Thanks Nick for a very educational program. I'm an 87 yr. old woman in Redding, CA. I was never able to study geology in school, but now I have access to some of the most incredible minds in geology science. Lucky me!!
Wow - that was such a great episode! The graphics (combined with the lastest Karen Sigloff episode) really helped me FINALLY understand the geometry and effect of the slab breakup/roll back. It has always bothered me that the Chief Joseph dike swarms and major CRB floods happened to the north and now that mystery seems a little closer to my mental grasp LOL. So great to hear so many other geologists appreciate what you are doing Nick. This journey since lockdown to today has been epic - thanks for all you do.
May I personally thank you Professor Nick Zentner for providing such wonderful educational content for our viewing enjoyment. As your original talks were a great relief for the Pandemic, this series has been such a relief from the politics currently at center stage! It has been amazing, through it all, to get such an amazing look into the scientific process! I cannot express how much your work has been enjoyable to me! Such a strange experience for me to be situated so squarely in the middle of these discussions here in Boise Idaho!
One more episode in the series please on the significance of the Yellowstone mantel plume throughout its' apparent journey from accretion of siletzia all the way to today. Thank you.
That was one of the best sessions ever. Vic Camp has a way of sharing information that we can understand. Best of all… his diagrams told stories I only dreamed of understanding previously. Vic suggested several speakers from whom we might continue learn further. I for one would embrace a course centered on the YHS’s journey through western US 😊. Thanks again, Nick, for making this learning and this diversion a reality.
I feel you need one more episode covering Basin and Range extension. This episode blew my mind but many pieces fell into place. I have learned so much, thank you Nick.
This series further illuminates the incredibly complex geology of the western edge of North America. A synthesis of this series will provide a nice opening segment into your planned series on the Cascade volcanic arc. Thanks Nick!
Hi Nick, this presentation was one of your best, to date. Dr. Victor Camp is a geologic genius in his field. What impressed me most was his memory. He and I are probably of the same generation and he's as sharp as a tack, while I -- well, I've dulled a bit in my 70's. Of course he's well prepared, but there was no question that caused him pause. He's a treasure. Thank you for inviting him to your forum.
It took me three tries to watch this because it was too fascinating to just run as background while I was busy with housework, etc. It's incredible to think that the Yellowstone hotspot, properly understood through seismic tomography, could be the key to the geology of the entire region.
I love this format idea of a discussion series with experts around a topic and, in this case, a place or area. I would love to see it duplicated in other places like my native Minnesota and even in other disciplines. Thanks for putting it together, Nick, and thanks to those who participated.
Yes. I deeply wish someone was doing this for North Carolina. I have no clue what's going on under the sand pile I live on. Why are there thin spots of white porcelain clay here and there on my property? Why is all this sand almost completely free of fossils? And so on.
I missed the livestream because I was in Yellowstone with my copy of Roadside Geology of Idaho and the Yellowstone Area understanding the geology in a new way thanks to these discussions. THANK YOU! Two thoughts: 1) Everything IS connected-YHS, Counterclockwise rotation, Cascadia subduction zone, seismic tomography, Columbia flood basalts, Siletzia/Yakutat… 2) I love it when you process out loud. You just quit before the big insight though. Please don’t quit thinking about this. You are on the verge of something important.
Is always to learning geology with the teacher Nick Zentner, always great guests. Now i am learning geology, but my work is with plants in Garden Center in Portugal. Now i understand the effect of a mantle plume on a plate that was subducted..history of mantle plumes, there is more than one mantle plume in Earth... 🤔...could a Mantle plume began and never die?🤔... history of Mantle plume🙂...this is my way to pass time, whitout Tv and games😅...just learning geology🎉
Hi Nick, I caught this one in replay and I wanted to give some thoughts to your segment at the end. I really enjoyed this series, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the evolution of Idaho and as we can see in the scientific community some disagreement about how exactly all of it plays together. I find this subject extremely fascinating, and I've really appreciated this series for shedding some more light on the current thinking in the geological community. I would like to see this series continue. I think bringing on the people that Vic mentioned would be fantastic as I am very interested to hear their thoughts. I would also like to say that even though some of your guests have had opposing views, I feel hearing all of them inspires even more people to get involved and find clues to piece it all together, too. I think debate stimulates investigation. And benefits the community. So even if the story isn't perfectly agreed on or completely cohesive yet, I want to see more debate. More guests. And possibly having two or three guests on at once like you've done before to discuss reconciliation of different ideas. How does that sound? No pressure! 😁
What an incredible episode… those illustrations were absolutely amazing.. I finally feel like I understand the YHS!! And plumes… please, please… do Shasta Lassen Mazama
Why did I enjoy this episode of an area I know completely zero about? Aside from the topic learning, I learn a lot from you about storytelling and purely connecting (the most important piece IMO).
Murphy (2016) suggests the yellowstone hotspot entered the Farrallon trench 75 to 80 ma, and may have contributed to the Laramide orogeny. Thats a pretty big fish to fry. Great work on this series. Back home in Ontario after an 18,000 km road trip, including almost two weeks in Washington.. cheers
Hey grandpa Nick. I would like a 12th episode summarizing the different points of view of the guests, where there is agreement and differences. I don't think you can come up with a single model story yet , but you can come back next year with some of Vic's suggested expert guests and deep dive into how the Yellowstone Hotspot impacts the PNW as another A-Z or mini series. Keep up the great work. Cheers.🥰
I think the Yellowstone Hot Spot episode was a fantastic way to finish the Idaho Geology series. As a primer for the Cascade Volcano A-Z this winter it was an excellent background setup. I believe anyone who is interested in this now has a good basic understanding of what happened prior to the Cascades and I'm sure as the A-Z episodes unfold there will be connections to be made with the Idaho Geology you've covered in this series. Great job, Nick!
It is always interesting and grounding to hear divergent views on any topic in geology, the past several episodes of this miniseries have been no exception. I've kind of settled on a long-live, ridge-centered YHS hypothesis rooted in the Vic Camp and Ray Wells school of thought, and I'm leaning toward a Resurrection plate host for Yakutat, so it's a reality check to hear that the YHS story isn't yet settled, and that brilliant minds agreeably disagree on minor and major parts of that story. Once again, you've brought diversity of thought to the viewers though your guests to observe and contemplate how science and the scientific method work.
