MASSIVE Boulders Rest on Tiny Pedestals at Marble Canyon, Arizona: Learn the Geology of this Area
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
- Check out the fantastic and precariously perched boulders at Marble Canyon in northern Arizona with geology professor Shawn Willsey. Learn how these spectacular geologic features formed near Marble Canyon and Lee's Ferry, the eastern edge of the Grand Canyon.
00:00 intro and location
00:18 overview of area
03:07 pedestal
05:20 capstone
06:27 cliffband to north
07:22 diagram and explanation
09:35 more boulders up close
11:30 developing balanced rock
12:48 last boulder example
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Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
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What's fascinating to me is the idea that the same boulder could be a balanced Rock multiple times since breaking away from the cliff! But I'm sure there's no way to find out how many times
You could sit and watch.
:-)
Fascinating. It occurs to me the each of those boulders may have gone through many cycles where the pedestal below erodes away, a new pedestal is formed and erodes away and so on over millions of years.
Yeah, just to make a few divots in the side of the rock in some old layer might take thousands of years. This channel blows my mind every video.
A secondary process is the densification of the Moenkopi mudstone under the boulder. Under much more compression than the surrounding area, its mechanical properties make it less porous, and less erodable than the area adjacent to it. Have fun on your trip!
Good point.
I love the way you teach.. interesting and instructive.. even a 66 year oldie can still learn .. thank you Shawn you make learning fun and applicable to everyone
Thanks for getting up early. Fascinating.
We have some lovely balanced boulders here in Yorkshire UK best typified at a place called Brimham Rocks.
These are at the top of the side of a glacial valley. There's some incredible formations up there.
They really do ..... rock ....!
Great for encouraging an interest in geology too. My kids used to love scrambling around up there and we'd contemplate how they formed while taking in the panoramic view.
Very informative and interesting. Right to the point, excellent examples of how these formations occur. That’s such a fascinating area. Over here in Georgia everything is covered in clay and vegetation. It’s cool to see rocks without having to dig to get to them.
"So let's have a look at this balanced rock and hope that today isn't the day it decides to roll over and squish us like a bug."
Yep. I've stood under the second one he showed with my hands over my head for scale (stupid tourist photo), and you're sure it's not going to fall, but the hair on the back of your neck starts to rise anyway, lol...
IKR? Him just scratching away at the little bit of gypsum gave me A LOT more anxiety than it should
I have individual photos of all these, and I looked at them last night, and now I am presented with this today. How fortuitous!
Win win.
@@shawnwillsey I hope to hear what you have to say about Zabriskie Point; perhaps in November or December when you will not get cooked doing it.
Dr. Willsey, I well remember seeing those pedestal rocks on a drive north on 89 me and a friend of mine made up to Lee's Ferry some 25 years ago. Our intent was to do a little fly fishing on the river. In the event, we got a lot of exercise and some spectacular photographs, but no fish! Beautiful country up there.
Damn Willsey, I know you’ve noted it but you do get around. Your kids are quite lucky to have such a father.
Good on ya
Oh, I thoroughly enjoy and appreciate what you share, here.
Keep up the good work.
And you’re working out your method and developing your art. Might I add, filling a niche. With you and Zentner, my knowledge has increased tremendously.
Thanks, friend.
He has a major advantage. Where he lives is a geologic wonderland from Montana/Idaho straight down to Arizona.
I am envious. I have a trip of 1000 miles just to get to the Rockies. But it's worth the trip, lol...
@@Backroad_Junkie The western margin of the NA craton is a treasure trove of geology that most people don't appreciate - especially its age. I like seeing more of this because my focus has been almost exclusively on the exotic terrane building on the west coast and the landscape _that_ has created. Extremely compelling but before all that terrane accretion was a large passive margin that existed a billion years before all that and looked nothing like it looks now.
Yeah, all self inflicted fun. I do have the advantage of mostly free summers and a great location. Plus, I like lots of outdoor activities and traveling. All are helpful for combining with geology and education.
The wife and I drove through there in the spring of 2022. We were wondering how those rocks got that way. I'll have to show her this video.
Thanks Shawn
Thank you for your kind donation.
I love knowing about what we see. Such interesting descriptions! Fun, Shawn. Thank you!
Awesome! I first visited this place in May 1998. Great that I finally got a detailed explanation of how this was formed! Thanks a lot Shawn!
Thanks Shawn, makes sense. Appreciate the diagrams.
Another good one. Thanks!
Love that whole area.
I’m camped near Flagstaff and heading that way soon. I’m going to make sure I stop and check these out. 👍🏼
Have fun!
thanks for your great explanations, Professor!
