Lava vs. Water: The Fascinating Geology of Idaho's Menan Buttes

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  • Опубликовано: 25 дек 2024
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Комментарии • 205

  • @oscarmedina1303
    @oscarmedina1303 9 месяцев назад +3

    Thanks Shawn. I learned a lot. At my age, I don't make it out into the field as often as I like. Your virtual field trips fill the gaps and teach me new things. Thank you!

  • @Laserblade
    @Laserblade Год назад +6

    Thank you for explaining that puzzle Professor. Geology is how time writes, and that was a fascinating story to read.

  • @stevewhalen6973
    @stevewhalen6973 Год назад +1

    Thanks! I appreciate your continued explaining earths geological processes. As a long-term active hiker I'm seeing and appreciating more and more as I slowly continue to recognize and grasp on to remembering more of the many geological features explained in your greatly informative videos .

  •  Год назад +2

    Your students are really lucky to have such a great teacher ! As are all of us subscribers!

  • @jayprice4543
    @jayprice4543 Год назад +48

    I live 5 miles to the east across the Snake River. I take my grandkids up the R-Mountain, as we call it, at least a couple of times a year. They call the big bowel at the end of the video the “toilet bowel”.
    I’m a former USGS geologist. Love your videos.

  • @mortillery2306
    @mortillery2306 Год назад +1

    Thanks. Was on top this weekend, family has a home in the area so this was wonderful.

  • @TheDevice9
    @TheDevice9 Год назад +33

    It was interesting that during the Teton Dam Flood of 1976, all that water that tried to follow the Snake River channel backed up when it got to the Buttes as it sort of tried to follow it's ancient path that went through them rather than around them.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +16

      Wow. Interesting. Look for a Teton dam video very soon.

  • @cherylwood5202
    @cherylwood5202 Год назад +6

    Thank you! Very interesting!

  • @josephmartin1540
    @josephmartin1540 Год назад +13

    Thank you for exceeding travel videos by adding science! Without typing a wordy explanation, 66 with difficulties… seeing places I would love to or have seen with a science added… is not only entertainment, it is refreshing to my brain, my existence. I can support you beyond saying that, but carry on Prof. Carry on!

  • @Anne5440_
    @Anne5440_ Год назад +17

    Since watching your videos I'm amazed how much volcanic activity is in Southern Idaho. When I was young and traveling through that area I only knew about Craters of the Moon. Back then I was only excited by the road runners. My mother was a lifelong passionate bird watcher. Dad and I learned to pay attention to birds out of self defense.

  • @stephenmorton8017
    @stephenmorton8017 Год назад +3

    excellent! thanks.

  • @bottomup12
    @bottomup12 Год назад +4

    140,000 to 10,000 years ago you replied. So this was happening during the last glacial maximum period? Amazing to imagine what it must have looked like! Thanks for showing us!

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      My pleasure. Thanks for your support!

  • @spinderella3602
    @spinderella3602 Год назад +6

    Very enlightening 🎉 Thank you!

  • @LanceHall
    @LanceHall Год назад +11

    Love being able to see these great geologic locations

  • @julescaru8591
    @julescaru8591 Год назад +2

    Well between your good self , Nick and skye I have been having a great time on virtual field trips to places that I will never see in real life , thanks for sharing and furthering my love of the earth and her machinations!
    All the best Jules 👍

  • @lonthrall5613
    @lonthrall5613 Год назад +3

    Thank you!

  • @user-wk1mw9nj3i76
    @user-wk1mw9nj3i76 6 месяцев назад

    Thanks for hiking up 700 feet to show us the wonders of the place. Blows the imagination, thinking about how much the landscape has changed over time.

  • @charlierumsfeld6626
    @charlierumsfeld6626 Год назад +1

    Thank you

  • @dianeehlers3234
    @dianeehlers3234 Год назад +1

    I live in Houghton Michigan in the upper peninsula . There are mountains of basalt here from an ancient rift. The geology here is fascinating.

  • @sdmike1141
    @sdmike1141 Год назад +1

    Thanks! Phreatomagmatic!!

