B.O.O.G. Bureau

Across continents, geologists encounter a strange boundary where extremely ancient rocks sit directly beneath much younger sedimentary layers. Between them can lie hundreds of millions of years — and in some locations...

Deep beneath a mountain in Chihuahua, Mexico, lies one of the most extraordinary mineral environments ever discovered. Inside the Cave of the Crystals at Naica , enormous translucent selenite crystals stretch for meters...

From space, Mauritania’s Richat Structure looks almost impossibly perfect — a giant bull’s-eye roughly 40 kilometers across sitting in the middle of the Sahara. Its unusual shape has inspired everything from...

Roughly 8,400–8,500 years ago, a huge volcanic eruption occurred in southern Kamchatka, producing the distinctive ash layer known as KO tephra . Tiny fragments of volcanic glass from the event can still be identified in...

Deep in Turkmenistan’s Karakum Desert, a huge crater has glowed with flames for decades, earning the unforgettable nickname “The Door to Hell.” But behind the dramatic appearance is a much more grounded story involving...

For decades, enormous rocks appeared to have moved across the perfectly flat surface of Death Valley’s Racetrack Playa, leaving long trails behind them with no obvious explanation. Some theories suggested unusual...

Few gemstones command as much respect in the collector world as a fine Burmese ruby . Among them, one legendary description stands above all others: "Pigeon Blood." It isn't simply a marketing term or a color...

The rock in your hand isn't really a rock . At least, not in the way we usually think about it. Before it became stone, it may have been the floor of an ancient ocean... the remains of countless microscopic sea...

Imagine holding a gemstone that glows a rich emerald green beneath the cool light of the afternoon sun . Then, as evening arrives and warm indoor lamps begin to illuminate the room, that very same stone slowly...

Right now, beneath wherever you're standing , at a depth of roughly 400 miles (660 kilometers) , the rock your planet is made of is being crushed into crystal structures unlike anything found at Earth's surface. The...

Geologists regularly discover rocks sitting in places where they have absolutely no geological business being . Entire boulders appear miles from the bedrock they originally formed in, sediments emerge from landscapes...

The largest natural crystals ever discovered on Earth took nearly 500,000 years to grow. They stand as tall as telephone poles, weigh dozens of tons, and fill a cave so brutally hot that an unprotected person can...

At least 20% of the urban land in every one of America's 28 largest cities is actively sinking today . Most residents have no idea it's happening. Yet scientists say this slow, nearly invisible process is one of the...

Most gemstones called "sunstone" around the world aren't actually the same gem as Oregon Sunstone . In fact, Oregon's official state gemstone is a remarkably rare copper-bearing labradorite feldspar , formed under...

When most people think of valuable minerals, they picture diamonds, emeralds, or gold. But the reality is far more surprising. Some of the highest-value minerals and naturally occurring materials on Earth owe their...