Geology Department

California’s drought has reached epic proportions. Nearly 60 percent of the state is in exceptional drought—the most severe category—and farmers are depleting groundwater reserves at record rates as wildfires break out north and south.

Now there’s something else to worry about:…

This past Saturday, a private collector paid $10,370 at auction for what was touted as a six-million-year-old turd. Billed in the auction house catalog as fossil feces measuring "an eye-watering 40 inches in length" and believed to be "possibly the longest example of coprolite…

In an attempt to help curb the impact of a three-year drought, California is likely to soon issue a first-time mandatory water restriction.

The California State Water Resources Control Board is expected to pass the emergency measure Tuesday, as reservoirs across…

Earthquakes happen every day as the world’s tectonic plates slip, slide, crash and spread. Most are small or happen far away from people. And though scientists have named the faults where most of this action happens, people rarely pay attention unless a major earthquake occurs. One fault,…

A new study suggests that the heavy use of ground water for pumping and irrigation is causing mountains to lift and valleys to subside.

The scientists say this depletion of the water is increasing seismic activity along the San Andreas fault.

For years, scientists have wondered what are the forces that keep pushing up California's mighty Sierra Nevada and central coast ranges, causing an increase in the number of earthquakes in parts of Central California.

On Wednesday, a group of scientists offered a new intriguing…

Excessive groundwater pumping for irrigation in California’s agricultural belt can stress the San Andreas Fault, potentially increasing the risk of future small earthquakes, a new study suggests.

GPS readings found parts of the San Joaquin Valley floor have been…