMNH, Rondi Davies; tools around the world: top left, Peter Vollenweider/Natural History Museum Bern; other jade tools, courtesy of AMNH; raw jade: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Carving: jade objects: courtesy of AMNH; workers: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; How Jade Forms: From Deep Within the Earth: field and raw jade photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; Tools in the Lab: SEM: courtesy of AMNH; all other photos: courtesy of George Harlow; Hunting for Jade: The Mystery of Mesoamerica: all field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues (Virginia B. Sisson, Sorena S. Sorensen, Hans G. Avà Lallemant, Carlos Gonzales, Russell Seitz, Mauricio Chiquin Yoj, Thomas W. Donnelly, E. Peter Olds, Robert Kane, Han Htun, Myint Soe, Dr. Saw Nawn U, and George R. Rossman) raw jade and artifact match: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; two artifacts: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; On the Hunt in Guatemala: all field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; raw jade: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Making Sense of Jade: all field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; George Harlow and collection: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Mining in Myanmar: all field photos: courtesy of George Harlow and colleagues; jade pendant: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Jade Today: Guatemalan objects: La Casa del Jade; all other photos: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Illustrations: subduction: Eric Hamilton; jadeite formation: courtesy of George Harlow
Take a peek into a mineralogist's scrapbook to see why he thinks jade is so special.
Photos: Ro Kinzler: courtesy of AMNH; Illustrations: Alvin exterior and interior, school of fish, jellyfish, deep-sea angler fish: Ned Shaw; deep sea vents and animals: Kathy Konkle
All aboard! Hop on a submersible and explore an amazing diversity of life at the ocean floor.
Illustrations Eric Hamilton
Send a note to a friend with these earthy letterheads.
Photos: courtesy of AMNH
Create weather tools to gather wind, rain, and pressure data in your neighborhood.
Photos: courtesy of AMNH; Illustrations: erupting volcano and soda bottles: Eric Hamilton
Visit a scientist's lab to see how he creates a magma chamber!
Photos: Ed Mathez: courtesy of AMNH; Montana mountains: NPS; rocks: courtesy of AMNH; Ed in Greenland: courtesy of AMNH, Ed Mathez; Ed looking over defunct chromitemine: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; collecting boulder: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; deep sea vents: Dr. Michael Perfit, University of Florida, and NOAA VENTS Program; Mount St. Helens: USGS; Earth: NASA/JPL; Grand Canyon: courtesy of AMNH; Stillwater mine: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; lava: NOAA; big blue machine: courtesy of AMNH, Rondi Davies; banded iron: courtesy of AMNH; Ed examining chromitite: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Ed examining rock and in the collection: courtesy of AMNH; Illustrations: recycling bin: courtesy of AMNH
Do you dig the Earth? If so, you'll want to meet Ed.
Photos: Ed Mathez pages: Ed Mathez: courtesy of AMNH; Montana mountains: NPS; rocks: courtesy of AMNH; Ed in Greenland: courtesy of AMNH, Ed Mathez; Ed looking over defunct chromitemine: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; collecting boulder: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; deep sea vents: Dr. Michael Perfit, University of Florida, and NOAA VENTS Program; Mount St. Helens: USGS; Earth: NASA/JPL; Grand Canyon: courtesy of AMNH; Stillwater mine: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; lava: NOAA; big blue machine: courtesy of AMNH, Rondi Davies; banded iron: courtesy of AMNH; Ed examining chromitite: courtesy of AMNH, Denis Finnin; Ed examining rock and in the collection: courtesy of AMNH; recycling bin illustration: courtesy of AMNH; Arjun: MOunt St. Helens: NPS; all other photos: courtesy of AMNH; Diana: headshot: courtesy of AMNH; all other photos: courtesy of Diana; Ruthmabel: all photos: courtesy of Ruthmabel
Do you dig the Earth? If so, you'll want to meet Ed, Arjun, Diana, and Ruthmabel.
Photos: solar nebula: J. Bally (U. Colorado); H. Throop (SwRI); C.R. O¹Dell (Vanderbilt U.); NASA; Mercury exterior: NASA/JPL; Venus: NASA/JPL; Moon: Galileo Project, NASA; craters on Venus: NASA/JPL; owl and flower: courtesy of AMNH; coral reef: courtesy of Ian Skipworth, http://www.ianskipworth.com; bacteria: NASA; underwater scene: courtesy of AMNH; Earth's atmosphere: STS-91 Crew, NASA; Mars (all photos): NASA/JPL; Jupiter (all photos): NASA/JPL; Saturn (all photos): NASA/JPL; Uranus sideway tilt: Hubble Space Telescope; Uranus (all other photos): NASA/JPL; Neptune and Triton (all photos): NASA/JPL; Pluto (all photos): NASA/JPL; Illustrations: planets: James Hastings-Trew, http://gw.marketingden.com/planets/planets.html Mercury, Earth, and Jupiter cutaway: Calvin J. Hamilton, http://www.solarviews.com; solar system formation: E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin); JPL, Caltech, NASA; planets comparison: NASA/JPL Messenger spacecraft: NASA; Magellan spacecraft: NASA/JPL; Jason-1 spacecraft and climate model: NASA/JPL; Odyssey spacecraft: NASA/JPL; Galileo spacecraft: NASA/JPL; Cassini-Huygens spacecraft: NASA/JPL; diagrams of Uranus and Earth tilt: Calvin J. Hamilton, http://www.solarviews.com; Voyager 2 spacecraft: NASA/JPL New Horizons spacecraft: NASA/JPL
Take a virtual tour of our solar system to explore its many mysteries.