  • @carolyntolliver1146
    @carolyntolliver1146 Год назад +2

    Fascinating. Thank you.

  • @jajphotog77
    @jajphotog77 Год назад +5

    Really enjoy your videos! Have learned a lot! Thanks!

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +1

      Glad to hear it! Thanks for your kind donation.

  • @charleymitchell5461
    @charleymitchell5461 Год назад +3

    Cool stuff, Professor. I am a new fan, I am a Zentnerd. Idaho has so much great geology.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      Welcome aboard! Have fun perusing the existing videos.

  • @Lpmeff
    @Lpmeff Год назад +1

    Thanks for your work are stories very interesting

  • @craighoover1495
    @craighoover1495 Год назад +2

    I always look forward to your taking me to places I might have some familiarity with from the distant past to get a perspective I never had before.

  • @brianpeers
    @brianpeers Год назад +1

    Thanks

  • @andyhampsten4252
    @andyhampsten4252 7 месяцев назад

    Watched a lot of these. Geo 10 many years ago in college sparked a life long interest in how things got the way they are. These 20 minute posts are short enough and informative enough for all tastes. And they're fun. Thanks.

  • @stevewhalen6973
    @stevewhalen6973 Год назад +1

    Thanks!

  • @hestheMaster
    @hestheMaster Год назад +6

    The formation of these volcanoes must have been a wild sight to see. Need to remember at 10,000 to 13,000 years ago
    there was a shallow set of lakes around here. It was colder here for a long period of time. Water from melting glacier
    activity formed an ancient Snake River system or maybe an early Snake River fork. With much more water just sitting
    there compared to today and with a great amount of groundwater no doubt, it then met a newly forming volcano with
    obviously explosive results. This kind of volcano is very rare in North America but I believe both Iceland and Hawaii have
    had their respective shares of this type of volcano. Thanks for a really great video Shawn.

  • @felipericketts
    @felipericketts Месяц назад

    Always fun to see through your eyes and understand our world a little better! 🙂

  • @skagited9617
    @skagited9617 Год назад +1

    Thanks again, Shawn!! Very interesting! (and great to see more $upport...)

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      My pleasure. Thank you for your kind donation.

  • @glenncourtney4876
    @glenncourtney4876 Год назад +2

    Phreatomagmatic. I'm going to have to work that word into conversation today.

  • @StellaVinum
    @StellaVinum 26 дней назад

    I am learning so much and today seems the appropriate day to say thank you for all your fantastic content. Keep on exploring and explaining Professor Willsey.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  26 дней назад +1

      Thanks for the kind words! I appreciate you watching and your nice donation.

  • @KA7EII
    @KA7EII Год назад +3

    Thank you for the great geology tour of the Menan Buttes. Looking forward to exploring it for myself soon.

  • @bonniearmstrong6564
    @bonniearmstrong6564 Год назад +1

    Thanks Shawn for the tour of your area. I’ve always enjoy history of areas in the U.S., but at this stage of my life, I’m unable to go to these areas except by the internet by people like you. Again, thank you.

  • @jwardcomo
    @jwardcomo Год назад +2

    Thank you. Really enjoy your videos!

  • @michaelnancyamsden7410
    @michaelnancyamsden7410 Год назад +2

    Love these videos. Thank you.

  • @DebiBrady
    @DebiBrady Год назад +1

    Just discovered your channel as I'm following the increased EQ activity on Iceland that may be the precursor to another volcanic eruption. I will have to watch some of your backlog!

  • @davidk7324
    @davidk7324 Год назад +2

    Thanks Shawn, this is now on my list.

  • @grandparocky
    @grandparocky Год назад +1

    Great Video thank you Shawn!

  • @TheDevice9
    @TheDevice9 Год назад +7

    Thanks for doing this one. I grew up and spent most of my first 30 years within sight of the N. Menan Butte, but I never made the hike up to the crater. In fact, I didn't know there was a parking lot and trail... there probably wasn't when I was a kid. I always had a fascination with it when I was little and when I would find a big "lava rock" in the garden, I'd look up at the "Butte Volcano", as we called it, and imagine that rock flying out of it and landing in my back yard, miles away. I really appreciate what you do Shawn, thanks again.

