There is a road cut on Highway 89 just north of Canyon Dam, at the south end of Lake Almanor. One end of the road cut is granite, and the other is basalt. On the opposite side of the lake is Highway 147. Along that road is a series of low road cuts, and they more or less alternate between Sierran granite and Cascade basalt. Yet, on the Bizz Johnson Trail (a Rails-to-Trail NW of Susanville) you pass through a very large old railroad cut of granite surrounded by basalt hoodoos and outcrops. Head west from there to the foothills and Ishi Wilderness, the rock is marine sediments. Very chaotic geology here, as noted in the video.
@@michaellee9883 Serpentine? Serpentine is such a signature in the Coast ranges (Trinities), not seen across the Central Valley at all. If I revisit this source, maybe I will learn more about that.
Great post; thanks for sharing this info. Rode the Bizz Johnson trail 25 years ago and rode right by it... with my geology buff father in tow and we missed this. Bummer because he would have enjoyed seeing it. Then again, he spent summers working for the USFS in college, so he may have already seen and known this.
Was raised in Southern California and we moved to Chico back in 1979 (in sight of Lassen Peak). I spent a LOT of time in the Sierras and Cascades in both my childhood and young adulthood. Studied the mountains and their history as well as camping, fishing, and 4-wheeling all over them. Thank you for the natural history lesson as more folks should know about these iconic mountain ranges and how they came to be. I live far from there now and honestly miss those days.
This is fascinating! The bouhdery is obvious above lake Almanor to Fredonyer Pass, but below the lake, while topographicly the easy devide would be the North Fork Feather river, geologically speaking that isn't the case. The Sierra Nevada and Cascades mingle and mirge as the mostly Granitic and other platonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada gradually fall away and become buried under Cascades volcanic rocks between the North Fork Feather River and Mt Lassen. But there is no true geological boundery as such, but rather a complex and chaotic geological transition zone.
You can really see an interesting geological split north of the upper Thermalito bridge in Oroville CA. The North side of the Feather river facing table mountain is mostly volcanic and the south side of the Feather is nearly all granite coming down the hillside to the river.
Yes! It is dramatic. So is north vs south of Fredonyer Pass and the valley between it and Lake Almanor which is a pretty clear boundery. And yet, Table Mountain is still just the southwest end of a large transition zone of intermitent platonic and Volcanic surface rocks along with various others in places, that extends from about the North Fork of the Feather River to just northwest of Lake Almanor and just northeast of Chico around Big Chico creek. But there is no clear cut geological boundery between the two!
great video and summation of a complicated subject. I happen to live right smack in the middle of the area in question, as someone who has spent most of their life in the outdoors and interested in geography and geology I have to say this is one of the most unusual geological areas I ve ever come across. Exploring the back roads always leads to the most interesting and unusual rock formations
You can see it driving on 5 north. If you look east, you see the steady ridge of the Sierras give way to the dips and cones of the Cascades between Orland and Red Bluff.
Indeed, -the areas between the major Cascade volcanos are more like tall forested hills then typical mountains. Most are just whats left of older eroded volcanoes which a base under the newer peaks. On the other hand the eastern "boundery" of the Cascades with the Modoc Plateau and upper Klamath basin Plateau in Oregon is very unclear and debatable, -there is some pretty significant disagreement about that "boundery" from what I've seen, with a few even suggesting that almost that whole forested volcanic upland area should be considered an extension of the Cascade Range. More typically it is thought of as part of the Basin and Range, though mostly not part of the Great Basic proper. Interestingly, the Washington and Canadian Cascades are a hybrid of surface volcanic and platonic rock including a great deal of granite, -yet are still periodically with some of the biggest stratosphere volcanoes of them all!
I was taught growing up that Ferdonyer pass was the Northernmost point of the Sierras. I'm not sure where this idea comes from exactly, but there is a major difference to the North and South of this pass. Just a few miles to the North the Susan River goes underground and into volcanic rock. To the South, Gold Run Creek cuts through granite substrate on it's way to the Susan River. I have stood in both bodies of water and the substrate is clearly different in each. I was born and raised in Susanville Ca. and had many chances to visit volcanos to the North and Granite mountain to the South. Very cool video describing in a more scientific way what I had observed as kid!
Yes. But what about below Lake Almanor? The obvious topographic boundery is the North Fork Feather River but geological speaking the arra between it and a bit South of Lassen Peak just northwest of Lake Almanor is a transition zone where the Sierra Nevada irregularly mingles and merges with and then gets buried under Cascades volcanism. There is no northern Sierra Nevada vs Southern Cascades line, other then an imaginary ome which will vary from person to person. There is instead only a complex and variable transition zone.
Living in the north Sierra foothills and spending a lot of time in the sierras and cascades it has always seemed a mystery to me how the ranges change so much. Thanks for the video. It was enlightening.
