We created this site to help students learn about some of the very cool geology right here in the Greater Boston area.

The Boston area holds a history of hundreds of millions of years of changing continents and climate. That history is recorded in the rocks, quite literally under our feet. Much of that history is hidden under the soil, but there are several places where the story is revealed. Each star below links to a location where you can see outcroppings of exposed rock or other geologic features that help us piece together the story of how the Boston area formed and has changed over the past 600 million years.

The history of the development of this area by humans is closely tied to the geology. The underlying geology has presented opportunities and challenges, and interesting solutions have been created to deal with them.

To use this site, you can use the links on the map below, which will link directly to information and "virtual field trips" at various locations around the Greater Boston area. The sidebar on the left has more in-depth information about geology, engineering, seismic hazards, and development in the area.

This work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, under the auspices of Dr. Laurie Baise at Tufts University, as well as the Brookline Education Foundation.