    • @Sylvan_dB
      @Sylvan_dB Год назад +2

      The parking lot and trail were a surprise to me when I saw them a year or two ago! As a kid in a school field trip the school bus just parked on the side of the dirt road, and we all did a scramble up the side. That trip was the first time I saw a scorpion. Saw a couple out there last summer as well.

  • @theclearsounds3911
    @theclearsounds3911 7 месяцев назад

    I can see these buttes from my deck and hiked it once a few years ago. Great that you can come here to Eastern Idaho to teach us all the technical details about how things like this formed. Makes it beautiful here!

  • @brianpeers
    @brianpeers Год назад +2

    If google let me I would give this post two thumbs up!

  • @Rachel.4644
    @Rachel.4644 Год назад +3

    This is really interesting! Very fun, I love seeing the places, to get to experience what you've talked about. And cool intro....
    👍🏻👍🏻💞😊

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +1

      My awesome wife designed the intro. Beyond my skill set.

    • @Rachel.4644
      @Rachel.4644 Год назад

      @@shawnwillsey lucky guy (and wife) 😁👍🏻

  • @Cinnemax77
    @Cinnemax77 Год назад +1

    As always- great vid

  • @rockweiler777
    @rockweiler777 Год назад +2

    Right on! This is a great class.

  • @Qigate
    @Qigate Год назад +2

    Great video and wonderfully explained... Thanks!

  • @earth2wendy
    @earth2wendy 3 месяца назад

    This is terrific-thanks so much! As you pointed out the Tetons your hand hovered above our house of 30 years. The north Menan butte is a hike we routinely do with visiting friends and family, relating as best we can the story of its formation using info we gleaned from the book Idaho for the Curious by Cort Conley, as well as an article in the Post Register’s Nature column, by the wonderful Terry Thomas, titled “Menan Butte was a huge volcanic explosion.” A highlight the smooth river cobbles embedded in the lava right up on the rim, and imagining what the indigenous people already present in the landscape might have seen over the reportedly four or so months during which the Menan buttes formed. You’ve added much to the story with this video, and you can be sure we’ll be referring to it again and again. We’ll undoubtedly make it required viewing for all future visitors! Your video on the City of Rocks was really helpful to our understanding of that geology as well. You have a gift for condensing some complex geological concepts into digestible bites for the uninitiated. Very happy to have discovered your channel!

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 месяца назад

      Many thanks for your kind comments and donation. Glad to hear this and other videos are helpful to understanding this amazing landscape.

  • @runninonempty820
    @runninonempty820 Год назад +2

    Live all your videos, will see if I can get to that site next month when we go to southern Idaho.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      Awesome. Look for a few more videos from this area in the coming weeks.

  • @jeffcooper3434
    @jeffcooper3434 Год назад +1

    Excellent video. I live in western Oregon now, but I grew up in southern Idaho, near Idaho Falls. This video shows my old stompin' grounds. I wish I had known more about what I was looking at when I was doing all that stompin'!

  • @utahammocan2578
    @utahammocan2578 Год назад

    FANTASTIC Shawn. Love these insights in my back yard!
    Regards,
    Richard

  • @cyndikarp3368
    @cyndikarp3368 Год назад

    Thanks for sharing your field trips. We do enjoy learning geology from you.

  • @robertmeyersMeyers-cm9fy
    @robertmeyersMeyers-cm9fy 10 месяцев назад

    Your videos are great, I feel like I’m right there with you, so much great information, really appreciate your time and effort to produce these.

