~ Early Web Links ~

Lavajunkie.com is a passionate photography gallery dedicated to the volcanic activity of Kilauea, Hawaii, featuring extensive collections of lava flows entering the Pacific Ocean, surface flows, dawn shots, and even images purportedly showing the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele. With over 20 gallery pages organized into themed collections, this site captures the raw spectacle of new earth being formed and invites armchair lava junkies to experience the phenomenon from their screens.

The Maryland Geological Society is a non-profit club founded in 1991 for amateur and professional fossil and mineral collectors, open to all who share a passion for the geological sciences. Visitors will find meeting schedules, field trip announcements, fossil and mineral FAQs, a gallery, newsletter archives, and articles by contributing scientists.

The PALEOMAP Project, run by Christopher Scotese, is a comprehensive scientific resource illustrating the plate tectonic development of Earth's ocean basins and continents over the past 1.1 billion years. Visitors can explore full-color paleogeographic maps, interactive 3D PaleoGlobes, animations of ancient Earth configurations like Pangea, and download materials for geology education.

Wasser-Wissen is a German-language internet portal dedicated to water and wastewater topics, featuring an A-Z encyclopedia, news, link directories, legal references, and resources on water management and environmental systems. The site covers everything from chemical elements relevant to water chemistry to sewage treatment plants, court rulings, dissertations, and international water management organizations.

The Fluorescent Mineral Society hosts a stunning photo gallery showcasing minerals from around the world photographed under shortwave, midwave, and longwave ultraviolet light, revealing their glowing colors. Specimens from famous localities like the Franklin and Sterling Hill mines in New Jersey, Tsumeb in Namibia, and sites across China, Australia, and Brazil are featured with photographer credits and mineral identification.

Fossils Facts and Finds is a comprehensive educational resource covering everything from fossil formation and identification to detailed pages on hundreds of specific species including trilobites, ammonites, dinosaurs, and megalodon. Aimed at kids, teachers, and homeschoolers, the site also spans the full geologic time scale, offers lesson plans, coloring pages, and even sells fossils and educational materials.

John A. Jaszczak, a physicist at Michigan Technological University, has compiled a comprehensive reference on graphite mineralogy covering crystal structures, properties, spirals, spherical forms, and notable localities from around the world. The site features atomic force microscopy images, links to published research papers, and detailed documentation of unusual graphite occurrences including cones, pseudocubes, and meteoritic graphite.

Webmineral is a comprehensive mineralogy database created by David Barthelmy, cataloging 4,714 individual mineral species with detailed descriptions, crystal structure viewers, X-ray data, chemical formulas, and an extensive image library. Its interactive Java-powered crystal viewers, searchable indexes across dozens of physical and optical properties, and multi-language support make it an invaluable reference for geologists, collectors, and mineral enthusiasts alike.

Mineral Webzine is a bilingual French-English non-commercial online magazine dedicated to rockhounds, mineral collectors, and geology enthusiasts. Featuring photographs of specimens like garnet, wulfenite, and cinnabar contributed by collectors from Canada and France, it serves as a reference for mineralogy, crystallography, and gemology.

Rocks and Minerals 4U is a comprehensive educational resource covering geology topics including rock formation, mineral identification, plate tectonics, and the rock cycle, with dedicated pages for igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Designed for collectors, students, homeschoolers, and teachers, the site offers lesson plans, crossword puzzles, photo galleries, and even a shop for rock and mineral specimens.