As a non-geologist who is a little Idaho biased (I live here and enjoyed a Geo 101 course at ISU) I am and have always be fascinated by earth's geological history and footprint; I would like to see this series continue. My humble suggestion is to overlay all these ideas in cartoon and/or graphic forms. My simple mind sees overlaps from each presentation that is beginning to converging to tell a much bigger and more conclusive story of geology within California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
Thank you Vic and Nick! One of my favorite story times of all! Spectacular presentation! This tied so much together in my mind. Can hardly wait for the erupting rollback story, but I'm excited to study the basement of the Cascades and apply some ice from the north! Such excitement!
Thanks Nick.. Another college year starting..My granddaughter just started.. I remember those days 58 years ago.. Still rockin minerally and musically..
I have no education in geology, and still this is so fascinating, I can only imagine how much more interesting it would be with some kind of basic understanding of geology. I know exactly what I’m going to do soon reaching 50 years old, I’m going to study geology, just because it’s interesting. My biggest dream would be to sit in on any of nicks lessons, but for that to happen I would have to visit the US first and that will likely not happen 😊
Having a newly developed open pit mine commercial operation being developed on the McDermitt Plumb fingerprint is exciting to me to gain an understanding of how to locate resources with a geologic understanding. What an amazing talk today thank you Vic and Nick!
The end of the Idaho series perhaps could be, ‘Mysteries surrounding the birth of the Cascades - Plates & Plumes”. Just summarizing the main ideas from the Idaho series, and highlighting the key differences and questions?
After today’s episode I feel like everything has been covered and no more questions come to my mind. Which is not to say that I have the whole picture clear in my head.
Maybe simply a summary episode that links the topics of this series together and organizes some of the scientific disagreements. The clockwise rotation and the YHS maybe related to the volcanos?
If I am understanding correctly, the slab rollback effect in Northeastern California has created western movement of volcanic features on surface. That answers many questions of mine.
Thanks, Nick. Totally thought provoking discussing. As you posed the closing question, I thought that the last few sessions answer the question that launched your series. Even better, it posed some good questions to introduce the next series. The Cascades are reaction to all the forces around onto and below the crust and bordering the region. I would enjoy a classic Zentner summary session with four guests bringing their favorite observations from the series and introducing a couple questions for the November series. Consider waiting 2 to 3 weeks. I watched this in replay and I was left wondering if the YHS was positioned under the Western Seduction slab presented by Karin. several days ago. If it did, I wonder if there would have been an interesting Chemical stew.
Interesting artifact... On initial graphic 1, a quick plot of them YHP caldera track. In Northern California a heat trend can be seeing extending the track to the ocean
Well WOW! another grand guest! Thank you Dr Camp! And of course, here comes the suggestion. Episode 12, “Back to Basics” , an overview of the geologic provinces, batholiths, volcanoes, and the Terraains they ?erupt through? so we settle in our lil’ brains the geologic evidences, and the way the science of geology is , um, ?experienced? by individuals , explained by them, and the resources brought to bear during that process? Thanks again for your strivings!
From Wikipedia: "Romper Room was a rare case of a series being both franchised and syndicated, and some local affiliates..." So the host you saw as a kid was different from other regional, local, or national hosts - or even international hosts since it was franchised around the world.
Nick-at some point you asked why people would disagree with hot spots. There is a podcast, featuring Gillian Foulger explaining Intra-Plate Volcanism without Mantle Plumes. She used to have no doubt on mantle plumes but her own research changed her mind. It is on Geologybites 26 April 2021
Vic Camp episode after Karin Sigloch and Jeff Tepper is a watershed triple. You just need an episode where they/you talk together and flesh out the picture as to how these all relate.
As a thought: what about a talking heads episode with you and Skye Cooley and/or Shawn Willsey. In the episode you can discuss: what we know with some certainty because of these discussions, where theories diverge significantly, and what you hope to learn about this area in the next 10-20 years.
I have absolutely enjoyed the Idaho series. Perhaps it’s just a break for everyone to digest the information that we have all received. Like some other series the subject can be revisited with new ideas and papers that get released.
I have always visualized the YHS as a blowtorch sending heat and magma straight up... but if it's doing all the things we're learning that it is doing... now I sort of visualize it as a heat source rising up through the crust like it's rising up through a glass of ice water... sliding off to the edges, and being blocked by large obstructions above. MAN I wish somebody would do a 3D cartoon of the pieces in motion over time; not just the plates on the surface but being broken up below the surface, the YHS WHILE the plates subduct and the NA plate bullies it's way over them all, Siletzia an Yak squirting up to the north, and the Cascades lifting the Ohanepecosh up 5000 feet with volcanos poking through... what a fascinating area we live in!
I love what you've been doing with the Idaho miniseries, enough that it's prompted me to go back and watch the exotic terrane miniseries as well. As an idea for a possible next episode (although I have no idea what sort of guest would work for this) how about you show the paleogeographic alterations of the Pacific northwest from before the onset of the Cascade arc to the present? It's hard for me to keep track of and visualize the effects of the basin and range extension, the clockwise rotation, and the sea level changes going on in this period. To be greedy, what I'd want to see are pictures of these changes every every five million years or so in this area. I think this would make a nice canvas for you to draw on as you examine the Cascade arc this Fall.