Grew up in Butte County, took a Geology class at Butte College, got to learn all about the geology around California, it’s fascinating, thank you for a great video🌟
Thank you for a great video giving an overview of the complexity of mountains in California. I have watched a lot of Nick Zentner’s videos on the geology of Oregon and Washington. I searched for a similar set of videos focused on California and found some but not enough to scratch my itch. This was a great find for me to scratch my itch a little more. Looking forward to checking out more of your work. Thanks again.
Great video, thank you. But it would be so much nicer if you referred to the Sierra Nevada and Sierra correctly. So many people make the mistake of using the plural. This is incorrect as the Sierra is ONE mountain range, unlike the "Rockies" and "Cascades." Minor, but still important.
Because the entire region is familiar, with a huge proportion of the photos being identifiable, the historical roots - the completely subducted Farallon Plate, offers insight at last. So, thanks for bringing the expertise on paleogeology to explain! That odd Juan de Fuca/Gorda subduction DID shift the previous granitic former Sierra North to the West, when the Cascade volcanic period arose. The entire Klamath Range region is much the granitic remnant that shifted west relative to its Sierra Nevada orogeny, although you will find parts whose origins were limestone, some metamorphosed into marble. It was fun to see so much, from Whitney to Lassen and north; the divide near Quincy & Portola is so distinct that it cannot be missed. Lassen itself is merely the largest of many weathered volcanoes. I miss the volcanic earthquakes , and must be content with the tectonic triple divide area lately -- the anthropocentry which dominates most humans, does need to be recognized in its miniscule importance and scale, and a little attention to long reality saves at least some of us from our excessive hubris.
I was lucky enough to participate in the initial soil survey of Humbug Valley near Lake Almanor, where we found interlaid alluvium from both ranges’ parent materials! Thanks for sharing!
Nice video explanation! I'll have to check out your video on the Basin and Range but before that I would love to see you explain the possible future of the Walker Lane and potential reasons behind how the tectonic plate boundary might "jump" there.
Well the san andreas fault is a right lateral fault. The corresponding walker lane is a left lateral fault that formed as a response to the extensional forces created by the san andreas fault. I'd say it is more like that the san andreas fault splits California in two roughly down the middle; with the eastern half remaining with the north american plate and the western half gliding off to the northwest with the pacific plate. The walker lane may remain active after this but since it is a direct response to the san andreas fault, as the San andreas fault weakens and pulls apart; the walker lane fault will likely also weaken. Thanks for your comment!
Great video, thank you for this. I just came back from camping all up the Eastern Sierras into northern California. Then drove west and camped somewhere. I was surprised to find out I was now in the Cascades. I never noticed a difference. P.S. I live in southern California right on top of the San Andreas Fault -- rock and roll, baby.
I am also a previous SoCal inhabitant; this area really expands your mind as to what nature is capable of! If you're itching to see more big granite mountains check out San Jacinto near palm springs!
I like your style and content! Good notes, lots of visual references. Sometimes your screen is a little fast-flashing in comparison to your speaking speed. Excellent job defining your terms as you brought in new topics.
I enjoy geology, although I admit to constantly forgetting fascinating facts. I lived in the Sierra foothills in Sonora and had many wonderful hikes in Iceburg Wilderness & Yosemite. I recently moved to the Chico area and have been wondering a lot about the Cascade range, so this video was really interesting. Now that I’m so close to the Sutter Buttes, I’d like to understand how this stand-alone range came to be.
@@UTubeQu1che551 The Sutter Buttes are a tricky one; they formed around 1.6 million years ago and are quite distinct from the surrounding terrain. It was originally a volcanic complex that ceased eruptions around 1.4 million years ago. The complex then weathered and eroded down to its current state. Where the magma came from is largely up for debate, but due to the large series of faults beneath them (probably caused from interactions between coastal mountains and sierra nevada/cascade faulting as well as the san andreas fault) I would say that's how the magma got there. Think of faults as small to giant cracks in the earth which can actively grow and shift; they can provide very good pathways for magma and thus can produce volcanism. Thanks for your comment!
Used to live in Cali now live in Bend OR. I used to frequent the Eastern Sierras A LOT. Got most of the 14ers. When traveling on the 395 I always love the sight of Mono Lake and how the Peaks near Lee Vining/Bridgeport have a reddish orangy hue which looked Volcanic in nature and so I always thought that was the transitional area where granite meet volcanic rock. That was probably my favorite section of the entire 395 hwy in California
In the Feather river area you will find plate material in the form of ancient seabeds that have undergone metamorphosis creating minerals such as serpentine, nephrite, idocrase and others.
