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GEOL 111: Introductory Geology

color topography

Composite color image of the Earth's topography

GEOL 111 Students: Click on the link to your section

Internet Resources

The Web sites listed on this page are designed to provide you with quick access to a number of Internet resources related to the Earth sciences. These sites are great starting points to find more information on most of the topics that we will explore in the introductory geology class.

Federal Agencies
Professional Societies
Earthquake Information
Volcano Information
Environmental Resources
Mineral Web Sites
Global Positioning System Information
Miscellaneous

photo of rock

Example of an igneous pegmatite rock containing feldspars and various micas

Federal Agencies

U nited States Geological Survey Principal federal agency (Department of the Interior) responsible for mapping, natural hazards assessments, and mineral and energy resource estimates.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration   Commerce Department agency responsible for the weather service and coastal and marine research.
Environmental Protection Agency   Cabinet level agency assigned with the task of enforcing the nation's environmental laws.

Professional Societies

American Geological Institute   This institute, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, has a wealth of information regarding Earth science careers and job prospects.
The Paleontological Society   Excellent set of Internet links to information on all aspects of paleontology.  Find out about the real Jurassic Park!
American Geophysical Union AGU has over 20,000 members. This is a particularly important society for seismologists, oceanographers, scientists who study other planetary bodies and geophysicists.

Earthquake Information

Seismicity of Southern California   A great resource for studying California earthquakes.  Terrific animations of well known earthquakes, such as Northridge.  There are also monthly animations of earthquakes throughout southern California.
MEGA Earthquake Information Site!   This site is referred to as the Seismosurfing Headquarters.  There are more links to earthquake related sites here than you will probably ever have time to visit.

satellite image

False-color satellite image of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines

Volcano Information

Cascades Volcano Observatory   The observatory began in the aftermath of the Mount Saint Helens eruption of 1980.  Excellent information is available regarding the Cascades Range plus there are links to other volcano sites.
Dartmouth College Volcano Resources   The Dartmouth geology department has a very complete list of volcano related links for both students and professional researchers.
Volcano World   This site, hosted at the University of North Dakota, provides up-to-date information on all known active volcanoes on Earth and on other planetary bodies!  There is also a section which allows students to submit questions to be answered by a staff of volcano specialists.

Miscellaneous Stuff

Meteor Impact Information   After all the hype in recently produced movies, visit this site to find out what real impacts are all about.
Landform Maps For All 50 States   This is a neat site which allows you to choose a variety of maps for each of the 50 states.
National Water Use Maps   One of our most important natural resources is water.  Who uses most of it?  Which states withdraw the greatest volumes of freshwater? Find out here!
Maryland Geological Survey

Environmental Resources

Chesapeake Bay Alliance
Energy Information Administration
EPA Chesapeake Bay Program

Mineral Web Sites

The Mineral and Gemstone Kingdom contains a comprehensive mineral and gemstone database.  The site is continually growing, with information on physical properties, occurrences and images.  There is even a section which tells you how to begin and organize your own mineral collection.
The Image Gallery  has several images of minerals and gemstones, along with descriptions of physical properties and uses.  Some of the images are displayed in 3-d!
The Mineral Gallery is a commercial site that has great images and lots of useful information on minerals as well as birthstones and gemstones. There are also pages on this site that discuss minerals referenced in the Bible, fluorescent minerals, ore minerals and minerals listed by locality.
Bob's Rock Shop is a comprehensive online source for rock and mineral information. Topics include collecting specimens and viewing mineral images.  You can even download mineral images as screen savers for your computer!

G lobal Positioning System Web Sites

The Southern California Integrated GPS Network Education Module is designed to allow you to interactively explore the use of space technology in earthquake studies.  There is an entire module on GPS technology and how it can be used as a tool to study tectonics and earthquakes in southern California.
Trimble Navigation GPS Tutorial provides a complete overview and introduction to the Global Positioning System.
The Geography Department of the University of Texas at Austin has a site dedicated to GPS.  This site is loaded with GPS information and data -- an excellent reference site!

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