If like to see if the Cascades up Mt. Rainier area, the plutons and such, might be tied to the YHS. Atleast 1 more episode. This is a never ending stream if you wanted it to be, honestly. There is so much going on in that era up there. Im always stoked to see your videos. Thank you
I only recently realized that based on the dating in Siletzia was still volcanically active up to around 30 Ma potentially slightly overlapping with the Adakite time frame Those Tilamook phase as he calls it linking up with the trench and that Ohanapecosh Formation. This interaction seems like it was an important part of the story for both the Yellowstone hotspot and the cascade arc. As for the cascade picture don't forget Sigloch pointed out that the Cascade arc was oceanic until 46 Ma when it was docked to the continent. If the Cascade arc was oceanic until 46 Ma on that Caribbean like plate which I don't remember the name of that became the resurrection plate in its dying gasps. If the southern cascades were not yet well formed back then then it is possible that whatever reorganization played a role in both. Also while I still like the idea of a ridge aligned hotspot I feel it should be remembered that induced spreading ridge like behavior in a back arc basin as well as the fact that tehre seems to be a link between mantle plumes and major mid ocean ridge development may be relevant as some of the oddities associated with the western USA today seem like they can be explained if a deep mantle upwelling structure connected/connecting to the East Pacific Rise and Juan de Fuca/Gouda ridge areas. As part of that the channeling of hot spot melts further sawy from the plume seems potentially quite important given the major geological and igneous activity west along the snake river plain and south with the reactivation of the Rio Grande rift valley complex and the Aspen anomaly. This idea of an induced ridge or ridge like substructure seems like a good possibility as the Icelandic plume appears to have generated several initially within the arctic if the connection to the high Arctic Large Igneous Province and its associated track through Laurasia feeding into the continental break up first by splitting off Greenland and then opening the North Atlantic all seem to show multiple phases of moving mid ocean ridge sea floor spreading which has followed the hotspot as it migrates south. The Wyoming craton is apparently abnormally thin so I can't help but wonder if Yellowstone has a role in that and there is also a associated fast discontinuity associated with the slab wall structures but could some of that be lithospheric drip from the craton? There are some young ~1Ma lamproite pipes up there in Wyoming which I can't help but wonder if they have a piece in this story. Lastly the appearance of Yellowstone Hotspot signatures along a peculiar lineament of the Cascades including the Boring volcanic field, The Indian Heaven volcanic field and most importantly Mt St Helens and Mt Adams among others. Notably only this particular zone of the cascades has this chemical fingerprint and as one of your colloquium guests this past spring had offhand mentioned there is some suggestive tomographic evidence that the slab is thinning along this lineament it suggests Yellowstone is still playing an major role in the future evolution of the Cascade volcanic arc, could we soon geologically speaking be seeing the formation of a new slab tear with Yellowstone plume material either driving of flowing into the associated tear.
So, to answer your question about another show or shows in this mini-series, I would say that the issue of Siletzia, Yakutat & their mother the YHS is currently left hanging. As in where it is now (is it under me in the Boring Lava field? The maps vary greatly), where was it when the early Cascades formed, and was Siletzia as insignificant as Basil says just filling in the Columbia River embayment, or did it play a major role in early Cascade development? As in blocking the subduction and breaking, or creating a slab window in the Faralon plate as it collided with NA. Also how did the Siletzia twin Yakutat slide so far north so fast during all of this? Maybe Erin Donaghy could answer these? Or ??? You opened a Pandora Box with this latest episode.
An excellent episode in an excellent mini-series. It is, to put it mildly, a bit of a strain to visualize what might be happening n kilometers down y million years ago. Ah well. You mentioned thoughts on a possible additional episode. I wonder about a wrap-up that combines and contrasts the various models. Might have some uses. Oh, and is there a 3D modeler & games designer in the house? Might need to be 6D - X, Y, Z, T (time), Tm (Temperature, and C (chemistry)
To further think outside the box, quite possibly in the Lunatic Fringe camp; perhaps the exact same thing (my post earlier about the SAF subduction and no Gorda impingement) may be applied to BC’s Queen Charlotte fault in subduction mode prior to subducting the paleo-Queen Charlotte-Juan De Fuca subplate (Resurrection?) thus possibly extending Cascadia dominance North of Silverthrone Mtn. Basalt-rhyolite intrusions and perhaps even hints of ghost volcanoes in BC’s Pacific Range?
Wouldn’t the Siletzia trench jumping event produce a hole in the subducting plate which would create a natural cavity for magma to be stored and eventually released as the CRBs. Thanks Nick and Vic!
or the buoyancy of the plume just pushed it up is kinda what they are getting at and while its being pushed up more subduction is what actually breaks the plate up
Please, IF Karin, Mike Eddy or Basil and Vic have watched this series, call them back for a calm review of the subject matter as a cap to the series. Even this may not be the end but a good stepping off point until next year. Like Sky said in the comments, all this Idaho series just sets up the Cascade series. If ys need a rest, go for it.
Yet another excellent discussion, Nick. Well done to you and to Vic. Can I suggest a real GLOBAL issue ... what role does the opening of the Atlantic (and mid-Atlantic ridge) play in the geology of Washington/Oregon, etc. After all, Atlantic expansion will directly 'push on the Eastern seaboard of US/Canada'. By also pushing to the east ('on Western Europe), it seems to push Eurasia to subduct the Pacific plate. So the mid-Atlantic ridge cause the subduction of both sides of the Pacific plate? And is there a role for the 'mid-Atlantic push' on the observed rotation of the US currently centred in your area? I think Karin Sigloch also mentioned this in her recent Zoom with you. And it also started about 56 Ma ...
Great interview. There is so much information to digest. But,before, I was fairly confident that the YHS tracked through California and Nevada to get to its current location. Now,not so much. Are we to postulate that there is no evidence of it having erupted while en route?
In my opinion the ending will age well because, in real time, it shows a geologist trying to make sense of new data and ideas. I think this is a quite common experience, caught on camera for all to see. The process is the thing.
Hey Nick. I have loved this series. And I get that you’re needing some time to prepare for the fall A-Z series. My sense of what this Idaho series has been about was to prepare you for potential questions you would have during the upcoming Cascades deep dive, and like previous series you always have a “table setting” few episodes that eventually lead to the bigger questions. MY personal hope during this Idaho series has been “the basement” to the cascades, I.e. What makes up the crust that the cascade volcanoes are pushing up through. And as the crust that lays below the cascade arc didn’t exist 200 million years ago, the big “table setting” question is “what is the story of all the accreted terranes that the cascade volcanoes have pushed up through?” Obviously there is a lot that has happened since the breakup of Pangea, and the creation of what is now the Pacific Northwest. And I think you have attempted to tell that story with Baja BC and the Crazy Eocene. But there are still lots of competing theories. And maybe THAT is what you are trying to nail down before you start telling the story of a subducting plate generating a volcanic arc that is the Cascades. I have faith in your ability to tell a compelling narrative and have fascinating guests to help you tell the story of the Cascades. You are someone who always has questions rattling around in your head. But yeah, sometimes you just need to take a break, put boots on the ground, or wheels to the pavement or whatever you need to do to prepare to tell a story. There IS a story, and I can’t wait to hear it. All the best and Happy Trails.