BTW , I live in Dunsmuir . When I come out the front door in the morning I get a beautiful view of the upper parts of Castle Crags. It's such a fascinating area here from the geological aspect !
another great example of a granite pluton that was exposed by uplift and weathering/erosion. I am jealous that you get to live so close to them, and Mt Shasta! Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 Thanks for producing this show ! I used to work for the railroad in the Feather River canyon and that geology was fascinating too, especially from the cab of a locomotive. Thanks again for the show !
@@WestPac-ny9vi It's right on the edge of them IMHO. I lived in Paradise for about a year back in 1988; I'd lived in Chico from 1979 to 1985 and was always exploring. Still miss that area.
I always just figured they weren't so close to each other; but when I realized they were I almost drew the same conclusion. Turns out my fellow geologists were on to something! Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 What was it, that originally started the plate shifting? And... What do you believe to be the driving force, that causes the plates to move over/under the other? Thank you. 😎☕
Any thoughts on the theory about the Sutter Buttes being the real southern tip of the Cascades? I first heard about this on a geology field trip with Sierra Colleges 20 some years ago. The teacher said it was not thought to be true but was interesting nonetheless.
I've seen the same thing; it's more likely that the sutter buttes in a volcano created from faulting in the San Joaquin valley which allowed magma to reach the surface. I'm trying to book a guided hike in the area (because it's private) so I can do a more complete video analysis of it!
If you stand at the top of Mt. Lassen and look south towards the northern Sierra mountains (with the exception of Lake Almanor) the terrain is very steep and hilly. If you look north towards Mt. Shasta the terrain is low and doesn't have much in elevation differences all the way up to the base of Shasta. To the untrained eye it feels like Lassen is the most northern peak in the Sierra Nevada and not the most southern peak of the Cascade range.
Thrilled to come across this! Subscribed! I have deep family connection to Mt. Lassen from (my!) birth. I describe it as the center of the "pinwheel" of two great ranges. Poetic, but love to learn from science!
wow. the date ranges you’re talking about are so mind blowing…. particularly in light of how in 150 yrs mankind has managed to create a catastrophe that might end our time on earth. you can’t blame earth for ignoring our dumb mistakes ya. those quantities of years you’re describing are sooooo difficult to fathom great video, thank you
That's definitely along the same east west line that I was personally thinking for the boundary. The Diamond Mountains are very volcanic in origin, this is evident from their black craggy slopes. I would say this could be an instance of older cascade volcanism extending deeper east but it could easily also be volcanism caused by the north end of the Sierra uplift or the walker lane fault zone. Thanks for your comment!
I always took the Sierra for Granite, not knowing the difference from the Cascades. Hiked up both Lassen and Shasta. Always wondered by there were no active volcanos South of Mt Lassen but plenty of sub surface magma evidenced by many hot springs.?
it's about the amount of Magma, there is a ton in the cascades being fueled by that juan de fuca plate subduction. In the sierras the magma is usually from magma migrating it's way up narrow faults that are found throughout the region. Thanks for your comment
I like the way you put that; and it depends how you want to view it. On one hand they spawned from different processes: San Andreas fault uplift caused the sierras and Juan De Fuca subduction causes the Cascades; so you can view it as a collision since cascade volcanism sort of collides with the terrain of the Sierras. On the other hand it's sort of an embrace cause both regions produce their own volcanism and have slight impacts on each other. Great question
@@Ddax-td7qy My Mother's family is from Spain. My Uncle used to correct my pronunciation of Los Gatos. I would say Los Got-toes. He would say that it isn't pronounced the way a Spaniard would, it's American so pronounce it the way an American would.
indeed; the enchantments are a favorite region of mine, very stunning. If that range was down near the sierra border i'm sure i'd make the life of a geologist drawing range borders a whole lot harder! Granite is a common plutonic rock, but the absolutely massive quantity of it in the sierra nevadas is what makes it unique in the sierra region. Thanks for your comment!
Great explanation of the craziness of the northwest plates. Thanks. (I was going to comment about your repeated addition of an “s” to “Sierra”, but I see you wrote it without the “s” here.) Thanks, from an old lady.
@@thenaturalexperience2140 One prominent CWU geology lecturer thinks that range traveled from Mexico and embedded itself in the Cascades, so it's not really part of the Cascades much like the Teton Range is not really part of the Rocky Mountains. The batholith is said to have the most exposed granite in North America. That would make a great video.
