Geology

Is a viral story about two missing hikers named "Sarah Bennett" and "Andrew Miller" found dead in a cave in 2019 consistent with reality? No, that's not true: Several details in the tale about the missing couple from Colorado don't add up, such as a non-existent newspaper quote of a sister named "Emily Bennett" in the Denver Post and an…

Was a hydrothermal explosion on July 23, 2024, at Yellowstone National Park's Biscuit Basin considered "unusual" by experts, as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: Officials with the U.S. Geological Service said the "small hydrothermal explosion" was considered "normal." The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory and Yellowstone National Park issued a joint statement stating that monitoring data showed "no…

Did all rivers on Earth "commence" in the spring of 2399 B.C.? No, that's not true: The birth of the oldest rivers predates this point in time by millions of years, according to the consensus of earth science. A U.S. Geological Survey scientist confirmed that to Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on June…

Is the site known as Giant's Causeway on the coast of Northern Ireland actually a giant petrified armadillo, visible from the air? No, that's not true: The unusual geometric rock formations seen at Giant's Causeway are basalt columns, which, according to experts, take their shape from the way molten volcanic basalt lava shrinks as it cools. Some stone surfaces resemble…

Is a Safe Zones Map that shows parts of the United States that may be submerged by "the sea" or wracked by earthquakes an official map? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to back up this claim. Additionally, the map and its accompanying text look and sound suspiciously similar to maps produced by Lori Toye, an author and self-proclaimed…

Does a photo show the genuine "mud fossil remains" of the "dragon head cave in Egypt," as a video on TikTok claims? No, that's not true: The theory of "mud fossils" is a pseudoscientific notion, and there is no evidence that dragons were real. The image's photographer confirmed to Lead Stories that it showed a geological feature in Egypt's Mount…

Were the 2023 Maui wildfires started because the island holds 120 million tons of lithium? No, that's not true: A U.S. Geological Survey representative and an associate professor emeritus of geology both said there is no evidence that there is that much lithium in Maui or throughout the Hawaiian islands. Lithium is mainly found in Australia, South America and Nevada,…

Was the film "Barbie" banned in Serbia because of a scene containing a map of "Greater Albania"? No, that's not true: The film was not banned in Serbia and such a map doesn't appear in the movie. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted to TikTok on July 5, 2023. It contained a supposed screenshot of an article…

Were "electrically charged rocks" discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2023? No, that's not true: No such discovery had been formally announced in the scientific community as of this publication, and a geology expert told Lead Stories that there are no known minerals "that produce electricity naturally without adding energy to the system." The rock in the…

Does a set of online images prove that there is a "covert military base" on the planet Mars? No, that's not true: There have been no documented human missions to Mars, whether for military or other purposes, as of the date of this fact check, and a NASA spokesperson was not able to identify the images as authentic. The claim…