It's fascinating the eruption of the different sciences coming together to explain a very complicated story of dynamic tectonic subductions. I think a few more episodes may keep you from having a hernia (remember we all said this in Fort back-in-the day?) So to keep you from having a Triple Junction heart attack, please a couple more! 😉 😆
Romper Room was one of the few TV shows my parents let me watch. They believed that Cartoons, specially those shown Saturday mornings, were too violent, and they were right of course. And as far as watching it the name Nancy Terrell (aka Miss Nancy) comes to mind. She wanted kids to send in their first names and she would read them in the Magic Mirror segment. My mother did that, and she (or more likely some TV show staffer) sent me a little certificate that certified I was a Good Bo-Bee. That of course was 60 plus years ago... ♿
Episode 12 idea - Idaho mini series Summary episode, walk through by age (every 10 to 15 mya) comparing images of your guest’s differing models side-by-side (Temper, Sigloff, Tikoff, Camp, etc.) of where the plates/thickening/plumes were and are. Basically, show what is common and generally agreed to in each model (by date) and list what features, plate locations, etc. are not in agreement.
Could the basin and range extension be the continent wrapping around the plume, which is slowing down that area of the continental movement, while that rest of the continent farther away south wants to keep moving? Almost like a car that hits a post wraps around it.
It’s great to brainstorm. Also, to think outside of the box is a wonderful thing. Would like to know more about calderas. Are they a volcano or small rise and then blow out?
Most YHS stories start at the present time and trail off as the evidence gets older. It's very interesting to hear about it during its early years. I need an Oregon version of Nick to tell the story of the region, and pull things together like he does.
@Nick could you recruit Edward Clennett to help summarize story lines, maybe even show us some updated maps? Also noting that Myron Cook’s next video could be a crossover- does eastward subduction cause Absaroka stratovolcanoes 49Ma at the tail end of Baja BC? Are the precursors to the Cascades actually *EAST* of the Idaho batholith?
By the way, thank you for posting the Tepper 2024 paper. I was really curious what the >40mya volcanic unit in Oregon was and it turns out it's the Fisher Formation in the southern end of the Valley near and around Eugene. There's a plethora of tuffaceous units right around there (Fern Ridge Tuff, Bond Tuff, Fern Ridge Tuff) that are all around 30-35 mya ago, but I wasn't aware there was any remaining volcanic units that were older than that. With the amount of Marine fossils found in the Fisher, clearly the earliest Cascades activity down there was in an ocean setting and probably has a similar origin to the Ohanapecosh in Washington. I've read a paper that the Little Butte formation (in the southern Willamette valley) be described as a series of shield volcanoes climbing out of the ocean that were all built up and stacked on one another; it also has a relatively close age to what the Ohanapecosh is if my googling is correct.
NOVEMBER next live!! You have a baby grandson to enjoy! Classes of geology students waiting to be awed! Of course there’s the Elephant in the Room of the November Series (the Yellowstone Hot Spot). Giving you time will be to our benefit! (Should you feel the need for a live stream: Bixou and your grandson )
Hopefully you have another Idaho series video. We understand if you can't. But if you do... I would suggest one more episode with an expert guest. Perhaps someone with tomography skills. Then you could have a multi-guest episode where your goal is to sort of try to put it all together in general terms for the viewers. Or at least go through some certain elements. No debate or anything, just experts trying to casually put their pieces together, or basically have at the end of it some kind of working narrative (but ready to change their minds). Thats what I'd do. And maybe have ready a top 10 list of best images to discuss. Oh, and the cozy fort :)
I can't comment on the Washington Cascades, but from Vic's presentation it seemed that the hotspot had a great deal to do with Newberry. And quite possibly Lassen and Shasta. And maybe Mazama?
Adrian Lewis from McAbee Fossil Bed Heritage Site, traditional lands of the St'uxwtews First Nations 👍 but myself, originally from a small fishing village know as Port Edward, BC!
Thanks Nick for a very educational program. I'm an 87 yr. old woman in Redding, CA. I was never able to study geology in school, but now I have access to some of the most incredible minds in geology science. Lucky me!!
Wow - that was such a great episode! The graphics (combined with the lastest Karen Sigloff episode) really helped me FINALLY understand the geometry and effect of the slab breakup/roll back. It has always bothered me that the Chief Joseph dike swarms and major CRB floods happened to the north and now that mystery seems a little closer to my mental grasp LOL. So great to hear so many other geologists appreciate what you are doing Nick. This journey since lockdown to today has been epic - thanks for all you do.
Thanks for saving me a bunch of typing by saying this so well!
May I personally thank you Professor Nick Zentner for providing such wonderful educational content for our viewing enjoyment. As your original talks were a great relief for the Pandemic, this series has been such a relief from the politics currently at center stage! It has been amazing, through it all, to get such an amazing look into the scientific process! I cannot express how much your work has been enjoyable to me! Such a strange experience for me to be situated so squarely in the middle of these discussions here in Boise Idaho!
Thank you.
One more episode in the series please on the significance of the Yellowstone mantel plume throughout its' apparent journey from accretion of siletzia all the way to today. Thank you.
That was one of the best sessions ever. Vic Camp has a way of sharing information that we can understand. Best of all… his diagrams told stories I only dreamed of understanding previously. Vic suggested several speakers from whom we might continue learn further. I for one would embrace a course centered on the YHS’s journey through western US 😊. Thanks again, Nick, for making this learning and this diversion a reality.
You are a bond between the general public and the pro geo community. We are all for it.