  • @MyWoodpecker
    @MyWoodpecker Год назад +1

    Nice video Shawn. Enjoyed watching. Look forward to seeing the next video. :D

  • @lmgaab
    @lmgaab Год назад +3

    I assume that you know this, Shawn, your program is unique in the world. I have searched may
    times for actual "in the field" geology programs. None, except...for Shawn Willsey! Not only that,
    your presentation is enthusiastic, curious, pro camera work, excellent lens and camera, and great
    subject matter. I usually watch through streaming rather than RUclips site on my mac, so I can't
    comment to you that way. Onward and Upward, Professor Willsey! your devoted viewers,
    Larry and Shirley Gaab

    • @Sylvan_dB
      @Sylvan_dB Год назад +2

      See also Nick Zentner. Mix of field and lectures in classroom and community (and some in his back yard during the pandemic).

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +4

      Thanks Larry and Shirley for your kind words. These videos are a fun way for me to share awesome geology and locations. There are a few other geologists out there doing similar things but we each have our own style and focus. Thanks again for your loyal viewership.

  • @3xHermes
    @3xHermes 5 месяцев назад

    Great location and story. Well done! Thx

  • @GregInEastTennessee
    @GregInEastTennessee Год назад +1

    Great video. I've added the North Butte to my "Want To Go" list for when I get out there in August.

  • @v.skeggjoar7307
    @v.skeggjoar7307 Год назад

    I live on the coast here in oregon but I was born in Sun Valley and grow up in Hailey and Shoshone, and grandad would always take us to Redfish Lake and Alturas Lake on the boat for fishing. This was back when you could still catch the fish that redfish lake is named after, the Red Drum fish. I thank you for your show I have the worst case of homesickness, and unfortunately I'll never make it home again do to injuries received in the service. The hourglass' sand is down to the last few grains, but at least your show has shown me the beauty I remember from the 60s and 70s. Thank You!

  • @garysimon7765
    @garysimon7765 Год назад +1

    Bumps make water go fast and make rivers.
    Darn right, I subscribed. Very clear geological explanations

  • @gigistrus490
    @gigistrus490 Год назад

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I'm absorbing best I can.

  • @mirandamom1346
    @mirandamom1346 Год назад +1

    It must be fun to see the world through geologist eyes!

  • @loisrossi841
    @loisrossi841 4 месяца назад

    I love a good story, thank you.

  • @laurenrobinson9219
    @laurenrobinson9219 Год назад +2

    Love your cool videos! Wish there was someone doing something cool like this in Pennsylvania!

  • @ja6995
    @ja6995 Год назад +1

    I feel so lucky to have lived in Island Park and currently live in Northern Utah

  • @choppering
    @choppering 11 месяцев назад

    Thank you again for the interessting video. You are a Good pedagog.

  • @alanclark639
    @alanclark639 Год назад

    Said it before but you guys are so damned lucky to have all that geology and space open to everyone - not only are we in U.K. limited by every inch of everywhere being owned by someone but a debateable number of Ice Ages rolled over the place eradicating many features and then the weather improved so much that loads of trees covered the place! All we are left with is a few quarries and the coast - unless you live near Wales or Scotland. Look forward to seeing more great country Shawn.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      Thanks for your support and viewership.

  • @DonnaCsuti-ji2dd
    @DonnaCsuti-ji2dd Год назад

    Thanks very interesting and well explained.

  • @d2sfavs
    @d2sfavs 10 месяцев назад

    excellent video thank you shawn

  • @susiesue3141
    @susiesue3141 6 месяцев назад

    😊 Thank you for sharing!

  • @willhandy5345
    @willhandy5345 Год назад +1

    Thank you. Informative. I knew tuff, but I’d never heard of a tuff cone. Your clarity about phreatomagmatic eruptions rounded out my slightly vague understanding. Both the basaltic and quartzite zeoliths (also a new term for me) were fascinating.

  • @rogercotman1314
    @rogercotman1314 Год назад +3

    Thanks Shawn, great video providing more information regarding what happens when magma comes in contact with water. 242 like ...... When temperatures get cooler, I plan to revisit some areas in LMNRA (North Shore Road) that possibly have similar geological issues.

  • @skyedog24
    @skyedog24 Год назад +1

    I enjoy the part about the egg shaped holes that are in the vent and how they are coming out that is very interesting those shapes have always baffled me. 🇺🇸🎆

  • @Faelani38
    @Faelani38 Год назад

    An awesome lesson thank you. I definitely learned something new. I never learned about this type of volcano in my volcano class a few years ago.