@@jmch7788 Possibly at way lower depths; the pluton that eventually rose to create the sierras was MASSIVE, so I highly doubt they would find granite in similar amounts in the cascade. Good question
@@TheShootist well the focus was on the modern Cascade and Sierra Nevada Region. Siletzia is a terrane which is an accreted mass of rock that sloughed off onto the north American continent as the farallon plate subducted and had some volcanism associated with it. The deposits are more closely linked to parts of Oregon and are found closer to the coast. The Yellowstone hotspot is a fixed hotspot in Earths Mantle which the North American plate is currently sitting over in the Western Wyoming region; it's a cool area just not relevant to the subject of the video. Thanks for your comment
well at 5:46 I show mount Shasta from the North view; the video doesn't go to 6:46 so i'm assuming that's what you meant. Yes I am a student, I currently study geology at University
@@thenaturalexperience2140 LOL! It took me years to break that habit and I still occasionally slip. But yeah, "sierra" means "mountain range". Hence we have several "sierras". The Nevada, the Madre, the Blanca, etc. Ain't no big thing. My comment was only for educational purposes and not meant as shade.
somewhat true, although the difference between granite and granodiorite is super minuscule and results from different types of feldspars in different quantities; granodiorite for instance just contains a bit more plagioclase than orthoclase which creates the difference. I used granite as a good common word, cause I want to keep the video digestible for geology new comers. Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 I was just being pedantic as when I took Intro to Geology at El Camino JC back in 1975 in SoCal. In our discussion of the Sierra , I mentioned Granite and the Instructor jumped me about the variation , so ever since then I always bring that up if I see it ..... Obviously that Instructor did his job as I remember it clearly 49 years ago. Fun TIMES ! 😎
Geologists will never get it right until they understand where the Earth's heat/energy is coming from. Fission deep within the Earth could be the source. It probably is. We need to know!
@@markdavis8888 well we have an idea; the pressures in the inner earth keep the large majority of it from melting even though it's hot from the friction caused by gravity; remnant heat from formation, and radioactive decay (which is fission) of elements in abundance in the mantle. We can get some liquid magma in the mantle which we believe provides the drive for plate tectonics; we think this magma is able to form under high pressures due to the presence of CO2 which sort of acts as a pressure resister. Thanks for your comment
@@kennydude7971 most science is built on theory's; theory's are always subject to change and should never be viewed as 100% fact. So in a sense you are right; it is quite speculative, but it's also very good educated guesses from notable scientific minds in the field. Thanks for your comment
There is a road cut on Highway 89 just north of Canyon Dam, at the south end of Lake Almanor. One end of the road cut is granite, and the other is basalt. On the opposite side of the lake is Highway 147. Along that road is a series of low road cuts, and they more or less alternate between Sierran granite and Cascade basalt. Yet, on the Bizz Johnson Trail (a Rails-to-Trail NW of Susanville) you pass through a very large old railroad cut of granite surrounded by basalt hoodoos and outcrops. Head west from there to the foothills and Ishi Wilderness, the rock is marine sediments. Very chaotic geology here, as noted in the video.
Interesting. The Klamath Mountains are chaos as well.
@@michaellee9883 Serpentine? Serpentine is such a signature in the Coast ranges (Trinities), not seen across the Central Valley at all. If I revisit this source, maybe I will learn more about that.
Very large brown trout and a lot of nice smallies as you get closer to the dam.
Great post; thanks for sharing this info. Rode the Bizz Johnson trail 25 years ago and rode right by it... with my geology buff father in tow and we missed this. Bummer because he would have enjoyed seeing it. Then again, he spent summers working for the USFS in college, so he may have already seen and known this.
I was just there to look around but had to leave in a hurry, park fire. What happened to the trout in Susan river?
Was raised in Southern California and we moved to Chico back in 1979 (in sight of Lassen Peak). I spent a LOT of time in the Sierras and Cascades in both my childhood and young adulthood. Studied the mountains and their history as well as camping, fishing, and 4-wheeling all over them.
Thank you for the natural history lesson as more folks should know about these iconic mountain ranges and how they came to be. I live far from there now and honestly miss those days.
it is a wonderful area; I try to travel up there as much as I can. Thanks for sharing
This is fascinating! The bouhdery is obvious above lake Almanor to Fredonyer Pass, but below the lake, while topographicly the easy devide would be the North Fork Feather river, geologically speaking that isn't the case. The Sierra Nevada and Cascades mingle and mirge as the mostly Granitic and other platonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada gradually fall away and become buried under Cascades volcanic rocks between the North Fork Feather River and Mt Lassen. But there is no true geological boundery as such, but rather a complex and chaotic geological transition zone.
You can really see an interesting geological split north of the upper Thermalito bridge in Oroville CA. The North side of the Feather river facing table mountain is mostly volcanic and the south side of the Feather is nearly all granite coming down the hillside to the river.
Yes! It is dramatic. So is north vs south of Fredonyer Pass and the valley between it and Lake Almanor which is a pretty clear boundery. And yet, Table Mountain is still just the southwest end of a large transition zone of intermitent platonic and Volcanic surface rocks along with various others in places, that extends from about the North Fork of the Feather River to just northwest of Lake Almanor and just northeast of Chico around Big Chico creek. But there is no clear cut geological boundery between the two!
great video and summation of a complicated subject. I happen to live right smack in the middle of the area in question, as someone who has spent most of their life in the outdoors and interested in geography and geology I have to say this is one of the most unusual geological areas I ve ever come across. Exploring the back roads always leads to the most interesting and unusual rock formations
Having lived in the vicinity of the Cascades (western Washington), I was excited to see this video recommended. Very cool, thanks!