I feel you need one more episode covering Basin and Range extension. This episode blew my mind but many pieces fell into place. I have learned so much, thank you Nick.
This series further illuminates the incredibly complex geology of the western edge of North America. A synthesis of this series will provide a nice opening segment into your planned series on the Cascade volcanic arc. Thanks Nick!
So love your channel. I learn so much. You are a wonderful teacher! Thank you.
Hi Sir. Enjoying you from Springfield, MO. Always enjoy your lessons.
Hi Nick, this presentation was one of your best, to date. Dr. Victor Camp is a geologic genius in his field. What impressed me most was his memory. He and I are probably of the same generation and he's as sharp as a tack, while I -- well, I've dulled a bit in my 70's. Of course he's well prepared, but there was no question that caused him pause. He's a treasure. Thank you for inviting him to your forum.
It took me three tries to watch this because it was too fascinating to just run as background while I was busy with housework, etc.
It's incredible to think that the Yellowstone hotspot, properly understood through seismic tomography, could be the key to the geology of the entire region.
I love this format idea of a discussion series with experts around a topic and, in this case, a place or area. I would love to see it duplicated in other places like my native Minnesota and even in other disciplines. Thanks for putting it together, Nick, and thanks to those who participated.
Yes. I deeply wish someone was doing this for North Carolina. I have no clue what's going on under the sand pile I live on.
Why are there thin spots of white porcelain clay here and there on my property?
Why is all this sand almost completely free of fossils?
And so on.
I missed the livestream because I was in Yellowstone with my copy of Roadside Geology of Idaho and the Yellowstone Area understanding the geology in a new way thanks to these discussions. THANK YOU! Two thoughts: 1) Everything IS connected-YHS, Counterclockwise rotation, Cascadia subduction zone, seismic tomography, Columbia flood basalts, Siletzia/Yakutat… 2) I love it when you process out loud. You just quit before the big insight though. Please don’t quit thinking about this. You are on the verge of something important.
Nick, your series helped me though the Covid Lockdowns. Can't thank you enough. Keep going!
What a parade of stellar episodes!!! That CRB info near the pole of rotation was an eye opener!!!
Thanks so much for this fascinating series!
As a Nevada Geologist YES, I want to see a discussion of the basin and range extension!!!!
I’ve loved this series! Maybe rest it and come back to it next year. Thank you for sharing with us!❤
Thank you for a great explanation of geology in our reigon. thank You Professor Vic Camp, wow your maps made it all so clear. Hope they are published.
Wonderful video. Vic Camp was brilliant. Thank you.❤
Is always to learning geology with the teacher Nick Zentner, always great guests. Now i am learning geology, but my work is with plants in Garden Center in Portugal. Now i understand the effect of a mantle plume on a plate that was subducted..history of mantle plumes, there is more than one mantle plume in Earth... 🤔...could a Mantle plume began and never die?🤔... history of Mantle plume🙂...this is my way to pass time, whitout Tv and games😅...just learning geology🎉
Absolutely fascinating discussion. Thank you Vic and Nick. Quite thought provoking.
What a pleasure to watch and listen to two esteemed scientists geek out! 💙💙💙
Hi Nick, I caught this one in replay and I wanted to give some thoughts to your segment at the end. I really enjoyed this series, there are a lot of unanswered questions about the evolution of Idaho and as we can see in the scientific community some disagreement about how exactly all of it plays together. I find this subject extremely fascinating, and I've really appreciated this series for shedding some more light on the current thinking in the geological community.
I would like to see this series continue. I think bringing on the people that Vic mentioned would be fantastic as I am very interested to hear their thoughts. I would also like to say that even though some of your guests have had opposing views, I feel hearing all of them inspires even more people to get involved and find clues to piece it all together, too. I think debate stimulates investigation. And benefits the community.
So even if the story isn't perfectly agreed on or completely cohesive yet, I want to see more debate. More guests. And possibly having two or three guests on at once like you've done before to discuss reconciliation of different ideas. How does that sound? No pressure! 😁
I've watched all but a few of your shows, going back to the townie blackboard ones. This show put a lot of things together for me!
Another thought provoking episode even for someone who only had geology 101 in the late 60's. Keep up the good work.
What an incredible episode… those illustrations were absolutely amazing.. I finally feel like I understand the YHS!! And plumes… please, please… do Shasta Lassen Mazama
Yes PLEASE!!!
Why did I enjoy this episode of an area I know completely zero about? Aside from the topic learning, I learn a lot from you about storytelling and purely connecting (the most important piece IMO).
Marvelous episode that answered so many questions that I probably could never have articulated. It brought me great joy.
Thanks for all the hard work on these videos!
Woo... Some very interesting mantle plume interpretations are displayed here!😃✨💞💗A lot to think about... Fun!! Thank you, Vic Camp and Nick!!😉
Murphy (2016) suggests the yellowstone hotspot entered the Farrallon trench 75 to 80 ma, and may have contributed to the Laramide orogeny. Thats a pretty big fish to fry. Great work on this series. Back home in Ontario after an 18,000 km road trip, including almost two weeks in Washington.. cheers
Hey grandpa Nick. I would like a 12th episode summarizing the different points of view of the guests, where there is agreement and differences. I don't think you can come up with a single model story yet , but you can come back next year with some of Vic's suggested expert guests and deep dive into how the Yellowstone Hotspot impacts the PNW as another A-Z or mini series. Keep up the great work. Cheers.🥰
I think the Yellowstone Hot Spot episode was a fantastic way to finish the Idaho Geology series. As a primer for the Cascade Volcano A-Z this winter it was an excellent background setup. I believe anyone who is interested in this now has a good basic understanding of what happened prior to the Cascades and I'm sure as the A-Z episodes unfold there will be connections to be made with the Idaho Geology you've covered in this series. Great job, Nick!
Watching from Republic, Washington
It is always interesting and grounding to hear divergent views on any topic in geology, the past several episodes of this miniseries have been no exception. I've kind of settled on a long-live, ridge-centered YHS hypothesis rooted in the Vic Camp and Ray Wells school of thought, and I'm leaning toward a Resurrection plate host for Yakutat, so it's a reality check to hear that the YHS story isn't yet settled, and that brilliant minds agreeably disagree on minor and major parts of that story. Once again, you've brought diversity of thought to the viewers though your guests to observe and contemplate how science and the scientific method work.
