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@flatinsandiego9806

6 ай бұрын

You lost me at Paleozoic

@josedearimateiayjesus2178

5 ай бұрын

Mining...holy stupid...mining!!! There is no natural explanation!!! Despite we doesnt no who did or when...but be scientific honest for G sake!

I just realized that your students are very lucky to have such a dedicated individual. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or professor to understand that you love what you're doing.🔨

@vickitatum540

7 ай бұрын

I had the exact same experience in community college!

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Thanks. I feel blessed every day to do what I do and try to never take it for granted (or granite 😉)

Thanks for the info! note: On very clear mornings, typically in late May and mid-July, as the rising sun breaks the horizon, as seen from the East, Crystal Peak glows a bright neon orange-pink.

There's a similar looking isolated white mountain (hill) called "Crystal Mountain" which actually is "crystal" (quartz) near Burgdorf, Idaho. Would love to see you do a field trip to that one, too.

@freesk8

7 ай бұрын

There is a ski area in the Cascades in WA called Crystal Mountain. A bit East of Seattle. Wonder how "crystal" got in it's name? Wikipedia is no help. Nor is the ski area website. Looks like it started as a ski area back in about 1949, but the mountain may have had that name prior to that?

@user-ff4jl5ic9n

7 ай бұрын

I believe there is a similar patch that is white sand in stark contrast to its surroundings

@Grannathinks

7 ай бұрын

​@@user-ff4jl5ic9n !me too

@akowboyshippielife7405

6 ай бұрын

Crystal Mountain in Quartzsite Arizona 🤠

@user-hz8uc9iu8c

6 ай бұрын

i second that! cool video!! i think i might be one of those little trees growing from the tuff (?) (😁) because it is almost like looking really good..

Between you and Nick Zentner, I feel like I'm ready to take my exam for my associates in geology. Really appreciate what you're doing.

I feel ridiculously blessed to have someone like you explain and explore the geology of my area! Utah is a gorgeous state, and full of geological wonders. Would love to see you take a look at the Timpanogos cave!

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

I've learned that caves are very tricky (for me) to film. I'll keep it in mind though.

@stew6302

6 ай бұрын

caves are biological. I expect it is a blood vessel

@johnmudd6453

6 ай бұрын

LOL

@rconn4501

6 ай бұрын

@@stew6302some are literally vaginas (literal titan vaginas) all over the world!! Vagina Cave, Womb Cave, etc

I considered becoming a geologist back in the '80s, which seemed a perfect fit for me at the time. At least, until our class geology professor told the entire class to forget about making it a career choice because there were 10,000 unemployed geologists in Denver alone. I'm still very interested in geology, but I ended up in electro/mechanical engineering instead.

@vickitatum540

7 ай бұрын

Haha, me too, except our professor told us the jobs were in oil exploration, and I wasn't too interested in that!

@dg6570

7 ай бұрын

Yep, it was the same advice in 2005. I still miss being out in the field.

@goldfieldgary

7 ай бұрын

What they never tell you is, every field has a lot of unemployed people. Better to be an unemployed geologist than an unemployed truck driver!

@markrouse2416

6 ай бұрын

All states that depended on the jobs provided by the domestic production of oil took a big hit in the mid 80s.

@kenbeiser4443

6 ай бұрын

I started as a young geologist in Golden, CO in 1979. I never had trouble finding work after my first job. After about 6 years I was a consulting hydrogeologist. It was too much travel to stay married so I became a custom timber frame home builder and stayed near home more. No money in it tho. And maybe the relationship should have ended back then! Forty years ago!

What an elegantly told story; I love how you piece things together for us and present it in a way that a lay-person can understand. Thank you!

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@doomoo5365

7 ай бұрын

@@shawnwillsey you said the deposit was a pyroclastic flow but did it have water in it like from a melted glacier when it was deposited? And why weren't those holes and Cavities made by streams that excavated away the softer material that was next to them

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

@@doomoo5365 No glaciers in this region. No water in the pyroclastic flow. If streams had created the holes, we would expect stream deposits.

@KathyJacksonSanDiegoRealEstate

6 ай бұрын

Very interesting!!

@paulmatherly8934

6 ай бұрын

Yes, old wives tales he certainly has an ability as the rest of academia to push and relay hiperbaly Look at the evidence at mudfossil university:)

Thanks a lot, I really like when you clearly and logically explain the mysteries of just what that is there that we were otherwise mostly ignoring-

Years ago I worked for a summer as an Interp Ranger at Great Basin NP and on those typical clear summer days, in the late afternoons from the lookout point on the way to the upper Lehman campground that mountain would be particularly conspicuous and I'd always wondered about it with the intention of going to inspect it though I never had the chance so thanks for that great geologic story. It answers a lot of questions as well a bringing back a lot of great memories...PS, the previous hike up to Wheeler Peak was likewise a treat, and it reminds me of all the other great features in that region. Cheers.