You can see it driving on 5 north. If you look east, you see the steady ridge of the Sierras give way to the dips and cones of the Cascades between Orland and Red Bluff.
Indeed, -the areas between the major Cascade volcanos are more like tall forested hills then typical mountains. Most are just whats left of older eroded volcanoes which a base under the newer peaks.
On the other hand the eastern "boundery" of the Cascades with the Modoc Plateau and upper Klamath basin Plateau in Oregon is very unclear and debatable, -there is some pretty significant disagreement about that "boundery" from what I've seen, with a few even suggesting that almost that whole forested volcanic upland area should be considered an extension of the Cascade Range. More typically it is thought of as part of the Basin and Range, though mostly not part of the Great Basic proper.
Interestingly, the Washington and Canadian Cascades are a hybrid of surface volcanic and platonic rock including a great deal of granite, -yet are still periodically with some of the biggest stratosphere volcanoes of them all!
I was taught growing up that Ferdonyer pass was the Northernmost point of the Sierras. I'm not sure where this idea comes from exactly, but there is a major difference to the North and South of this pass. Just a few miles to the North the Susan River goes underground and into volcanic rock. To the South, Gold Run Creek cuts through granite substrate on it's way to the Susan River. I have stood in both bodies of water and the substrate is clearly different in each. I was born and raised in Susanville Ca. and had many chances to visit volcanos to the North and Granite mountain to the South. Very cool video describing in a more scientific way what I had observed as kid!
love the susanville area! thanks for sharing
Yes. But what about below Lake Almanor? The obvious topographic boundery is the North Fork Feather River but geological speaking the arra between it and a bit South of Lassen Peak just northwest of Lake Almanor is a transition zone where the Sierra Nevada irregularly mingles and merges with and then gets buried under Cascades volcanism. There is no northern Sierra Nevada vs Southern Cascades line, other then an imaginary ome which will vary from person to person. There is instead only a complex and variable transition zone.
Living in the north Sierra foothills and spending a lot of time in the sierras and cascades it has always seemed a mystery to me how the ranges change so much. Thanks for the video. It was enlightening.
I appreciate the comment (:
Grew up in Butte County, took a Geology class at Butte College, got to learn all about the geology around California, it’s fascinating, thank you for a great video🌟
thanks for watching
Awesome! Thanks for posting this!
Thank you for a great video giving an overview of the complexity of mountains in California. I have watched a lot of Nick Zentner’s videos on the geology of Oregon and Washington. I searched for a similar set of videos focused on California and found some but not enough to scratch my itch. This was a great find for me to scratch my itch a little more. Looking forward to checking out more of your work. Thanks again.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved the video! Very interesting
Nice job. I have hiked and fished from Susanville down to Kern River/Lake Isabella.
Great video, thank you.
But it would be so much nicer if you referred to the Sierra Nevada and Sierra correctly. So many people make the mistake of using the plural. This is incorrect as the Sierra is ONE mountain range, unlike the "Rockies" and "Cascades." Minor, but still important.
Because the entire region is familiar, with a huge proportion of the photos being identifiable, the historical roots - the completely subducted Farallon Plate, offers insight at last.
So, thanks for bringing the expertise on paleogeology to explain!
That odd Juan de Fuca/Gorda subduction DID shift the previous granitic former Sierra North to the West, when the Cascade volcanic period arose.
The entire Klamath Range region is much the granitic remnant that shifted west relative to its Sierra Nevada orogeny, although you will find parts whose origins were limestone, some metamorphosed into marble.
It was fun to see so much, from Whitney to Lassen and north; the divide near Quincy & Portola is so distinct that it cannot be missed. Lassen itself is merely the largest of many weathered volcanoes.
I miss the volcanic earthquakes , and must be content with the tectonic triple divide area lately -- the anthropocentry which dominates most humans, does need to be recognized in its miniscule importance and scale, and a little attention to long reality saves at least some of us from our excessive hubris.
very well put, you should be a writer. You can see the granite you're talking about very clearly in areas like the castle crags
I appreciate the video. Thanks for doing it.
I was lucky enough to participate in the initial soil survey of Humbug Valley near Lake Almanor, where we found interlaid alluvium from both ranges’ parent materials! Thanks for sharing!
thank you for sharing yourself!
Nice video explanation! I'll have to check out your video on the Basin and Range but before that I would love to see you explain the possible future of the Walker Lane and potential reasons behind how the tectonic plate boundary might "jump" there.
