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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Lake Natron: The caustic, blood-red lake in Tanzania that turns animals to 'stone'
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'
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.
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.
New evidence for gigantic superplume tearing Africa apart
Researchers have found fresh evidence that Africa is breaking apart because of a deep mantle superplume of hot rock beneath the East African Rift System.
North America's 'broken heart': The billion-year-old scar from when the continent nearly ripped apart
The Midcontinent Rift is a giant tear that formed in what is now the U.S. Midwest 1.1 billion years ago. Nicknamed North America's "broken heart," it is filled with solidified magma and lava.
Scientists think a hidden source of clean energy could power Earth for 170,000 years — and they've figured out the 'recipe' to find it
Researchers have compiled a list of "ingredients" that could help resource exploration companies locate huge reservoirs of clean hydrogen, a critical element in the transition away from fossil fuels.
Gigantic 'mud waves' buried deep beneath the ocean floor reveal dramatic formation of Atlantic when Africa and South America finally split
Enormous "mud waves" buried under the Atlantic seabed formed 117 million years ago as the Atlantic Ocean opened up.
Yosemite's ultra-deep canyon may have been carved in part by a ghost volcano and river, provocative research suggests
A river that drained the slopes of a now-vanished volcano may have carved Yosemite Valley's depths during the last 10 million years.
El Cono: The mysterious sacred 'pyramid' hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest
Cerro El Cono is a solitary, pyramidal hill in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest whose origins remain mysterious and that holds spiritual significance for Indigenous people.
Yellowstone holds potentially untapped cache of 'carbon-free' helium for rockets, reactors and superconductors
Conventional helium production comes with enormous carbon emissions, so scientists are looking for alternatives in places like Yellowstone, Tanzania's Rukwa Rift and India's Bakreswar-Tantloi province.