  • @ichaukan
    @ichaukan 7 месяцев назад

    I've been visiting Rexburg for work over the last few months. Driven by here a few times but haven't stopped yet. I'll make sure to make time and visit this feature properly in the future.

  • @CitizenJane-
    @CitizenJane- Год назад +5

    Hi Shawn. Great video. I have a black, half oval sort of shape piece of rock that looks like it should be pumice, but it's heavy like granite. In the middle is a quartz crystal. You've just explained how it was made. Thank-you! As to how it came into my possession, I can't recall. But I am in Australia, so hopefully it didn't come from Menan Buttes !

  • @Reziac
    @Reziac Год назад +4

    Pulsating effect might be from ground water being steamed out and refilling until it again reaches critical volume.

  • @lorenmorelli9249
    @lorenmorelli9249 Год назад

    Excellent Presentation!!

  • @normaallred7568
    @normaallred7568 Год назад

    Thank you, so interesting

  • @alanl.simmons9726
    @alanl.simmons9726 Год назад +1

    Professor. enjoy your vids. I was inspired to obtain Roadside Geology Of Ohio. TY.

  • @nycbearff
    @nycbearff Год назад +2

    The vegetation up there is varied and lush - I'd like to see your excellent video of a landscape like this unraveling the story of it's making, along with a video by one of your botanical colleagues, going over the same ground but looking at and describing the plants and their relationship to that landscape. And to be triply interesting, a video by one of your other colleagues covering exactly the same ground again, but looking at the wildlife, both big and small, that use it. Perhaps all three edited to be interleaved together - or just one after the other. Same place, different complex perspectives.

    • @marcellaobdrzalek8435
      @marcellaobdrzalek8435 Год назад

      The YT channel 'Crime pays but botany doesn't ' does just that, links botany to geology.

  • @charlesward8196
    @charlesward8196 6 месяцев назад +1

    OK, paused at 4:42 to Google Earth the buttes. Wide, shallow craters, thinking lots of gas, maybe explosive, perhaps reacting with ground water in the basalt layers, looking at the rock, seeing white crystals, maybe feldspars, thinking maybe more dacitic than andesitic, certainly steeper sides to the cones than usually seen with basaltic fissure eruptions. Now, what is the REAL story? Back to the video.
    EDIT: The “basalt xenoliths” are vesicular, showing that they may be from the upper portions of a basalt flow, the cones ARE elongated SW to NE, the prevailing wind direction in that area, lending support to a steam and gas driven extrusion due to interaction with ground water, and expelled material being distributed downwind. The two cones seem to be aligned mostly on a slightly NW-SE axis following the trend of extensional faulting that has produced other basaltic eruptions in the area. Back to the video.
    SECOND EDIT: At 18:12. There was a short phase of the most recent Icelandic eruption where there were dense clouds of brownish ash being erupted pretty close to Grindavik that subsided after a a comparatively short interval, that were described as being due to interaction with ground water. I wonder if that new phreatomagmatic deposit could be described as palagonitic, and does it have chunks of vesicular basalt incorporated in the deposit? Or was it buried by subsequent flows and inaccessible, even after it cools off?

  • @briane173
    @briane173 Год назад +6

    I'd think that even irrespective of the available water around the confluence of the Snake and Henry's Fork, the sheer size of the Snake River Plain aquifer that runs through there would provide ample water for a phreatic eruption at that location.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +3

      Yep. Likely groundwater was largest contributor of water.

    • @briane173
      @briane173 Год назад +2

      @@shawnwillsey I was _stunned_ at the amount of water in that aquifer when you went to 1,000 Springs. I was like wow, what CA would give for an aquifer like that one.

  • @garygapinski5442
    @garygapinski5442 Год назад

    Thanks! Perhaps a bit difficult, but consider how (if feasible) to superimpose latitude, longitude, altitude, and orientation on the video in a small unobtrusive overlay (particularly orientation) on the video.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад

      Thanks for your donation. Will try to add these.