Well the san andreas fault is a right lateral fault. The corresponding walker lane is a left lateral fault that formed as a response to the extensional forces created by the san andreas fault. I'd say it is more like that the san andreas fault splits California in two roughly down the middle; with the eastern half remaining with the north american plate and the western half gliding off to the northwest with the pacific plate. The walker lane may remain active after this but since it is a direct response to the san andreas fault, as the San andreas fault weakens and pulls apart; the walker lane fault will likely also weaken. Thanks for your comment!
Great video, thank you for this. I just came back from camping all up the Eastern Sierras into northern California. Then drove west and camped somewhere. I was surprised to find out I was now in the Cascades. I never noticed a difference. P.S. I live in southern California right on top of the San Andreas Fault -- rock and roll, baby.
Eastern Sierra Mary but good
I am also a previous SoCal inhabitant; this area really expands your mind as to what nature is capable of! If you're itching to see more big granite mountains check out San Jacinto near palm springs!
I like your style and content! Good notes, lots of visual references. Sometimes your screen is a little fast-flashing in comparison to your speaking speed. Excellent job defining your terms as you brought in new topics.
@@Laeiryn I appreciate that; i'm always open to critiques, I will keep note of that for the next vid!
Godd video. informative and educational too. Thank you - look forward to seeing more. Cheers
I enjoy geology, although I admit to constantly forgetting fascinating facts. I lived in the Sierra foothills in Sonora and had many wonderful hikes in Iceburg Wilderness & Yosemite. I recently moved to the Chico area and have been wondering a lot about the Cascade range, so this video was really interesting. Now that I’m so close to the Sutter Buttes, I’d like to understand how this stand-alone range came to be.
@@UTubeQu1che551 The Sutter Buttes are a tricky one; they formed around 1.6 million years ago and are quite distinct from the surrounding terrain. It was originally a volcanic complex that ceased eruptions around 1.4 million years ago. The complex then weathered and eroded down to its current state. Where the magma came from is largely up for debate, but due to the large series of faults beneath them (probably caused from interactions between coastal mountains and sierra nevada/cascade faulting as well as the san andreas fault) I would say that's how the magma got there. Think of faults as small to giant cracks in the earth which can actively grow and shift; they can provide very good pathways for magma and thus can produce volcanism. Thanks for your comment!
Used to live in Cali now live in Bend OR. I used to frequent the Eastern Sierras A LOT. Got most of the 14ers. When traveling on the 395 I always love the sight of Mono Lake and how the Peaks near Lee Vining/Bridgeport have a reddish orangy hue which looked Volcanic in nature and so I always thought that was the transitional area where granite meet volcanic rock. That was probably my favorite section of the entire 395 hwy in California
In the Feather river area you will find plate material in the form of ancient seabeds that have undergone metamorphosis creating minerals such as serpentine, nephrite, idocrase and others.
got a really good sample of serpentine from the region near lassen peak; if you're a rock hound it's a fantastic area
Excellent video
Another great video!
Glad you enjoyed it!
BTW , I live in Dunsmuir . When I come out the front door in the morning I get a beautiful view of the upper parts of Castle Crags. It's such a fascinating area here from the geological aspect !
another great example of a granite pluton that was exposed by uplift and weathering/erosion. I am jealous that you get to live so close to them, and Mt Shasta! Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 Thanks for producing this show ! I used to work for the railroad in the Feather River canyon and that geology was fascinating too, especially from the cab of a locomotive. Thanks again for the show !
Great video! Locally we call it at the West Branch of the Feather River.
I would personally say it's where Gurnsey Creek and Deer Creek meet; but west branch is a totally valid line to draw it at!
@@thenaturalexperience2140 West Branch would mean Paradise is in the Cascades. I've seen Lava Caps in Paradise.
@@WestPac-ny9vi It's right on the edge of them IMHO. I lived in Paradise for about a year back in 1988; I'd lived in Chico from 1979 to 1985 and was always exploring. Still miss that area.
Great video. I always wondered about this and you cleared a lot of it up. Thank you.
@@ShonnMorris yeah it's one of those questions I was dying to know myself
I always thought it was just one long range but just called different things because agreeing on names is hard.
I always just figured they weren't so close to each other; but when I realized they were I almost drew the same conclusion. Turns out my fellow geologists were on to something! Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 What was it, that originally started the plate shifting?
And...
What do you believe to be the driving force, that causes the plates to move over/under the other?
Thank you.
😎☕
First time watcher, great presentation. Also, the slides have many small details that were new to me.
Thanks very much I appreciate that
Any thoughts on the theory about the Sutter Buttes being the real southern tip of the Cascades? I first heard about this on a geology field trip with Sierra Colleges 20 some years ago. The teacher said it was not thought to be true but was interesting nonetheless.