As a non-geologist who is a little Idaho biased (I live here and enjoyed a Geo 101 course at ISU) I am and have always be fascinated by earth's geological history and footprint; I would like to see this series continue. My humble suggestion is to overlay all these ideas in cartoon and/or graphic forms. My simple mind sees overlaps from each presentation that is beginning to converging to tell a much bigger and more conclusive story of geology within California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
Another fine conversation..thought provoking. Thank you both.
Love your geology programs. In the mid 1950’s, Romper Room was filmed in Burbank, CA hosted by Miss Helen.
Missed by a couple of hours, still great hopefully will catch next one on time
Thank you Vic and Nick! One of my favorite story times of all! Spectacular presentation! This tied so much together in my mind. Can hardly wait for the erupting rollback story, but I'm excited to study the basement of the Cascades and apply some ice from the north! Such excitement!
Thanks Vic and Nick! That was a great talk/presentation! Lots of great ideas.
Thanks Nick..
Another college year starting..My granddaughter just started..
I remember those days 58 years ago..
Still rockin minerally and musically..
A great presentation Nick!! Thanks so much!
I have no education in geology, and still this is so fascinating, I can only imagine how much more interesting it would be with some kind of basic understanding of geology. I know exactly what I’m going to do soon reaching 50 years old, I’m going to study geology, just because it’s interesting. My biggest dream would be to sit in on any of nicks lessons, but for that to happen I would have to visit the US first and that will likely not happen 😊
Having a newly developed open pit mine commercial operation being developed on the McDermitt Plumb fingerprint is exciting to me to gain an understanding of how to locate resources with a geologic understanding. What an amazing talk today thank you Vic and Nick!
That thoroughly blew my mind! Ty
Hey Nick!!! Thank you Sir!
The end of the Idaho series perhaps could be, ‘Mysteries surrounding the birth of the Cascades - Plates & Plumes”. Just summarizing the main ideas from the Idaho series, and highlighting the key differences and questions?
Yes, a summary video would be great.
Very good presentation and interesting. I actually made it thru without dozing off.
After today’s episode I feel like everything has been covered and no more questions come to my mind. Which is not to say that I have the whole picture clear in my head.
Maybe simply a summary episode that links the topics of this series together and organizes some of the scientific disagreements. The clockwise rotation and the YHS maybe related to the volcanos?
If I am understanding correctly, the slab rollback effect in Northeastern California has created western movement of volcanic features on surface. That answers many questions of mine.
Thanks, Nick. Totally thought provoking discussing. As you posed the closing question, I thought that the last few sessions answer the question that launched your series. Even better, it posed some good questions to introduce the next series. The Cascades are reaction to all the forces around onto and below the crust and bordering the region.
I would enjoy a classic Zentner summary session with four guests bringing their favorite observations from the series and introducing a couple questions for the November series. Consider waiting 2 to 3 weeks.
I watched this in replay and I was left wondering if the YHS was positioned under the Western Seduction slab presented by Karin. several days ago. If it did, I wonder if there would have been an interesting Chemical stew.
Interesting artifact...
On initial graphic 1, a quick plot of them YHP caldera track. In Northern California a heat trend can be seeing extending the track to the ocean
Natural, easy to follow.
Well WOW! another grand guest! Thank you Dr Camp! And of course, here comes the suggestion. Episode 12, “Back to Basics” , an overview of the geologic provinces, batholiths, volcanoes, and the Terraains they ?erupt through? so we settle in our lil’ brains the geologic evidences, and the way the science of geology is , um, ?experienced? by individuals , explained by them, and the resources brought to bear during that process? Thanks again for your strivings!
Great followup with the author of the 305 series class session a couple years ago.
From Wikipedia: "Romper Room was a rare case of a series being both franchised and syndicated, and some local affiliates..."
So the host you saw as a kid was different from other regional, local, or national hosts - or even international hosts since it was franchised around the world.
Happy to learn about a possible signature of the mantle plume in the CRB if you can find the narrative, otherwise pause until next season.
"This may not age well"... 55MY in the future... "HAH! He was funny, and _so_ accurate!"
Love these seminars. Question. What is causing the clockwise rotation
Oh Lambchops was my favourite..but that was before you were born Nick.
Nick-at some point you asked why people would disagree with hot spots. There is a podcast, featuring Gillian Foulger explaining Intra-Plate Volcanism without Mantle Plumes. She used to have no doubt on mantle plumes but her own research changed her mind. It is on Geologybites 26 April 2021
Vic Camp episode after Karin Sigloch and Jeff Tepper is a watershed triple. You just need an episode where they/you talk together and flesh out the picture as to how these all relate.
As a thought: what about a talking heads episode with you and Skye Cooley and/or Shawn Willsey. In the episode you can discuss: what we know with some certainty because of these discussions, where theories diverge significantly, and what you hope to learn about this area in the next 10-20 years.
I've loved all your series Nick, and I'd like to hear more about the Great Terrane Wreck. #12?
Take humble self-confidence, add curiosity, and a truck load of hard work and what do you get? Nick.
I have absolutely enjoyed the Idaho series. Perhaps it’s just a break for everyone to digest the information that we have all received. Like some other series the subject can be revisited with new ideas and papers that get released.
I have always visualized the YHS as a blowtorch sending heat and magma straight up... but if it's doing all the things we're learning that it is doing... now I sort of visualize it as a heat source rising up through the crust like it's rising up through a glass of ice water... sliding off to the edges, and being blocked by large obstructions above. MAN I wish somebody would do a 3D cartoon of the pieces in motion over time; not just the plates on the surface but being broken up below the surface, the YHS WHILE the plates subduct and the NA plate bullies it's way over them all, Siletzia an Yak squirting up to the north, and the Cascades lifting the Ohanepecosh up 5000 feet with volcanos poking through... what a fascinating area we live in!
