Alexandria, VA — For breathtaking volcanic scenery, few places have the variety found in Lassen Volcanic National Park in the Cascade Range of Northern California. The park boasts five varieties of volcanoes plus a vast volcanic landscape, with devastated areas, bubbling hot springs, boiling mud pots and fumaroles. The park also hosts multiple hiking trails. Follow along with geologist R. Forrest Hopson as he explores the plug domes, cinder cones, lava cones, shield volcanoes and stratovolcanoes of the Lassen Volcanic Center in “Lassen Volcanic National Park: A Volcanic Wonderland” in the July issue of EARTH Magazine. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geological Institute (AGI) is pleased to offer the book, Mapping America: Exploring the Continent (ISBN: 978-1-907317-08-8) as part of its extensive publications catalogs. Mapping America (© 2010 Black Dog Publishing, printed in Europe) is a beautifully illustrated survey of America, by Frank Jacobs and Fritz Kessler. This 240 page, full color, hardcover publication features an array of maps that document America’s cartographic development, from early engravings to the latest in satellite technology. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA —From Seattle to Los Angeles, anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of the water people use comes from mountain snow. Snow falls in the mountains in the winter, where it’s stored as snowpack until spring and summer when it flows down the mountains into reservoirs. It’s a clean, reliable source of water. But soon, it may become less dependable, thanks to climate change. In the July feature “Endangered Snow: How climate change threatens West Coast water supplies,” EARTH Magazine looks at how climate change could disrupt the balance of water and snow in the mountains, and what that might mean for your water supplies. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The “Garden of the Gods at Colorado Springs” excursion at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA) last year was, in many ways, a normal—even enjoyable—field trip. Standard geologic terminology was used in the accompanying field trip guide and the guides relied on orthodox geologic thinking to explain geologic features. However, the trip was anything but a normal geology field trip. As EARTH explores in its July feature “Creationism Creeps into Mainstream Geology,” the field trip was an example of a new strategy from creationists to interject their ideas into mainstream geology: Creationists lead field trips and present posters and talks at scientific meetings. [Read More]

Explore Stonehammer Geopark, the first geopark in North America, located along the rugged Bay of Fundy on Canada’s southeast coast. Spanning 2,500-square-kilometers and centered on Saint John, New Brunswick, this geopark offers a variety of geological experiences: “Explore the rapids, fossils, millions-of-years-old petrified forests, and billion-year-old rocks along with EARTH in June’s feature ‘Stonehammer Geopark: A Billion Years of Stories.’” The June issue of EARTH also features articles on: What scientists are learning from the Japan and New Zealand earthquakes Research on the mysterious disease killing bats by the millions NASA’s MESSENGER mission to Mercury The lack of evidence supporting the theory that one large earthquake can cause another large quake thousands of kilometers away For further information on the June featured article, visit: http://www. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geological Institute (AGI) has just released the Status of the Geoscience Workforce 2011 report for digital, print and ebook purchase. The 2011 report has been updated and substantially expanded from the 2009 edition, and integrates all available data sources, including original data collected by AGI, as well as data from federal, community, and industry sources, into a comprehensive report that focuses on both the human and economic parameters of the geosciences. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA —Next week marks the 67th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allies stormed the beaches at Normandy, France, and changed the face of World War II. Not much evidence of the war remains in Normandy: a few dilapidated relics, a cemetery, a war memorial. But something else was left behind that cannot be seen by the naked eye: shrapnel and iron and glass beads left over from the D-Day invasions in 1944. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — The American Geological Institute (AGI) has posted the “Geoscience Careers in Minerals Exploration” webinar online for those who were unable to attend the event on April 21, 2011. Minerals exploration is, and will continue to be, a field that requires well-trained professionals to provide society with the resources necessary for daily life and economic growth. Watch AGI’s GeoWebinar on this subject to learn about what skills and academic background are required to work in minerals exploration, what an exploration geologist can do in the course of their career, and what the employment prospects are in the minerals exploration industry. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — On February 22, a magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing nearly 200 people and causing $12 billion in damage. About three weeks later, a massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck northern Honshu, Japan. The quake and tsunami killed about 30,000 people and caused an estimated $310 billion in damage. Both events are stark reminders of human vulnerability to natural disasters and provide a harsh reality check: Even technologically advanced countries with modern building codes are not immune from earthquake disasters. [Read More]

Alexandria, VA — Hundreds of thousands of tiny white-nosed bats have died over the past few winters, falling to cave floors across the eastern United States. The killer is White Nose Syndrome, a mysterious disease inflicted by an unusual cold-loving fungus that attacks bats while they are hibernating. Come spring, as few as 5 percent of the bats in heavily infected roosts are still alive. More than 2 million bats have already been killed by the disease. [Read More]