I've seen the same thing; it's more likely that the sutter buttes in a volcano created from faulting in the San Joaquin valley which allowed magma to reach the surface. I'm trying to book a guided hike in the area (because it's private) so I can do a more complete video analysis of it!
If you stand at the top of Mt. Lassen and look south towards the northern Sierra mountains (with the exception of Lake Almanor) the terrain is very steep and hilly. If you look north towards Mt. Shasta the terrain is low and doesn't have much in elevation differences all the way up to the base of Shasta. To the untrained eye it feels like Lassen is the most northern peak in the Sierra Nevada and not the most southern peak of the Cascade range.
@@er7ic77 I know exactly what you mean, it's quite the legendary view; especially for a geology dude like myself. Thanks for sharing
The center point. The anchor. The heart. The core. Mother of mountains like her spread wings.
Nicely done. Thank you.
Thrilled to come across this! Subscribed! I have deep family connection to Mt. Lassen from (my!) birth. I describe it as the center of the "pinwheel" of two great ranges. Poetic, but love to learn from science!
2:27 you’re right behind my house lol, I go hiking up that road all the time I had to do a triple take haha
a fellow Reno local I see
very interesting, thank you!
Fascinating and well-researched! (new subscriber, Virginia)
I appreciate that, thank you!
Good vids, subbed!
Really good little video one critique it is the Sierra not the sierras. Looking forward to your next video
Always wondered about this!
Great video
Just found you; great video👍🏽
wow. the date ranges you’re talking about are so mind blowing…. particularly in light of how in 150 yrs mankind has managed to create a catastrophe that might end our time on earth. you can’t blame earth for ignoring our dumb mistakes
ya. those quantities of years you’re describing are sooooo difficult to fathom
great video, thank you
Thanks for the geology lesson. Corey from Westwood, CA.
of course (:
sick video brother!
thank you!
The Diamond Mountains create the eastern boundary of the Feather River basin and determine the divide between the Sierras and the Cascades.
That's definitely along the same east west line that I was personally thinking for the boundary. The Diamond Mountains are very volcanic in origin, this is evident from their black craggy slopes. I would say this could be an instance of older cascade volcanism extending deeper east but it could easily also be volcanism caused by the north end of the Sierra uplift or the walker lane fault zone. Thanks for your comment!
Very interesting
I always took the Sierra for Granite, not knowing the difference from the Cascades. Hiked up both Lassen and Shasta. Always wondered by there were no active volcanos South of Mt Lassen but plenty of sub surface magma evidenced by many hot springs.?
it's about the amount of Magma, there is a ton in the cascades being fueled by that juan de fuca plate subduction. In the sierras the magma is usually from magma migrating it's way up narrow faults that are found throughout the region. Thanks for your comment
there is a granite bank west of Lake Almanor that is considered the northernmost exposed Sierra granite.
id say it's near the junction of Gurnsey Creek and Deer Creak
Now do something similar for St. George Utah where the Great Basin, Mojave, and Colorado Plateau all collide. Cool geology in that area.
@@zimmejoc I plan on getting down to St. George this winter; i've been before and I got a lot of research to do on the area first! 😂
@@thenaturalexperience2140 I can't wait to see it. Not sure why the algorithm suggested you, but I'm glad it did.
Yes, I have in fact, wondered about this! And is the junction really a collision or more like an embrace?
I like the way you put that; and it depends how you want to view it. On one hand they spawned from different processes: San Andreas fault uplift caused the sierras and Juan De Fuca subduction causes the Cascades; so you can view it as a collision since cascade volcanism sort of collides with the terrain of the Sierras. On the other hand it's sort of an embrace cause both regions produce their own volcanism and have slight impacts on each other. Great question
Ah yes, this part of RUclips that scratches that one itch I didn’t know that I had.
Aloha. Rock on🤙🏼
why were the coastal ranges formed?
Right on kid geology is good stony stuff...👌
Nice video. One small thing - Juan de Fuca is pronounced Wan de Few-ka, not Wan de Foo-ka.
Not if you are a Spanish-speaker!
@@Ddax-td7qy My Mother's family is from Spain. My Uncle used to correct my pronunciation of Los Gatos. I would say Los Got-toes. He would say that it isn't pronounced the way a Spaniard would, it's American so pronounce it the way an American would.
You make a weak case.
Just curious: what was that creek you were standing along that you described as the Sierra Nevada Cascades boundery?
@@jKLa Deer Creek
@thenaturalexperience2140 thanks!
Awesome
2:35 That pic you show in the upper left is Not granite
loto granite in the Cascades' Stuart Range
indeed; the enchantments are a favorite region of mine, very stunning. If that range was down near the sierra border i'm sure i'd make the life of a geologist drawing range borders a whole lot harder! Granite is a common plutonic rock, but the absolutely massive quantity of it in the sierra nevadas is what makes it unique in the sierra region. Thanks for your comment!