Photos: Explore How Plates Affect Your World: Alaska earthquake: USGS; Mount St. Helens: U.S. Department of Interior; San Francisco earthquake: USGS; Hawaii: NASA; Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Chile earthquake: USGS; Mount Etna: NASA; Turkey earthquake: USGS; Mount Kilimanjaro: NASA; Himalayas mountains: NASA; Krakatau volcano: courtesy of R.W. Decker, http://www.doubledeckerpress.com; Mount Fuji: NASA and AMSR-E; How Plates Affect Our Planet: Mount Rainier: United States Geological Survey (USGS); Himalayas mountains: NASA; Appalachian mountains: National Park Service (NPS); Alaska earthquake: USGS; San Francisco earthquake: USGS; Hawaiian hot spot: USGS; Old Faithful geyser: INEEL; Illustrations: flat maps of the Earth: courtesy of AMNH; plate movements, event icons, Pangaea: Eric Hamilton; Earth cutaway: courtesy of AMNH
Volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes... Examine how plate tectonics affect our world.
Photos: courtesy of AMNH, Carl Bespolka
Every rock has a story to tell. Learn how to create a collection that rocks!
Photos: glasses, magnifying glass, computer chip, bike, pumping gas, polyester toy: courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH); braces: courtesy of AMNH, Craig Chesek; Brooklyn Bridge: The City of New York rocket: NASA; Illustrations: Daryll Collins
Mundo Shamundo! Can you help Mandy study for her geology test?
Photos: rock photos: courtesy of AMNH; Earth from space: NASA/JPL
Test your knowledge about our planet Earth with this quiz.
Photos: Grand Canyon: NPS; Seattle earthquake: USGS; Wrangel mountain: USGS; Anatahan volcano: NOAA; Protoceratops fossil: courtesy of AMNH; marine fossil: NPS; gabbro: courtesy of AMNH; igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks: courtesy of AMNH; Mars: NASA/JPL; scientist at volcano: USGS; Illustrations: courtesy of AMNH
Take a peek at our planet's layers, learn what secrets rocks reveal, and gain a long view of history.
Photos: Frozen Tissue Collection: All specimens from the Frozen Tissue Collection, frilled leaf-tailed gecko: AMNH / Denis Finnin cryovat, test tubes: AMNH / Craig Chesek humpback whale: John J. Mosesso / NBII coyote: AMNH; Gold: gold sheet mouflon, miniature sacrificial figurine, Spanish coins: AMNH / Craig Chesek Inca necklace: AMNH / Denis Finnin Eureka Bar: AMNH / Roderick Mickens astronaut in space: NASA computer chip: stock.xchng; Leeches: jaw: Eye of Science / Photo Researchers, Inc. bite mark: Geoff Tompkinson / Photo Researchers, Inc. leech feeding on snail: Edward Hendrycks, reproduce courtesy of the Canadian Museum of Nature leeches before and after blood meal, leeches on foot, American Medicinal Leech, Malagobdella vagans, Mark Siddall in swamp: courtesy of Mark Siddall; Dioramas: AMNH / Roderick Mickens; Mythic Creatures: All photos courtesy of American Museum of Natural History; Vietnam: pygmi loris, Tonkin snub-nosed monkey: Tilo Nadler / Frankfurt Zoological Society Oriental pit viper: Robert W. Murphy / Royal Ontario Museum scientists with camera trap: Kevin Frey / AMNH Center for Biodiversity and Conservation saola: European Commission, Social Forestry and Nature Conservation
Can you tell the difference between an Emmy award and an Olympic medal? Test your knowledge of gold-plated objects.
Photos: The Big Bang: Gas: courtesy of Neil de Grasse Tyson; Neil today: courtesy of Denis Finnin, AMNH; Illustrations: Create your own Timeline: Daryl Collins
Plot major cosmic events on a thirteen-billion-year timeline.
Photos: Girl: courtesy of Denis Finnin, AMNH; Baseball: courtesy of Denis Finnin, AMNH; Illustrations: Newton: Amanda Duffy; Foot: Jim Paillot; Juggler: Chris Van Dunsen; Mars: Daryl Collins
Find out why a ball thrown in the air will return to the ground.