Geology Online
……Anytime, Any Place, Anywhere
Yorkshire Geological Society Virtual Field Trips
YGS Council are currently hard at work putting together virtual field trips; allowing you to explore some geological sites from the comfort of your own home!
See our dedicated Virtual Field Trips page for Online ‘Wiki’ Field Guides, Virtual Geology Tours in Google Earth, and Narrated Video Geology Guides. The latter can also be viewed on our the YGS YouTube Channel.
Maps and more maps….
BGS offers an enormous database of scanned copies of its most recent printed map series, plus a comprehensive archive of its historic maps. To view, go to the BGS Maps Portal. See also this quick link to the most recently published versions of 1:50,000/1 inch to 1 mile series geological maps.
For the most up to date digital geological mapping, including 3d visualisations, go to the BGS Geology of Britain viewer. If you also want to view the maps along with a comprehensive set of other geoscience data including boreholes, geochemistry, geophysics, soils and hydrogeology, go to the Onshore GeoIndex. Finally, for geology and soils mapping on your mobile device, download the popular iGeology and MySoil apps from the Apple or Google Play stores.
Want to plan you next international geological vacation? Or just want proof that geology (and geologists) transcend political differences and frontiers? Then go to the OneGeology Portal, a fabulous source of geological mapping and other data contributed by the geological surveys of the world. Happy viewing!
Geological Photo Archives
Geoscenic is the British Geological Survey’s National Archive of Geological Photographs from many thousands of locations worldwide, most with detailed descriptions. You do not need to sign up to view, but if you create a (free) account you can assemble your own library (lightbox) of favourites and make your own virtual field trips !
The Geologists’ Association Carreck Archive of geological photos, which records field trips and events from the GA's earliest days to the present, is now available on the BGS Earthwise platform. View hundreds of images of famous geological localities and field-wear fashions from days gone by! The GA are looking for volunteers to index and document the archive – please visit their archive webpage for information about how you can help.
Upcoming Online Events
Online events such as webinars, live-streamed talks or conferences, organised by range of organisations and groups, that are open and free of charge for general participation (some may require registration).
Micro My Earth
An excellent and rapidly expanding global portal for geological resources including online books, webinars, virtual field trips, 3D models, grants and much more - to learn and share geology in the classroom, at work and at home!
Geological Careers
A useful article recommended to us by a young reader from across The Pond, A Student’s Guide to a Career in Geology is a helpful read for any budding young geologists!
YouTube Geology Channels
YouTube includes a wealth of information including video lectures, recordings, webinars, short training courses, podcasts and teaching materials. The organisations below have individual channels that are highly recommended (select the logos to view) but do use YouTube's search facility to explore for yourself!
Open University OpenLearn Geology Courses
Free online courses via the Open University's 'OpenLearn' website.
Nine courses are available at introductory, intermediate & advanced level, with course lengths of between 8 - 30 hours.
To enrol you must create a free account.
Online Lectures & Podcasts
Video presentations on a wide range of entertaining talks are available online & free, dating back to 2008. Just click the logo to go there!
For the duration of the lockdown, the GA are making recordings of all their public lectures available online, including a selection of talks by GA Student Symposium prize winners from 2017-2019, as well as Iain Stewart’s Keynote lecture from 2018
The GA has also assembled a wide range of ‘virtual geology’ content online, see their Geology from your Sofa web page
Lights...Camera...Action...Geology !
For Yorkshire Geology Day 25 April 2020, YGS organised an afternoon of talks to show off some of the most famous and dramatic displays of geology in popular Film and TV, including some perhaps less plausible examples of geological science in plots and screenplays. This meeting was unfortunately a casualty of the Covid-19 emergency....... but all is not lost! For some "lockdown geology" fun and entertainment, we've brought you some online examples, which we hope you will enjoy. Please help us grow this page by sending us more links, and a pithy one or two line introduction, via our Contact page. Remember to include the full URL link in your message text. Material must already be online, and free to view!
(Note: the videos clips below link to YouTube. Short advertisements will may precede the clips, in most cases these can be skipped after a few seconds by clicking the countdown in the bottom right of the screen).
A Crack in the World (1965):……..including from this, The perils of Clean, Limitless Energy! And what on earth was wrong with Dana Andrews’ left hand? Or was it his right?
2012 (2009): ……and also from this!
Thunderbirds, Pit of Peril (1965): Some top notch engineering geology from Brains! (Would we expect any less?!)
BBC The Trip Series 1 Episode 5 (2010). If you’ve ever organised a geological field trip, and no-one turned up, this clip is for you !
1917 (2019): Artist Andy Beck looks at the filming locations for the 1917 movie near Low Force in Teesdale, County Durham.
Guide to the Geology of Bempton Cliffs
Written by YGS on behalf of RSPB Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve, this is the perfect companion to planning any trip to Bempton Cliffs - the geology is just as unique & engrossing as the sea birds that nest amongst the chalk cliffs!
Field Trips to historic Ecton copper mines in south-west Peak District
Aimed at students aged 14-19 studying courses in Physical Sciences or Earth Sciences, activity days for Primary Schools or visits for general and special interest groups.
The field trip includes an underground visit to an early 19th Century part of the mine and allows students to develop their scientific ideas in many geoscience fields.
Volunteers from Ecton Hill Field Studies Association run the trips, who are experienced teachers, who are mostly retired teachers and DBS certified.
For further details please see the Ecton Hill Field Studies Association flyer or visit the EHFSA website.
BGS Memoirs freely available!
Since 2017 the British Geological Survey have made their extensive collection of current and historical editions of their geological memoirs and other publications freely available online through their website, as well as other regional guides - well worth a look.