Thank you. Very interrsting. Stay safe. Have fun.
Thanks!
Thank you very much. This is very appreciated.
Very cool , we have some in Oregon too.
Oh wow! Where are they in Oregon? how interesting.
I have driven by those rooks and never stopped. That won't happen again, now I will drive there just to see them. O, and hope to see a Condor at Lees Ferry thank you stay safe ALL
I saw a study once that explained how these boulders erode their necks in a way that keeps the rock perfectly balanced. Apparently where the pressure of the boulder is greatest on the neck part the rock grains are compressed more, resulting in slower erosion where the support is needed most.
Fascinating! Thank you!
I've always found these formations interesting. I already knew how they form, but it's still a cool geological phenomenon. I was surprised that the mesa cap wasn't overhanging. I expected to see it undercut by erosion, which would have explained why the rocks break off, but it looks like the cap is actually further back than the softer rock beneath, at least at the part towards the end of the video.
8:55 -- An explanation I read long ago pointed out that more than just shielded edge erosion is going on in such balanced rocks. The additional trick is that for porous pedestal rocks, the pressure of the boulder reduces local pore size and thus increases the ability of the pedestal to resist erosion. The boulder begins leaning when erosion eats into one side of the pedestal. However, this also increases pressure on that side of the pedestal and relaxes it on the opposite side, slowing erosion on the endangered side and speeding it up on the opposite side. Further erosion then returns the boulder to a more balanced state. With enough time, this feedback mechanism causes the pedestal to wear down towards the center of boulder gravity. It can produce balanced rocks at rates that would be statistically impossible using edge erosion alone.
I think it was one of my college professors who explained the pedestal formation idea to us. Dr. Thomas Beveridge was one of the best instructors I've ever had. Formerly, he had been the State Geologist for Missouri, so he was marvelously familiar with the interesting sites and geological quirks of our home state.
Awesome video! Thank you Shawn!
Grt geo-adventure. Thx Sir Willsey ✌🏻. Amazing
Nice place , interesting video. Thanks Shawn.
Been there. Amazing place to visit. Thanks for the education.
Awesome, thx!
감사합니다.
Thanks. Much appreciated.
Tack!
Thank you!
Looks like Wile E. Coyote could step out from behind a rock at any moment. Thank you, Professor.
Thanks! Another interesting one 😊
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much.
Yeah, lets touch the sandstone base of a many ton rock balanced on top. I'd hope that 100th year estimate wasn't off by 101 years in the negative.😉
Always a great lesson learned in these videos👏👍
Very interesting. Like to see you dissect the Marian rover videos.
Have a wonderful trip. I think I know you well enough now to be sure you will stay as safe as possible out in nature. Thanks for showing these interesting erosional features and explaining them.
Already back from the trip. Just have a bunch of videos and pics to go through now. Truly an epic adventure!
@shawnwillsey that's good to hear. I'll look forward to those as they come. I like the way you added the formation names to the screen. Yes, it is more work to add them but very helpful to the viewers who want to study more about them.
Recent subscriber here. Thank you for doing what you do. I'm really enjoying the videos. I was in the Marble Canyon area a few months ago and stopped for lunch near the balanced rocks. I was fortunate to get a few pics of the California Condors flying near the bridge, too.
Have you visited the Gold Butte National Monument area in southern Nevada? I have been there twice in the past year. The area known as Little Finland fascinates me. I'd really like to know more about it but can't find much info online.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your knowledge.
Welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy the content and videos here. I haven't been to Gold Butte (a newer monument) but have been to nearby Valley of Fire State park. I'll add Gold Butte to my list. Let me know if there is a specific place or topic of interest.
1:38 - That looks like Mars, big time. I can't even get my mind around the time and pressures needed to create all of this. I wish I could see it happening. Makes you feel very insignificant lol.
There's another group of boulders and balanced rocks a bit west of the Lee's Ferry group at Cliff Dwellers Lodge. It's about 11 miles from the Lee's Ferry Balanced Rock along 89A.
Yep. This spot was closer. Same geologic setting.
Valeu!
Much appreciated. Thank you!
👍🏼
It looks like a landscape for giants, perhaps on Mars.
❤
So from a non-geologic perspective (lol, I've been there a couple of times), I think he's in the Lee's Ferry Unit of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, several miles downstream from the Glen Canyon Dam. It's the first place below the dam that has access to the river, which is why a lot of the raft trips start here. It's on the other side of Antelope Pass from the main part of the Glen Canyon NRA and Lake Powell.
