These geologists are exploring granite rocks on a mountain ridge.
Scientists Who Study Rocks
Geology is the study of rocks and geologists are the people who study them!
There are many different types of geologists.
- Mineralogists study minerals.
- Petrologist study rocks.
- Structural geologist study how plate
tectonics moves and squishes rocks.
- Paleontologists study Earth
history and fossils.
- Geomorphologists study how
the land surface is shaped by water, wind and ice.
What is a geologist like? Well, they are all very different. Click on the links
below to get to know some famous geologists.
- Florence
Bascom was a mineralogist and petrologist.
- Charles
Darwin was the first scientist to publish the theory of evolution.
- Stephen
Jay Gould expanded Darwin's theory with his own ideas.
- Friedrich
Mohs was the mineralogist who created a way to identify minerals by their
hardness.
- Leonardo
da Vinci did a little bit of everything! He was a famous artist and also
discovered how sedimentary rocks and fossils form.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
The
Fall 2010 issue of The Earth Scientist, focuses on rocks and minerals, including articles on minerals and mining, the use of minerals in society, and rare earth minerals, and includes 3 posters!
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