Geology Merit Badge

The six requirements, with requirement 4 drawn as its four options and seven inner choices, and requirement 5(b) drawn as the backward-reaching step it is.

7 steps (40 parts inside them). 38 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Geology Merit Badge

No questions answered

This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 6 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.

Which of this applies to you

You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 6 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 7

1 step

1. Define geology, and why the present explains the past Task

Define geology, discuss how geologists learn about rock formations, and explain why the study of the present matters to understanding the past.

Stage 2 of 7

1 step

2. Three resources mined from the Earth Task

Pick three extracted or mined for commercial use, and discuss with your counselor how each is discovered and processed.

Stage 3 of 7

1 step

3. Review a geologic map, one you have to obtain Often forgotten Task

Of your area, or an area your counselor approves. Identify sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous rocks and their estimated ages, and say whether the map shows horizontal, folded, faulted or intrusive rocks, and how you concluded that. Getting hold of the map is a step in itself.

Stage 4 of 7

1 step

4. ONE of four options, and two of them need your counselor first Often forgotten Decision

Options A and B cannot be started until your counselor provides materials: topographic maps and approved experiments for A, at least 20 data points for B. Options C and D are self-starting. Only C and D involve collecting.

TWO OF THESE OPTIONS CANNOT BE STARTED ALONE. Option A needs topographical maps provided by your counselor and two experiments approved by them; Option B needs at least 20 data points provided by your counselor. Options C and D need nothing from anyone before you begin. If your counselor is hard to reach, that difference matters more than the subject matter.
36 parts
- 4(A). Option A: Surface and Sedimentary Processes Optional May not apply
- 4(A)(1). An experiment: how sediments settle from suspension Optional May not apply
- 4(A)(2). Plot stream gradients for four stream types Optional May not apply
- 4(A)(3). Diagram a stream's features Optional May not apply
- 4(A)(4). An experiment: sediment too small to see Optional May not apply
- 4(A)(5). Visit a stream and read the flow direction Optional May not apply
- 4(B). Option B, Energy Resources Optional May not apply Option B contains no collecting and no travel in natural areas. Its five parts are lists, explanations, a map from supplied data, and a choice between a display and a rig visit. Requirement 5(b) then asks how you practised Leave No Trace while collecting specimens for this badge. Raise that with your counselor when you choose, not at the end.
- 4(B)(1). The top five resources used to generate US electricity Optional May not apply
- 4(B)(2). Source rock, trap and reservoir rock Optional May not apply
- 4(B)(3). Eight subsurface exploration methods Optional May not apply
- 4(B)(4). Build a subsurface structure map Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 4(B)(5). A display, or a drilling rig Optional May not apply
- 4(B)(5)(a). Display or presentation on oil, gas or coal Optional May not apply
- 4(B)(5)(b). Visit an operating drilling rig Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 4(C). Option C, Mineral Resources Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(1). Define rock, and the three classes Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(2). Define mineral, and its identifying properties Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(3). Collect 10, or identify 15 Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(3)(a). Collect 10 different rocks or minerals Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 4(C)(3)(b). Identify 15, with your counselor's assistance Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(4). Three road-building materials used locally Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(5). A mine, a discussion, or a civil engineer Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(5)(a). Visit an active mine, quarry or gravel pit Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 4(C)(5)(b). Discuss two rocks and two minerals Optional May not apply
- 4(C)(5)(c). Visit a civil engineer's office Optional May not apply
- 4(D). Option D, Earth History Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(1). Chart the geological eras and periods Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(2). Plate tectonics Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(3). Burial, fossilization and extinction Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(4). What fossils tell you, and nine habitats Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(5). Collect 10 fossils, or identify 15 Optional May not apply Often forgotten
- 4(D)(6). One of four ways to see fossils in the world Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(6)(a). Museum or university fossil collection Optional May not apply Often forgotten The appointment with a curator or guide must be made BEFORE you go. The requirement says so explicitly, and it needs your parent or guardian's and your counselor's approval as well. Turning up at a museum and asking on the day does not meet this.
- 4(D)(6)(b). A building made of fossiliferous rock Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(6)(c). A rock outcrop containing fossils Optional May not apply
- 4(D)(6)(d). A display on your state fossil Optional May not apply

Stage 5 of 7

1 step

5. Leave No Trace, and one half of this looks backwards Often forgotten Requirement

Two parts. 5(a) is what the principles mean; 5(b) is how you practised them during this badge. Doing 5(a) before requirement 4 is what makes 5(b) answerable.
2 parts
- 5(a). What the principles mean for geology. Do this EARLY Often forgotten DO THIS BEFORE REQUIREMENT 4, NOT AFTER IT. Requirement 5(b) asks how you PRACTISED the Leave No Trace Seven Principles and the Outdoor Code while doing this badge. If the discussion of what they mean comes after the fieldwork, 5(b) becomes an exercise in remembering rather than a report. Nothing on the badge states this order. It is advice, and it is the most useful thing on this page.
- 5(b). How you actually practised them, during this badge Often forgotten Usually comes after 4. ONE of four options, and two of them need your counselor first. This one looks backwards. It is not "explain the principles" but "explain how you practiced them while traveling in natural areas and while collecting rock and fossil specimens for this merit badge": a report on your own conduct during requirement 4. It cannot be prepared in advance, only observed.

Stage 6 of 7

1 step

6. Careers or a hobby, one of the two Decision

Both end in a discussion with your counselor.
2 parts
- 6(a). Explore careers related to this badge Optional May not apply
- 6(b). Geology as a hobby or a healthy lifestyle Optional May not apply

Stage 7 of 7

1 step

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 6. Careers or a hobby, one of the two.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.