Students' Favorite Earth Science Web Sites

General Earth Science Sites

• Palomar College Library subject site list Check out subjects in Earth Science, Geology, Oceanography, Geography, Astronomy, Weather... and many more!
• Earth Science Picture of the Day  Each day a different image of photograph is featured with accompanying information.
• National Geographic Online Information from NG's magazines, TV and film and an online store.  Good teacher resources.
• Earth Science on the Web  Great springboard to many geology-related websites.
• Houghton Mifflin Student Resource Center Geology Link  From a textbook publisher...it is an open forum for those in the field of geology and those studying it.  It was developed to be a research tool for college students.  Also includes virtual field trips.
• American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Great research tool for any science topic.
• Goddard Institute for Space Studies General resource for Earth and Space news and research.
• Extreme Science  "Find the biggest, baddest, and the best in the world of extremes and learn about the science behind what makes each the most exteme example of its kind."  "Informative, entertaining and interesting."
• EurekaAlert! Marine Science Portal  A news site from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  Highlights current investigations in marine science.
• California Resources Agency  Everything about California and its natural resources...
• ScienceMaster/Earth Science  Science Master's geology and earth home page.  Special topics, plus links to other sites and educational resources.

Volcanoes

• Volcano World Hosted by the University of North Dakota, the site has a list of current volcanic activity with links to other volcano-related sites. Highly recommended as "the information provided is reinforced by wonderful pictures and visual aids." Also a good resource for teachers!
• Alaska Volcano Observatory  Provides information related to volcanic activity in Alaska.  A collaboration of the USGS, Univ. of Alaska, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys.
• Michigan Tech University Volcanoes Page  Lots of volcano information.  Sections include Volcanic Hazards Mitigation, Central American Volcanoes and Volcanic Humor (cartoons).
• Volcanoes:  Can We Predict Volcanic Eruptions? From the Annenberg/CPB organization
• Volcanoes.com  Volcano news and information and features on volcanoes around the world.
• SuperVolcano Information related to Discovery Channel's  feature film on Yellowstone with other supplementary educational materials.

U.S. Geological Survey Topics Pages

• U.S. Geological Survey Provides a vast selection of quality information about geology, including recent geological news that is continually updated.
  • What on Earth is Plate Tectonics?  Plate tectonics for beginners.
  • "The Learning Web" A part of the USGS website dedicated to K-12 games...and easy to use.  Check out the glossary of geological terms.
  • Earthquake Hazards Program  Includes links to real-time earthquake maps, seismogram displays, recent and significant past earthquakes and USGS news releases.
  • National Earthquake Information Center  Current earthquake information, data, posters and features. Includes teacher resources.  Also a link to "Did You Feel It"?
  • Coastal and Marine Geology Program  Variety of information related to current research topics including the San Andreas Fault.  Great images included in pages related to environment, resources and hazards.
  • Volcano Hazards Program
  • Geomagnetism  All about Earth's magnetic field and how it is studied.
  • The Geologic Time Scale  A visual timeline.

Weather & Climate Webs

• The Weather Channel  Weather forecasts and links to weather- and fire- related information.
• National Weather Service   Weather information, storm warnings, models.
• NOAA home page Links to weather, ocean, climate, environmental and related stories and research.
• Stormtrack Storm chaser resource...latest news in storms.
• Hurricanes Subsite of University of Illinois...An online meteorology guide.
• Hurricanes for kids  A FEMA site with great information about weather and hurricanes
• Clouds Cloud descriptions and information on cloud formation.
• The Weather Dude All things weather... Ask a question, take a quiz and more.

Oceanography/Marine Science

• Tsunami  From the University of Washington Department of Earth and Space Sciences. General information about tsunamis, their causes and history, as well as what to do in case of a tsunami.
• National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science  A part of NOAA focusing on Coastal Ocean Science, including ecosystems, fisheries, pollution, and climate change.
• Coral Reef Conservation Program  Sponsored by NOAA, the program supports effective management and sound science to preserve, sustain and restore valuable coral reef ecosystems.
• NOAA El Nino Page  Subsite of NOAA that discusses El Nino and La Nina.  Forecasts, graphics and great animations.
• NOAA Center for Tsunami Research  Tsunami forecasting, research, and monitoring.

Museums 

• Smithsonian Science & Technology  A unique website..."it takes geology outside the box of science and places it into a new perspective by providing everyday information..."  Links include "blasts from the past" "volcanoes of the world" and "a gem of a story". 
• Smithsonian Museum of Natural History  Great mineral site, and lots of other earth science topics.
• Virtual Museum of Minerals & Molecules View and rotate a variety of minerals and molecules. There are two museum "wings" at this site: minerals and organic molecules. This site is worth the effort of getting the free plug-in to view the animations. The animations are not visible with recent versions of Netscape.  Use Explorer. The site is a winner of the 2003 Scientific American Web Awards.
• Exploratorium Website from San Francisco's museum of science.
• Boston Museum of Science  Includes many features relating to science, including activities and educator resources.  "Looking at the Sea," which investigates sonar, was a particular favorite.

Miscellaneous Earth Science/Geology Webs

• Geology.com  Includes geology and Earth science news and special topics.  Links to other sites, reference maps, satellite images and regional information.
• California Geological Survey  Includes a variety of information including an interactive "California Geotour," Hazardous Minerals page and "Kids GeoZone."  Great teacher resource center.
• Association of American Geographers (AAG) General information related to geography, including career information.
• Earth Science World Image Bank  A service provided by the American Geological Institute (AGI). This ImageBank is designed to provide quality geoscience images to the public, educators, and the geoscience community.
• Michigan Tech Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences Department  
  • UPSeis (pronounced "up size") is a program created to teach young people (and not-so-young people) more about the planet we live on and how it works.
  • Aurora Page A source for information, links and images about the "Northern Lights"
• NASA Earth Observatory  A one-stop source for the latest news on Earth science research. Feature stories, images, animations, and NASA news announcements, summaries of headline news, listings of new published research, and more are here and are updated each week.
• Earthquakes and Tsunamis Part of the Science Education Partnership with Oregon State University.  Information is aimed at teachers.
• Nevada Seismological Laboratory  Everything related to earthquakes and plate tectonics.  Great detailed graphics.
• Plate Tectonics  A link from the geology department at UC Berkeley.  Includes history of plate tectonics, as well as descriptions of tectonic processes.  "The coolest feature...is that is shows animated pictures of how our world looks like at certain years."
  • The Story of Plate Tectonics Links to various resources including recent on-line articles and other web sites.
• National Park Service  General information on national parks as well as a "Park Geology Tour." Links to minerals management programs and "GeoScientists-in-the-Parks Jobs" as well.
• Discovery Channel Guide to programming, plus videos, games and interactive articles.
• World of Amber  Everything about amber.
• Surfline  Surf reports from around the world.
• Brainpop.com Interesting format with lots of activities on a variety of topics.

Planetary Geology & Space

• NASA home page  Everything from NASA...for kids, students, and educators.  Includes "Science at NASA" link.
• NASA Destination Earth Source for a variety of topics related to earth and space.  Includes current news, history of space exploration, "kids-only" link, games and animations and more.
• ESE Kids Only at NASA  Science for kids... short articles on general topics; also contains activities.
• NASA Space Place  Great place to find answers to some interesting questions.  Designed for kids, but fun for everyone.
• Windows to the Universe  Great teacher resource; kid-friendly with games and interactive media.
• Hubble Heritage Project Source of images and information from the Hubble Space Telescope.
• Texas Space Grant Consortium  Include education outreach and teacher resources.  Highlights the TOPEX Poseidon program.