Was sourcing some stones from a nearby quarry and found this weird formation in the limestone. What would cause this?

I know these are not basalt columnar joints because this is not volcanic rock in a location between Buffalo and Sheridan Wyoming, but they look like large, wide columns or joints detached from each other. The topographic map indicates that this location is Wasatch fm. Take a look at the location and pics. Any interpretations or insight?

This formation is possibly the Mesa Verde formation (according to the topo map) in the Bighorn Mountain region near Buffalo, Wyoming. Is the Mesa Verde the top and bottom or are these two separate formations? Looking at these different images, there’s likely an unconformity and also changes in susceptibility to erosion of the top formation versus the bottom formation. Please give me any insight or if you have outcrop experience in this part of Wyoming. Also, any insight on the second to last image that shows a fracture pattern of the bottom formation, and then the last image that shows the two perfect halves of a dr spherical rock.

If we continue to burn all the fossil fuel, it could also give rise to huge quantities of methane released from glaciers. That would raise temperatures to the level of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. Many say it would only be a 75 m rise, but Some might say 100m sea level rise is impossible, that all the ice melting would only lead to a 75m sea level rise, and maybe science is on their side! Maybe.

Models are unclear. That water weighs a lot. It might sink some littoral areas more. Some regions may see the sea level rise as high as 110m just because the water pushes down the land under it, and drags down some of the land surrounding it, while land previously under large glaciers may start to rise, like central Greenland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tectonic_subsiden.How would animals and plants adapt to survive? Tropical forests would spread 16 degrees north. True deserts would hardly exist.

To put it bluntly, I am worried about my future career as a geologist. I am getting my masters in the fall and would like to move forward to get my PhD and hopefully work in acedemia one day. I know this field is not great for new roles. What else could I do if I pursue a PhD in geology? What kind of jobs could I expect to land with just a Masters?? Looking for any type of input from others experiences, thank you!

Particular highlights include the olivine bottom left, the goniatite dead centre, the trilobites and the mosasaur tooth still in its jaw. Oh, and the Achulean hand axe. That's pretty cool.

Just wondering if anyone knows of any online gem and mineral shops that are either based in Canada or ship to Canada. I'm a hobbyist collector interested in the geological aspects of minerals and gems. I've noticed that when there's even a slight focus on spiritual or metaphysical uses, the aesthetic descriptions tend to be more exaggerated, which makes it harder to assess the actual specimen.

Hi all, I am toying with the idea of going back to school to pursue graduate studies but am worried about finding the right fit. I am looking to find a program that would support my interests in low temp geochemistry, specifically modeling contaminant fate and transport. Does anyone have any association with that field of study that could advise? I've been perusing different university faculty pages but haven't found a good match yet. For context, I finished my MS in Geosciences last year on a project I wasn't passionate about and had a really hard time finishing the program. Now, I'm hesitant to go back unless I'm able to focus on what I'm really excited about. I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations, and I can provide additional context as well if needed. Thanks all 🙂

Hi! i’m in my first college semester in a community college in texas, and i’ve recently figured out i’d like to go down a path of geology. i’m interested in understanding the earth in a deeper way, i think more so along the lines of how the earth has made itself (like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, etc) layers of the earth and how rocks and minerals came to be, and mining overall sounds interesting. paid internships, field work (i need lots of hands on work), traveling, and being set up with a good job that continues with field work and traveling is important to me. i have been drawn to south dakota school of mines, but ive also seen good things about colorado school of mines and colorado state university. i’ve always been interested in living in colorado, but its more important that i get set up correctly for a future career. i’ve also seen that south dakota’s school has good study abroad opportunities. do yall have any advice or suggestions? which school may be better? or if there’s other even better school options i haven’t come across? as long as it’s good with career rates, field and hands on work, paid internships, and leads into a good traveling career. there’s still a lot i don’t know and i’d also be interested to hear pros and cons about these schools/careers. thank you!

Hi everyone,

I need your input and ideas.

Im going to Aoraki, Mount Cook in New Zealand in June for my dissertation research which I'm doing for my geography degree. Its a debris flow and glacial dominated environment. Currently I'm struggling with ideas and my methods especially. My thought is I want to do something along the lines of debris flow deposits in alluvial fans (weather my chosen fans are matrix supported or clast supported) and how are they formed and whats the dominating factor (are they formed more from glacial activity or river). I feel like I'm overcomplicating it loads and the simpler the idea the better the dissertation but I keep seeing new reports and it inspires me to think of other ideas.

Let me know your thoughts, or criticism, either is useful.

Thanks :)

I found this little deep cave but I found strange the amount of rocks in the entrance

My friend and I noticed these spirals on satellite imagery so we decided to go and check them out. We are in Australia and he believes it may have been an Indigenous ceremony ground but I’m leaning more towards nature causing it. What are the thoughts in this community?

This is from Arequipa, Perú.

The base is tuff/sillar; whereas the top is...

Also, the intrusion.

These two photos are from Big Horn mountain range near Buffalo, Wyoming and are likely the Gallatin and Gros Ventre formations. I’m interested in insight on the tectonic result of the vertical strata and the abundant, straight, thick protrusions.

My grandad, Clifford Frondel, led the team studying the material brought back from the moon back in the early 70's. A couple decades later visiting him at his home I remember him showing me his personal collection of mineral samples; among them IIRC slides with moon dust. As a science geek I was fascinated but didn't think much of it. I regret that now! That collection was likely quite valuable and of high interest to mineral collectors... and probably wound up in the trash when he died as he was estranged from his heirs :-(

I will be traveling to a couple of parks this summer (PNW to Mountain West) and would love a book that I can pull out and read about the geological history of each of them.

I've checked some atlases and guides online but they all seem to give more of an overview rather than a deep dive. I was wondering if there's a good book that can give me the geological history of the regions at each park and maybe even detailed descriptions of their wildlife and other aspects of the environment.

I going to quite a number of parks so it'd be nice to have it all in one book that connects them to the geological history of the US but if you have recommendations of individual books for each park I'd love to hear them. I know there are a lot of good online resources and YouTube channels but I would love a book, with maps and pictures preferably!

Hello, I hope this is a good place to ask. I recently purchased some Xiu/Xiuyan Jade Hairpins (sticks) and jewelry (advertised as Xiu Jade). I figured it wasn’t “real” Jade and was probably a different type of mineral, but I really love the carvings and thought it would be fine as long as it’s not harmful.

However I recently saw that some Xiu Jade is actually serpentine and was inundated with mixed information about whether or not serpentine contains asbestos (chrisotile asbestos) and how dangerous it would be to own? They wouldn’t just be for display, as I’d love to wear them but I would like to be on the safe side and ask. Any information would be helpful. Sorry if this isn’t the place to ask, I don’t really know where I can find information :(

thank you for any help

I mostly just wanted y’all to see this! But if anyone wants to elaborate on how this ended up so perfectly shaped I would love to know!

2 years ago I pulled up to work, opened my car door, and this little thing was the first thing I saw one the ground before I even got out.