Geologic Website of the Month
Geology.About.com
Michael F. Forlenza, P.G.
HGS Bulletin Editor
The Geology.About.com website is an approachable and light introduction to the science, lore, and cultural aspects of geology. The content is aimed at the general public of non-geologists or students, still a geologist will find some interesting browsing among the articles. The website provides an explanation of the basic concepts such as of geologic time, rocks and minerals, evolution, and plate tectonics. An introduction to geology is presented through a series of articles with titles such as: What is a Rock?, What is a Mineral?, What are Volcanoes?, or What Builds Mountains?
The Geology.About.com homepage has four tabs to access the four main pages of the website. These are: Geology, Basics, Quakes & Other Events, and Explore Geology.
The four main pages provide lists of articles about related topics. Most of the website content is original. While the articles on a wide range of geologic related topic are interesting and well-written, there is shortage of accompanying photographs and a dearth of informative illustrations. The photograph galleries of rock and mineral hand specimens contain some interesting shots.
Geology.About.com is extensively cross linked within its content. This means that surfers will almost never come to a dead end, but may end up going around the same block a few times. While most of the links on the website are internal, there are some useful and interesting collections of links to external resources. The list of external links under Geologic Maps connect to a wide range of current and developing academic and government research projects such as the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory’s world bathymetry and topography project, the Scripps Institute of Oceanography’s marine gravity map of the world, or the University of Florida’s airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM). Unfortunately, these links do not always work.
Geology.About.com is part of the much larger About.com. About.com is an online collection, or "neighborhood," of websites each based on a topic ranging from health issues, to music, to travel, to the sciences. Each of these topical websites is hosted by an an expert "guide" to provide visitors and informative experience and to share knowledge. About.com was started in 1996 and was acquired by the New York Times Company in 2005. The website records more than 60 million visitors per month.
Since 1997, the guide for the Geology.About.com website has been Andrew Alden. Mr. Alden is a "science writer, photographer, editor and blogger with a lifelong passion for rocks, minerals, fossils, and the planets they come from." He holds a bachelors degree in earth science from the University of New Hampshire and worked for the United States Geological Survey for six years.
GeologyAbout.com is a commercial website with numerous advertisements. While the banner advertisements and the animated displays are nothing new to experienced websurfers, these features are somewhat distracting compared to the more formal formats that are commonly used for academic, government, or professional society websites.
One of the most amusing sections on the Geology.About.com website is the Fun section on the Explore Geology page. Check out the article on Famous Stones or on Wild and Bemusing Earth Theories. This is where you can learn about "the modern Russian-Ukrainian theory of deep, abiotic petroleum origins."
Michael Forlenza
hgs.forlenza@gmail.com