Hobbies-craft
Rock&Gem Magazine
THIS SUMMER, PICK STONY FLOWERS
Several rock and mineral formations look for all the world like flowers frozen in stone: chrysanthemum stones, flower agate, desert roses and poppy jasper.
6 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
An Ocean's Worth of Water in Earth's Deep Mantle
Water is key to life as we know it. When seeking life beyond our planet, Earth and planetary scientists always seek out planets and moons suspected to harbor liquid water either on the surface or beneath icy crusts.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Hexagonal Diamonds?
Only available from the lab!
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
While the World Drowns, Greenland Rises
With a mile-thick ice sheet covering 80% of its surface, Greenland accounts for a fifth of current sea level rise as that ice melts on an increasingly warm Earth.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Argyle Diamonds
When the Argyle mine in Western Australia closed in 2020, it marked the end of one of the most remarkable chapters in modern mineral history.
2 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
CHANGING MINERAL MARKETS
As Rock & Gem celebrates its 55th anniversary—no small feat for a print magazine in the digital age—the hottest commodities on today’s mineral markets are lithium, the rare-earth elements and gold.
3 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Grandpa's Agate Diggings
Finding Moss Agate on the Grande Ronde River
7 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Does This Fossil Reveal a Whole New Kingdom of Life?
They would have looked strange in the so-called Rhynie chert landscape of the ancient Scottish Highlands 407 million years ago.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
From Maps to Satellites: Rockhounding's Tech Evolution
Rock and mineral collecting has come a long way, but the biggest changes have really occurred in just the past few decades.
5 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
BELLY of the DRAGON
A Rockhound's Guide
4 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
MODERN MINERAL Exploration
From Gold Pans to Artificial Intelligence
5 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Colombian Emeralds
The Green Fire of Muzo & Chivor
6 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
BAT CAVE JASPER
Perched in a cave high above Ochoco Lake, Bat Cave jasper has quietly earned its place among other notable Oregon jaspers.
3 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Wandering Wedges Far from Home
They've been considered geological curiosities: islands, like Zabargad in the Red Sea or Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, composed of continental rock surrounded by very different oceanic rock.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Discovering Who Ate Who in Jurassic Park
150-million-year-old Jurassic sediments of the Morrison Formation at Colorado's Dry Mesa Dinosaur Quarry are rich in dinosaur remains.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
From the Studio
Welcome to From the Studio, my new column focusing on lapidary crafts, gemstone artistry and industry happenings, machinery and techniques with a behind-the-scenes look at my studio, Hashnu Stones & Gems.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
THE EVOLVING HISTORY OF Gem & Mineral Societies
Lessons for the future from one club's past
6 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
MINERAL COLLECTING and ROCK & GEM
Evolving Together for 55 Years
5 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
The History of Plate Tectonics Stretches Ever Longer
The process of plate tectonics is largely responsible for a \"living\" Earth.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Crystals Tickle Our Inner Ape
Scientists have long found crystals in caves and other places containing evidence of occupancy by our ancestors going back 700,000 years.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
A New Rhabdodontomorph Is Among Us
“A new what?” you ask.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
A Fossil Bridge to Modern Humans
The evidence from the Thomas Quarry is meager. Some jaws and a handful of scattered teeth.
1 min |
June 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
A New Amber Locality Fills a Gap
A sandstone quarry in central Ecuador has yielded the first significant deposit of Mesozoic amber from South America.
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Did "Left-Handed" Fish Leave Water Earlier than Thought?
Fossil evidence suggests that fish (or \"fishapods\") dragged themselves onto land during the middle Devonian Period.
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
"Lab Quakes” Produce Surprising Results
When faults let loose and earthquakes result, the main effect we mortals experience is the violent shaking.
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
This Egg is No Spring Chicken
How to date a dino egg
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
Have we Already Mined the Critical Minerals We Need
Then why are we throwing them away?!
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
One Toxic Worm
A critter that creates & tolerates orpiment!
1 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
ROCK & GEM FIELD GUIDE: Silver
Silver (Ag) is a native element and one of Earth's most prized precious metals.
2 min |
January / February 2026
Rock&Gem Magazine
DINOSAURS OF THE HELL CREEK MUSEUM
In the Badlands of South Dakota, just outside the small town of Belle Fourche—pronounced “Bell Foosh”—a new attraction has taken shape that every dinosaur enthusiast should see. The Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Museum is part hands-on exhibit, part science center and part active research lab.
3 min |