A lava worm or rock rose? – and why basalt columns have six sides
It looks like some kind of giant, grey underground worm with teeth radiating in its mouth. A sand worm from Dune, which happened to dig its tunnel out of a […]
Category Archives: Cenozoic
What geology can teach us about climate change: How CO2 saved the Earth from eternal winter – and nearly boiled it later
Environmental activists sometimes scare us with the prospect of a runaway greenhouse: If we continue to spew out CO2, the Earth may become so hot that it is uninhabitable. Looking […]
What geology can teach us about climate change: How to make an ice age
Climate change is a confusing topic. The environmental movement with Greta Jeanne D’Arc Thunberg in front can give the impression that climate has been nice and stable since times long […]
Easter eggs: Hunting sea urchins at Sangstrup Klint, Denmark
I am a Norwegian, and I confess to not have gone to the mountains this Easter. This might get me expelled from community of True Norwegians, but me and the […]
Where the dinosaurs died: The white cliffs of Stevns Klint in Denmark
When God had finished His creation of the Earth, He discovered that He had made a slight miscalculation. He had some sediments in spare. After considering a new moon just […]
Las Canadas caldera: The devil’s cauldron on Tenerife
El Teide is at 3718 meters not only the tallest mountain in Spain, but the third tallest mountain in the world – measured from its base at the seafloor, that […]
Volterra: Ancient sea in beautiful Tuscany
Tuscany is the area of gelato, geothermal energy and picturesque villages on hill tops. Nearly every hill top, no matter how steep, has a village, small or smaller, on the […]
Light, sand, action! – in Skagen, Denmark
The northernmost tip of Norway is a barren, brutal cliff, a naked rock plunging into the sea from an island aptly called Magerøya – the Meagre Island. The northernmost tip […]
Volcano Noir: More Art by El Teide
Our favorite volcano of the month paints not only grand landscapes, but also petite, nonfigurative studies. These beautiful bands of dark and light ash are found in a road cut […]
El Teide, the great impressionist
If volcanoes were artists, they would be impressionists. Volcanoes are dramatic. They rise elegant cones towards the sky, painting the sky red during eruptions. Bright orange rivers of floating lava […]