Interestingly, I was looking at some USGS quads, and the land here is part of the Glen Canyon NRA, but the *river* is part of (and protected by) Grand Canyon NP. Grand Canyon technically starts at the Paria River, just bit upstream from the launch.
It's called Lees Ferry, because it was home (for a while) to John D. Lee, the guy who was eventually scapegoated as the perpetrator of (and executed for) the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He ran a ferry here (one of the only crossings of the Colorado for dozens of miles in either direction), which actually operated until the late1920's when the first Navajo Bridge was constructed over Mable Canyon.
The entire area of (very) Northern Arizona and Southern Utah are worth a visit.... 😁
Yeah they call that part the Marble Canyon.
10:41 possible petrified wood clast rt center
I am a Grand Canyon guide and will be launching next week. I can’t wait to see the videos you make on your trip. What’s your best guess as to how the canyon was carved?
Have fun! Look for more Canyon videos when you get off.
Hi Shawn, your videos are awesome. I am applying for grad school in geology (my undergrad in geology, but a focus on mineralogy). I was wondering if you could talk about the dragon's teeth/crocodile rock near Colonnade Arch not far from Green River, Utah. I came across this rock a couple years ago and have asked around including to BLM Utah and the Utah Geology instagram for more info on how this rock formed. Though everyone says it's interesting and acknowledge my question, no one has explained it yet. Is it just like tiny hoodoos or can you talk about it a little in a future video? Thank you for your time and consideration.
Good luck in grad school. You will learn SO much there so soak it all up. Send me GPS coordinates and as much info as you can to shawnwillsey@gmail.com
I hear it's quite a challenge getting to it.
Having spent a fair amount of time driving through this region.. am I ignorant in assuming that Grand Staircase-like geologic formations continues from Utah through Arizona into New Mexico? The geology seems very similar as I have driven though northern New Mexico
Great video! It's a bit difficult to appreciate the length of time and level of erosion involved in creating these, as well as other geological features.
That's one of the main beauties of geology for me.
The contemplation of deep, deep time.
And that can be pondering just one formation. Then you have to add in the time for the processes that created the material that form that formation. Ad infinitum ...... 🙂
My base is also eroding away as holding the bolder is becoming harder. Dang what'd you do to me
Hey Shawn, awesome video. At 10:43 is that long thin thin a piece of wood? to the right of your hand about 1 foot away. a few inches long and thin? what is it?
Looks like it could be. Good eye!
@@shawnwillsey , thanks, I have a knack for looking at the less obvious. You were talking about petrified wood at the time, what a coincidence .
It looks like there’s some bouldering potential there. Am I the only one looking for chalk on them? 😂
Didn't see any but the Shinarump is good for climbing. I've climbed routes on it near St George.
Pocket Money!
Much appreciated. Thanks so much.
As a hiker/backpacker I wish I had studied geology and botany so I would know what I'm walking past. Do not push over those boulders, you could end up in jail!
wow, so much misinformation here. everyone knows the big boulders were placed on top of the small rocks by the coyote setting a trap for the roadrunner..... 😆
(you know someone had to say it) i really do enjoy your clips. i have learned a little more about the world we live in and what happened to cause x-y-z to look the way they do today.
I have two pictures, before and after of standing rocks at cliff Dwellers. I would like to send you. Taken 4 months apart
Do you have an email or contact info I can send it to?
The first big rock looks like a bird's head and one side (left) has an eye and on the right, the eye has fallen out🤣🤣🤣🤣. I wonder how much strength is added with the gypsum veins?
The gypsum is very soft so not much.
If thunderstorms cause the erosion why no vegetation?
Too dry and hot. Plus Moenkopi has clays which make it hard for vegetation to grow.
I feel like there should be a coyote and a mischievous bird running around.
Don't test the stability of the system by manually eroding the mudstone. 😂
God's work of art. The beauty He's blessed us with I just continue to marvel at these formations -- scenes like this, Grand Canyon, Wasatch Front, Sierra Escarpment, Tahoe, northern Cascades, Columbia Gorge, just blows me away.
Those are a public safety hazard and should be knocked down for the good of the children. Think of the children.
I just found your channel and had to subscribe 🏜️! if you haven’t already will you showcase hoodoos? Thanks for sharing your gift of knowledge !!
Welcome aboard and you glad you like the content. What kind of hoodoos are you referring to?
I’m not picky so any will do, they all have character. How they form, probably like the pedestals, and any other interesting facts. I also really enjoy learning about the different layers and time periods. Thanks for your sharing, informative and not too long.
Thanks!
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Thanks for your kind support. Much appreciated.
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Thank you for this kind donation.