I love what you've been doing with the Idaho miniseries, enough that it's prompted me to go back and watch the exotic terrane miniseries as well. As an idea for a possible next episode (although I have no idea what sort of guest would work for this) how about you show the paleogeographic alterations of the Pacific northwest from before the onset of the Cascade arc to the present? It's hard for me to keep track of and visualize the effects of the basin and range extension, the clockwise rotation, and the sea level changes going on in this period. To be greedy, what I'd want to see are pictures of these changes every every five million years or so in this area. I think this would make a nice canvas for you to draw on as you examine the Cascade arc this Fall.
If like to see if the Cascades up Mt. Rainier area, the plutons and such, might be tied to the YHS. Atleast 1 more episode. This is a never ending stream if you wanted it to be, honestly. There is so much going on in that era up there. Im always stoked to see your videos. Thank you
Viewing from Ridgefield, Washington.
I only recently realized that based on the dating in Siletzia was still volcanically active up to around 30 Ma potentially slightly overlapping with the Adakite time frame Those Tilamook phase as he calls it linking up with the trench and that Ohanapecosh Formation. This interaction seems like it was an important part of the story for both the Yellowstone hotspot and the cascade arc.
As for the cascade picture don't forget Sigloch pointed out that the Cascade arc was oceanic until 46 Ma when it was docked to the continent. If the Cascade arc was oceanic until 46 Ma on that Caribbean like plate which I don't remember the name of that became the resurrection plate in its dying gasps. If the southern cascades were not yet well formed back then then it is possible that whatever reorganization played a role in both. Also while I still like the idea of a ridge aligned hotspot I feel it should be remembered that induced spreading ridge like behavior in a back arc basin as well as the fact that tehre seems to be a link between mantle plumes and major mid ocean ridge development may be relevant as some of the oddities associated with the western USA today seem like they can be explained if a deep mantle upwelling structure connected/connecting to the East Pacific Rise and Juan de Fuca/Gouda ridge areas. As part of that the channeling of hot spot melts further sawy from the plume seems potentially quite important given the major geological and igneous activity west along the snake river plain and south with the reactivation of the Rio Grande rift valley complex and the Aspen anomaly. This idea of an induced ridge or ridge like substructure seems like a good possibility as the Icelandic plume appears to have generated several initially within the arctic if the connection to the high Arctic Large Igneous Province and its associated track through Laurasia feeding into the continental break up first by splitting off Greenland and then opening the North Atlantic all seem to show multiple phases of moving mid ocean ridge sea floor spreading which has followed the hotspot as it migrates south.
The Wyoming craton is apparently abnormally thin so I can't help but wonder if Yellowstone has a role in that and there is also a associated fast discontinuity associated with the slab wall structures but could some of that be lithospheric drip from the craton? There are some young ~1Ma lamproite pipes up there in Wyoming which I can't help but wonder if they have a piece in this story.
Lastly the appearance of Yellowstone Hotspot signatures along a peculiar lineament of the Cascades including the Boring volcanic field, The Indian Heaven volcanic field and most importantly Mt St Helens and Mt Adams among others. Notably only this particular zone of the cascades has this chemical fingerprint and as one of your colloquium guests this past spring had offhand mentioned there is some suggestive tomographic evidence that the slab is thinning along this lineament it suggests Yellowstone is still playing an major role in the future evolution of the Cascade volcanic arc, could we soon geologically speaking be seeing the formation of a new slab tear with Yellowstone plume material either driving of flowing into the associated tear.
So, to answer your question about another show or shows in this mini-series, I would say that the issue of Siletzia, Yakutat & their mother the YHS is currently left hanging. As in where it is now (is it under me in the Boring Lava field? The maps vary greatly), where was it when the early Cascades formed, and was Siletzia as insignificant as Basil says just filling in the Columbia River embayment, or did it play a major role in early Cascade development? As in blocking the subduction and breaking, or creating a slab window in the Faralon plate as it collided with NA. Also how did the Siletzia twin Yakutat slide so far north so fast during all of this? Maybe Erin Donaghy could answer these? Or ??? You opened a Pandora Box with this latest episode.
An excellent episode in an excellent mini-series. It is, to put it mildly, a bit of a strain to visualize what might be happening n kilometers down y million years ago. Ah well. You mentioned thoughts on a possible additional episode. I wonder about a wrap-up that combines and contrasts the various models. Might have some uses.
Oh, and is there a 3D modeler & games designer in the house? Might need to be 6D - X, Y, Z, T (time), Tm (Temperature, and C (chemistry)
To further think outside the box, quite possibly in the Lunatic Fringe camp; perhaps the exact same thing (my post earlier about the SAF subduction and no Gorda impingement) may be applied to BC’s Queen Charlotte fault in subduction mode prior to subducting the paleo-Queen Charlotte-Juan De Fuca subplate (Resurrection?) thus possibly extending Cascadia dominance North of Silverthrone Mtn.
Basalt-rhyolite intrusions and perhaps even hints of ghost volcanoes in BC’s Pacific Range?
Wouldn’t the Siletzia trench jumping event produce a hole in the subducting plate which would create a natural cavity for magma to be stored and eventually released as the CRBs. Thanks Nick and Vic!
thats how my mind works as well with the clockwise rotation thrown in there
or the buoyancy of the plume just pushed it up is kinda what they are getting at and while its being pushed up more subduction is what actually breaks the plate up
Please, IF Karin, Mike Eddy or Basil and Vic have watched this series, call them back for a calm review of the subject matter as a cap to the series. Even this may not be the end but a good stepping off point until next year. Like Sky said in the comments, all this Idaho series just sets up the Cascade series. If ys need a rest, go for it.
Yet another excellent discussion, Nick. Well done to you and to Vic.
Can I suggest a real GLOBAL issue ... what role does the opening of the Atlantic (and mid-Atlantic ridge) play in the geology of Washington/Oregon, etc. After all, Atlantic expansion will directly 'push on the Eastern seaboard of US/Canada'. By also pushing to the east ('on Western Europe), it seems to push Eurasia to subduct the Pacific plate. So the mid-Atlantic ridge cause the subduction of both sides of the Pacific plate? And is there a role for the 'mid-Atlantic push' on the observed rotation of the US currently centred in your area?
