The museum's geology collection is a resource for scholarship in the Earth sciences. From University of Oregon students to researchers from around the world, the collection supports a variety of geological inquiries. 

The collection began with rock assemblages gathered by geologist Thomas Condon, the University of Oregon's first science professor. It has since grown with the donation of new minerals collected by Lloyd Staples, volcanic rocks from southeast Oregon collected by Larry Kittleman, marine carbonates collected for isotopic study by Bill Holser,  glendonites and sediments collected by Sam Boggs, and rocks documenting paleosols described by Greg Retallack. About half the specimens are also represented by petrographic thin sections. The collection also includes a representative array of Oregon minerals, rocks, sedimentary structures, pseudofossils, and ores.

Designed as a research archive, the collection is in compliance with current federal research requirements for explicit data management plans. Material can be requested on loan, and additional destructive analyses are permitted within limits.

Visit the UO Department of Earth Sciences website to learn about its active research programs in volcanology, plate tectonics, and more. 
 

Other collections 
Collections galleries 
Everyday Uses of Rocks and Minerals