Great explanation of the craziness of the northwest plates. Thanks.
(I was going to comment about your repeated addition of an “s” to “Sierra”, but I see you wrote it without the “s” here.)
Thanks, from an old lady.
@@thenaturalexperience2140 One prominent CWU geology lecturer thinks that range traveled from Mexico and embedded itself in the Cascades, so it's not really part of the Cascades much like the Teton Range is not really part of the Rocky Mountains. The batholith is said to have the most exposed granite in North America. That would make a great video.
Question then - should it be expected that granite rock is waiting to be identified beneath the volcanism of the Cascades?
@@jmch7788 Possibly at way lower depths; the pluton that eventually rose to create the sierras was MASSIVE, so I highly doubt they would find granite in similar amounts in the cascade. Good question
nothing about siletzia and the yellowstone hotspot?
@@TheShootist well the focus was on the modern Cascade and Sierra Nevada Region. Siletzia is a terrane which is an accreted mass of rock that sloughed off onto the north American continent as the farallon plate subducted and had some volcanism associated with it. The deposits are more closely linked to parts of Oregon and are found closer to the coast. The Yellowstone hotspot is a fixed hotspot in Earths Mantle which the North American plate is currently sitting over in the Western Wyoming region; it's a cool area just not relevant to the subject of the video. Thanks for your comment
Who studies geology are you a student?
At 646 name of that mountain?
well at 5:46 I show mount Shasta from the North view; the video doesn't go to 6:46 so i'm assuming that's what you meant. Yes I am a student, I currently study geology at University
Batholiths are not the same as plutons.
@@Vaquero4382 true although they sorta are; a batholith is just a large network of plutons. Pluton is just a lot easier to say
👍👍
Sierras???bite your tongue
Who's that? 5:57
well that is me; but i'm assuming you meant "where's that?": it's deer creek falls about 20 mins away from Lake Almanor
@@thenaturalexperience2140 Oh, background toward the left. Tee hee.
@@joeybabybaby5843 maybe its a ghost ha
Just so everyone knows, "sierras" is incorrect. Sierra is already plural. Source: raised in California, live in the Sierra foothills.
I tried to rectify that in the title; just can't help the fact that Sierras sounds so nice to say lol
@@thenaturalexperience2140 LOL! It took me years to break that habit and I still occasionally slip. But yeah, "sierra" means "mountain range". Hence we have several "sierras". The Nevada, the Madre, the Blanca, etc. Ain't no big thing. My comment was only for educational purposes and not meant as shade.
The great thing about English, is say it enough and it becomes true.
@@KingfisherTalkingPictures LOL. Um, Sierra is Spanish. 😉
@@rudraigh
Even better‼️
Nothing is more English than pillaging a foreign language.
What does it matter, all of us now, wont be around when it happens and its all specualtion.
Thanks, this was great.
Suggestion for a geo topic: the impending Cascadia Megaquake
ruclips.net/video/nZs4yCyxyFk/видео.htmlsi=sIozVCErqNfnjGcp
oooh, i've seen this video; very cool
@ there’s another even-better one from about 6 or 7 years ago from NYT that was amazing. I did a quick search for it but couldn’t find it.
Actually it's Granodiorite.
somewhat true, although the difference between granite and granodiorite is super minuscule and results from different types of feldspars in different quantities; granodiorite for instance just contains a bit more plagioclase than orthoclase which creates the difference. I used granite as a good common word, cause I want to keep the video digestible for geology new comers. Thanks for your comment
@@thenaturalexperience2140 I was just being pedantic as when I took Intro to Geology at El Camino JC back in 1975 in SoCal. In our discussion of the Sierra , I mentioned Granite and the Instructor jumped me about the variation , so ever since then I always bring that up if I see it ..... Obviously that Instructor did his job as I remember it clearly 49 years ago. Fun TIMES ! 😎
nice hair
i appreciate that 😂
Geologists will never get it right until they understand where the Earth's heat/energy is coming from. Fission deep within the Earth could be the source. It probably is. We need to know!
@@markdavis8888 well we have an idea; the pressures in the inner earth keep the large majority of it from melting even though it's hot from the friction caused by gravity; remnant heat from formation, and radioactive decay (which is fission) of elements in abundance in the mantle. We can get some liquid magma in the mantle which we believe provides the drive for plate tectonics; we think this magma is able to form under high pressures due to the presence of CO2 which sort of acts as a pressure resister. Thanks for your comment
Its Sierra... not Sierras. Holy dudeman you say sierras a whole lot.
All this is speculation!
@@kennydude7971 most science is built on theory's; theory's are always subject to change and should never be viewed as 100% fact. So in a sense you are right; it is quite speculative, but it's also very good educated guesses from notable scientific minds in the field. Thanks for your comment
Hell yeah