I think Karin Sigloch also mentioned this in her recent Zoom with you. And it also started about 56 Ma ...
Great interview. There is so much information to digest. But,before, I was fairly confident that the YHS tracked through California and Nevada to get to its current location. Now,not so much. Are we to postulate that there is no evidence of it having erupted while en route?
In my opinion the ending will age well because, in real time, it shows a geologist trying to make sense of new data and ideas. I think this is a quite common experience, caught on camera for all to see. The process is the thing.
Hey Nick. I have loved this series. And I get that you’re needing some time to prepare for the fall A-Z series. My sense of what this Idaho series has been about was to prepare you for potential questions you would have during the upcoming Cascades deep dive, and like previous series you always have a “table setting” few episodes that eventually lead to the bigger questions. MY personal hope during this Idaho series has been “the basement” to the cascades, I.e. What makes up the crust that the cascade volcanoes are pushing up through. And as the crust that lays below the cascade arc didn’t exist 200 million years ago, the big “table setting” question is “what is the story of all the accreted terranes that the cascade volcanoes have pushed up through?” Obviously there is a lot that has happened since the breakup of Pangea, and the creation of what is now the Pacific Northwest. And I think you have attempted to tell that story with Baja BC and the Crazy Eocene. But there are still lots of competing theories. And maybe THAT is what you are trying to nail down before you start telling the story of a subducting plate generating a volcanic arc that is the Cascades.
I have faith in your ability to tell a compelling narrative and have fascinating guests to help you tell the story of the Cascades. You are someone who always has questions rattling around in your head. But yeah, sometimes you just need to take a break, put boots on the ground, or wheels to the pavement or whatever you need to do to prepare to tell a story. There IS a story, and I can’t wait to hear it. All the best and Happy Trails.
It's fascinating the eruption of the different sciences coming together to explain a very complicated story of dynamic tectonic subductions. I think a few more episodes may keep you from having a hernia (remember we all said this in Fort back-in-the day?) So to keep you from having a Triple Junction heart attack, please a couple more! 😉 😆
Romper Room was one of the few TV shows my parents let me watch. They believed that Cartoons, specially those shown Saturday mornings, were too violent, and they were right of course. And as far as watching it the name Nancy Terrell (aka Miss Nancy) comes to mind. She wanted kids to send in their first names and she would read them in the Magic Mirror segment. My mother did that, and she (or more likely some TV show staffer) sent me a little certificate that certified I was a Good Bo-Bee. That of course was 60 plus years ago... ♿
Episode 12 idea - Idaho mini series Summary episode, walk through by age (every 10 to 15 mya) comparing images of your guest’s differing models side-by-side (Temper, Sigloff, Tikoff, Camp, etc.) of where the plates/thickening/plumes were and are. Basically, show what is common and generally agreed to in each model (by date) and list what features, plate locations, etc. are not in agreement.
Could the basin and range extension be the continent wrapping around the plume, which is slowing down that area of the continental movement, while that rest of the continent farther away south wants to keep moving? Almost like a car that hits a post wraps around it.
It’s great to brainstorm. Also, to think outside of the box is a wonderful thing.
Would like to know more about calderas. Are they a volcano or small rise and then blow out?
Might need to get prof an oversized “loop” to look through reading our names … 😂😂
Most YHS stories start at the present time and trail off as the evidence gets older. It's very interesting to hear about it during its early years.
I need an Oregon version of Nick to tell the story of the region, and pull things together like he does.
Barbara from Liberty Township, Ohio
@Nick could you recruit Edward Clennett to help summarize story lines, maybe even show us some updated maps?
Also noting that Myron Cook’s next video could be a crossover- does eastward subduction cause Absaroka stratovolcanoes 49Ma at the tail end of Baja BC? Are the precursors to the Cascades actually *EAST* of the Idaho batholith?
"We might need Ray Wells to talk about this..."
Your terms are acceptable Dr. Camp.
By the way, thank you for posting the Tepper 2024 paper. I was really curious what the >40mya volcanic unit in Oregon was and it turns out it's the Fisher Formation in the southern end of the Valley near and around Eugene. There's a plethora of tuffaceous units right around there (Fern Ridge Tuff, Bond Tuff, Fern Ridge Tuff) that are all around 30-35 mya ago, but I wasn't aware there was any remaining volcanic units that were older than that.
With the amount of Marine fossils found in the Fisher, clearly the earliest Cascades activity down there was in an ocean setting and probably has a similar origin to the Ohanapecosh in Washington. I've read a paper that the Little Butte formation (in the southern Willamette valley) be described as a series of shield volcanoes climbing out of the ocean that were all built up and stacked on one another; it also has a relatively close age to what the Ohanapecosh is if my googling is correct.
NOVEMBER next live!! You have a baby grandson to enjoy! Classes of geology students waiting to be awed! Of course there’s the Elephant in the Room of the November Series (the Yellowstone Hot Spot). Giving you time will be to our benefit! (Should you feel the need for a live stream: Bixou and your grandson )
Hopefully you have another Idaho series video. We understand if you can't. But if you do...
I would suggest one more episode with an expert guest. Perhaps someone with tomography skills.
Then you could have a multi-guest episode where your goal is to sort of try to put it all together in general terms for the viewers. Or at least go through some certain elements. No debate or anything, just experts trying to casually put their pieces together, or basically have at the end of it some kind of working narrative (but ready to change their minds). Thats what I'd do. And maybe have ready a top 10 list of best images to discuss. Oh, and the cozy fort :)
Is the Long valley caldera cause by hot spot like Yellow Stone?
Can you do one on Northern CA extending the YHS/ Siltezia - did the volcanic arc include Lassen and Shasta?
I can't comment on the Washington Cascades, but from Vic's presentation it seemed that the hotspot had a great deal to do with Newberry. And quite possibly Lassen and Shasta. And maybe Mazama?
Adrian Lewis from McAbee Fossil Bed Heritage Site, traditional lands of the St'uxwtews First Nations 👍 but myself, originally from a small fishing village know as Port Edward, BC!