  • @shawnwillsey
    @shawnwillsey  Год назад

    You can support my field videos by clicking on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Like button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8

  • @farmboypresents9977
    @farmboypresents9977 Год назад +2

    Really interesting, thanks. I noticed as you climbed that you have got rid of that pesky cough that was bugging you last year.

  • @mawi1172
    @mawi1172 Год назад

    I love it too! ❤❤❤❤❤

  • @tthappyrock368
    @tthappyrock368 Год назад +1

    Thank you for the virtual field trip! I took a year of geology in college and loved it! My prof at BMCC took us on field trips that were out of this world amazing! Your video sparks a question: t. Hood is considered an active volcano. The part of the cone where it likely last erupted faces the Columbia and would be the path of least resistance if it erupted from the cone. While the Columbia is far enough that lava is unlikely to reach the river, what would the scenario be if did do that?

  • @alicemiller3139
    @alicemiller3139 Год назад +2

    Shawn, if you cracked open one of those xenolith bubbles of basalt, what would be on the inside?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +2

      More basalt. It’s a solid chunk of rock.

  • @Fryed_Bryce
    @Fryed_Bryce Год назад

    Beautiful basalt buttes, bro. Belching breccia. Behaving bees

  • @NevermindtheRedundants
    @NevermindtheRedundants Год назад +1

    Is the one south east of Carey near craters of the moon, the same thing?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +1

      Sand Butte? Yes, similar story and process.

  • @alexbradmckay
    @alexbradmckay Год назад +1

    Awesome videos. Thanks. What kind of camera and gimbal do you use?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +1

      Thanks. Glad you liked this. I use a GoPro for most videos.

  • @ThunderChasers
    @ThunderChasers 6 месяцев назад

    I drove through here on the way to Yellowstone. Had no idea those were there. I probably saw them and didn't even blink. I'm going to have to make the trip again.

  • @therevoman
    @therevoman Год назад

    Just came out of Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone and was fascinated by the Geology. Could you do a segment on Shoshone? What really fascinated me was the obsidian sand beaches.

  • @darlenericotta
    @darlenericotta Год назад

    Nick Zenter teaches a lot of this as well. He teaches in Washington State, very interesting! Both of you are so interesting!

  • @markigriese
    @markigriese 10 месяцев назад

    Where did the quartzite originate? The rocks are all volcanic for miles in any direction from Menan Buttes. 17:00

  • @BretBerger
    @BretBerger Год назад +1

    The tuff with smooth surface near the summit is attractive. Any thoughts on the erosional mechanism? Wind?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Год назад +2

      Mostly water and freeze-thaw. Maybe a bit of wind abrasion but wind is almost always over hyped as an erosional agent.

  • @haroldtanner9600
    @haroldtanner9600 Год назад

    West and north of the Menan Buttes are much older lava flows. There are also old flows east of the Henry’s Fork that form the foundation of the Rexburg bench. Perhaps some of the black chunks of lava mixed with the tuff were incorporated in the mix as the new material came up through the older lava flows.

  • @garyoconnordbaairrepair7775
    @garyoconnordbaairrepair7775 6 месяцев назад

    Shawn Willsey. Have you ever do anything on Mt. Shasta and Mt. Shastina? If you have or have not. I used to drive a route from Sacramento to Yreka. I have always going to and from Yreka, I noticed a Mountain due West from Mt. Shasta called Mt. Eddy. I noticed something was odd about Mt. Eddy. Mt. Eddy has lost a lot of elevation. I have tried to find information on Mt. Eddy, but none have been wriiten about Mt. Eddy. From what I cannot find. Can you do a video on Mt. Eddy?

  • @IgorIglesias
    @IgorIglesias Год назад

    Looks like a great place for ham radio too!

  • @jokerace8227
    @jokerace8227 Год назад

    Also, the Teton River merges with the Henry's Fork in the vicinity. Maybe back then all three merged closer together roughly in the Menan Buttes footprint area.