How sapphires are formed in volcanoes

Sapphires are among the most precious gems, yet they consist solely of chemically “contaminated” aluminum oxide, or corundum.

Lost world discovered beneath Antarctic ice

New study upends prevailing theory on transportation of Stonehenge bluestones

Study analyses organic material from 3.5 billion-year-old biomass

Source of Snowball Earth solved

GEOLOGICAL PUZZLE OF LOST CONTINENT OF ARGOLAND SOLVED

Approximately 155 million years ago, a 5000 km piece of continent broke off from western Australia, leaving behind a basin hidden below the ocean known as the Argo Abyssal Plain.

THE CAVE OF CRYSTALS

The Cave of Crystals is a large chamber containing giant crystals in the Naica Mine, located in Mexico’s State of Chihuahua.

METEORITE CRATER FOUND IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

Researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt have found a meteorite crater in the grounds of a winery near the town of Béziers in Southern France.

THE EYE OF THE SAHARA

The Eye of the Sahara, also known as the Richat Structure and the Eye of Africa, is a geological feature in the Sahara Desert’s Adrar Plateau, located in west–central Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

Antarctica – the Lost World

Antarctica is situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and covers an area of 14.2 million km2.

BANDERA – NEW MEXICO’S LAND OF FIRE AND ICE

Located in the American Southwest on the Continental Divide, in Grants New Mexico, the Bandera Volcano lies dormant, adjacent to the geological wonder of a subterranean ice cave.

RESEARCHERS OPEN LUNAR TIME CAPSULE FROM APOLLO 17 MISSION

Scientists from NASA have opened a lunar time capsule from the Apollo 17 mission conducted in 1972.

MEDIEVAL MAP SHOWS ‘LOST’ ISLANDS OF CARDIGAN BAY

A map found in the Bodleian Library shows two ‘lost’ islands in Cardigan Bay, possibly indicating the legendary sunken kingdom from Welsh mythology, Cantre'r Gwaelod.

COSMIC CATACLYSM MAY HAVE CAUSED DOWNFALL OF THE HOPEWELL CULTURE

Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have found evidence of a cosmic cataclysm 1,500 years that may be responsible for the downfall of the Hopewell Culture.