Geology

GeoRef.

Alexandria: American Geological Institute, 1966–. A comprehensive database of more than 2.3 million bibliographic citations to articles, books, maps, papers, reports, and theses covering the geosciences internationally.

Minerals Information

http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals. Includes an online version of The Minerals Yearbook with profiles of over 90 minerals, lists of mineral resources in over 175 countries, and current and historical international industry surveys and statistics. From the U.S. Geological Survey.

National Map: The Nation’s Topographic Map for the 21st Century

http://nationalmap.gov. This amazing tool from the U.S. Geological Survey allows users to zoom in on any part of the United States and choose map layers such as elevation, roads, water, land use, and even detailed aerial satellite images. Whether you’re examining a region, a state, or a few city blocks, this tool offers access to a wealth of topographic information.

U.S. Geological Survey

http://www.usgs.gov. Since 1879, this federal project has provided the nation with geologic information and mapping services. Its Web site catalogs information about earthquakes, environmental and biological material, geospatial data and mapping projects, and other geologic resources.

Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series.

Ed. Rhodes W. Fairbridge et al. 20 vols. to date. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1966–. Offers lengthy, scholarly articles on oceanography, atmospheric sciences and astrogeology, geochemistry, world regional geography, climatology, and structural geology. Each volume covers a different aspect of earth sciences.

Encyclopedia of Paleontology.

Ed. Ronald Singer. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999. Includes information on principles and methods of the field as well as on paleontologists and their findings throughout the world. Entries cover dinosaurs and other animals and plants found in the fossil record.

Lexicon of Geologic Names of the United States (including Alaska).

2 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1936. With supplements. Provides information from records kept since the 1880s by the Geological Names Committee of the U.S. Geological Survey. This work identifies the names of geological features by time period and location and provides reviews of the literature referring to the names. Supplements provide information on more recently named features. Most of the names from the print volumes are also provided online in the Geolex database at http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex.

Macmillan Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences.

Ed. Julius E. Dasch. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan, 1996. Offers nearly 400 accessible articles on all aspects of earth science, including solid earth, oceanographic, and atmospheric sciences, as well as discussions of Earth’s place in the solar system.