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A Winning Geo-Poem on Faulting

The Zócalo Public Square website does all sorts of cultural things, among which is an annual contest for the poem that "best explores people's connection to place." Today they published the winning poem "Fault," by Southern Californian Jia-Riu Chong Cook, which takes as a theme the San Andreas fault. Show More Summary

Pinto Valley copper mine sold for much more than expected

BHP Billiton sold its Pinto Valley copper mine and associated rail line for $650 million, which is a lot more money than analysts expected. According to Reuters news service, "Deutsche Bank had estimated the mine could sell for around $274 million, while UBS estimated it was worth $500 million."

Financing geothermal energy development

A panel of bankers and investors is at the Governors Geothermal Workshop in Phoenix today explaining what the geothermal industry needs to do to finance development of this renewable resource. Lending from financial institutions wasShow More Summary

Arizona touted as low cost producer to break Canadian lock on potash market

There's an interesting column by one of the Motley Fool team, making the case that the rising costs for developing new potash mines in Saskatchewan are making Arizona look like a good deal.Canada produces over 40% of the world's potash which is used mostly as fertilizer and the US imports more than 85% of the potash needed in the nation. Show More Summary

Things You Find in the Field: Pyramidal Objects #3

A few years back, while out taking a set of roads that makes a large loop starting from Highway 50 at either Garnet Hill or Ely, going either northeast or north and then going west, then heading north and west some more, and then running...Show More Summary

Helium legislation could promote production in Arizona

The US House passed the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act (H.R. 527) by a vote of 394-1 last week. An analysis by AAAS says the bill authorizes the Secretary of Interior to restore for sale "crude helium for federal, medical, scientific, and commercial use" pricing helium from the national reserve at market prices. Show More Summary

The Wool Sock’s Carbon Footprint

First There Is a Hill, Then There Is a Mountain

What makes a hill a mountain? In my definition in the gallery of erosional landforms, I cite a criterion of 300 meters, a thousand feet. In Britain, the Ordnance Survey defines a mountain at twice that height. Hillclimbing is such aShow More Summary

Some Resources on Yosemite Valley and the Mother Lode of the Sierra Nevada

Because we all know I almost NEVER mention Yosemite or the Mother Lode on Geotripper.... It's been quite a long time since I first ventured onto the Internet, about 15 years ago. I quite clumsily put together a web page for my geology department, which included a couple of resources on the Sierra Nevada Mother Lode and Yosemite Valley. Show More Summary

Pinto Valley copper mine sold for $650 million

Capstone Mining announced today that "it has entered into a definitive agreement with BHP Copper Inc., a subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd. to purchase BHP Billiton's wholly-owned Pinto Valley copper mining operation and the associated San Manuel Arizona Railroad Company ("SMARRCO") in Arizona, USA for US$650 million. Show More Summary

Things You Find in the Field: Pyramidal Objects #2

"Danger. Explosives." I'm presuming from the sign that this metal, pyramidal object once contained explosives. It's location seemed random: it sat on uneven ground amongst some rabbit brush and sagebrush, near one small juniper treeShow More Summary

The Other California: The Biggest Living Things and the Deepest Canyon in the U.S. (maybe, almost, perhaps)

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks were established 50 years apart (1890 and 1940), and they preserve different aspects of the Sierra Nevada, but they are adjacent and as such are jointly administered by the Park Service. My Other...Show More Summary

Mineral resources cut in USGS budget for FY14

President Obama's proposed budget for the next federal fiscal year cuts the USGS Mineral Resources program by a net $2.4 million, from $48.760 million to $46.357 million. An analysis by SME says "that reduction includes a $1.2 million...Show More Summary

New exploration coring permit for HNZ Potash in Holbrook basin

The Arizona Oil & Gas Conservation Commission approved a permit (permit #1149) for an exploration core hole by HNZ Potash in the Holbrook basin. HNZ has had the lowest public profile of the three companies most active in the basin. Their last exploration core hole permit was issued in September 2011. Show More Summary

11 Types of Holes in Rocks

Sometimes the most interesting thing to see in a rock is the parts that aren't rock: the voids in it. Geologists have hundreds of names for rocks and their textures and constituents; here are 11 names for the holes from druses to vugs. Show More Summary

The Other California: Springtime along the Great Western Divide

Lupines along the Kaweah River gorge (Moro Rock and Alta Peak in the distance) The Great Western Divide? Where's that?My off and on blog series on the Other California is an exploration of the little-known places in my fair state with interesting, even fascinating geological features. Show More Summary

Stories on today's Arizona Mining Review online video magazine

This month's episode of Arizona Mining Review will be broadcast live at 10AM MST (10 PDT/1pm EDT) today at http://azgeology.azgs.az.gov/newsletters/amr/azgs-episode-4-apr-26th-10-am. It will be recorded and available later on our YouTube...Show More Summary

Sonoran Desert land bill to be filed today

Our sources say that legislation is expected to introduced in the U.S. House today to set aside about 700,000 acres west of Phoenix in Wilderness, Conservation Area, and Special Management Area designations. The Sonoran Desert Heritage...Show More Summary

Snail tale: Fossil shells and new geochemical technique provide clues to ancient climate cooling

Using a new laboratory technique to analyze fossil snail shells, scientists have gained insights into an abrupt climate shift that transformed the planet nearly 34 million years ago.

Geology in 5 Senses

One thing I like about geology is that it involves all the senses; I've put together a list telling how each one contributes to science. Is there a sixth sense that geologists use? I know that doing geology involves special mental work...Show More Summary