Very interesting! Love the deductive thought process. 👍🏼

I’m an amateur geologist! I passed by this this weekend. Family and I went to nearby Roosevelt Hot Spring. I thought that this mountain stood out a lot! Super fascinating and really interesting to learn about. :)

New word for the day: tafoni! Thanks, great work.

My family goes camping out there. We love exploring the west desert. Fossil Mountain is incredible as well. When I first visited I was mesmerized by this mountain and throughly enjoyed exploiting it with my children. Now when we go back I tell them everything I learned from watching by this video. Thank you!

So weird, and so cool. Never would have guessed that was a pyroclastic flow that is now actually higher than its' surroundings.

Great series of illustrations explaining how Crystal Peak came to be. I'm glad a geologist is here to explain everthing since there has been a lot going on for 33 million years. Tafoni looks like Swiss cheese type rock. Calcium carbonate and ancient sand dunes mixed together. Chemical weathering for yes those 30 million plus years gave it that natural sponge look. A very interesting place to visit professor!

@NFS305

7 ай бұрын

33 million years?

@davebashford3753

7 ай бұрын

ancient sand dunes? I thought he said ash.

@hestheMaster

7 ай бұрын

@@davebashford3753 The volcano had ashfall in it from a phreatic explosion but most of the white stuff has small bits of crystals from a sand bed from a long gone ancient seabed that existed here over 33 million years ago. It is a mix that makes up the calcrete you see and was preserved by the volcano's action .

@hestheMaster

7 ай бұрын

@@NFS305 Erosion going on that long to get the sponge- like look of the calcrete.

@user-ff4jl5ic9n

7 ай бұрын

same question. Sand? @@davebashford3753

Thanks for video. If you haven't already some content on the recently described Indian Peak-Caliente Caldera Complex would interest me. I assume this tuff was part of the associated vulcanism.

I always thought that those holes were caused by the escape of volcanic gasses upon deposition like mud pots or bubbles. Great content. Very informative and well produced. Keep 'em coming...thanx

@tommajor6239

7 ай бұрын

I still think they're gas bubbles. I would like to see a fresh break that showed the inside of the rock.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

It's very rare for gas bubbles (vesicles) to be this large. Large vesicles tend to only be in very thick, stiff lava (silica rich, rhyolitic). Remember that a pyroclastic flow has moved some distance from the vent and so most gases escape upward into atmosphere as the flow travels.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

@@tommajor6239 See comment here.

@robfl07

6 ай бұрын

@@shawnwillseyI too thought it was gas bubbles, but your explanation was perfect. I hadn’t thought of the effects of time/distance on gas release. So it’s safe to assume that this mountain will continue develop and display new holes for years to come as it erodes, allowing water to dissolve the deeper calcium deposits (until eventually nothing remains)?

As soft as the rock is as demonstrated later in the video, I'm surprised that it is harder than the surrounding Paleozoic sandstones during its formation.

@abrakadabra9406

4 ай бұрын

Maybe Something wrong with the timetable ;)

@HHO2Burn

4 ай бұрын

@@abrakadabra9406 my thought too. It's an observation conflicting with the very "interesting story" (imaginative fiction) put together by the UGS.

That was interesting. I learn something with every video.

Fascinating geology, thanks!

Way cool! I've often wondered about those Swiss Cheese holes. Always figured it was water lapping at it, getting lower as the inland sea fell. But cool to hear the real dope on it. Thanks!

Not far from Reno, there is a small crystal mound, I would guess roughly 20-30' diameter. You have to take a dirt road several miles to find it. I was in Reno in the year 2000 and someone told me how to find it and I did. It was quite interesting. It was pure white. By now it might be virtually gone by people collecting rocks from there.

That is one neat area! Thanks, Shawn, for showing it to us.

Thank You for sharing an up close view and history of places I wish I had time to visit. In the 80s & 90s I flew hang gliders with an aggressive group of pilots all over the western US. Mostly on X country flights and at very high altitudes. The views were spectacular, to say the least. Wish we would have taken some of the time to do more exploring when we were on the ground.

Great job of explaining this area. I’m not a geologist; just curious about lots of things, so your explanation was easy for me to follow! Thank you!

Thanks!

Where do you find these amazing places. So so cool. But I must admit that I was occasionally distracted by the miniature green vegetation existing amongst this grandeur. Not your field of expertise I know and not to be included in your posts but they are part of an entire ecosystem taking advantage of the underlying ground. Don’t get me started about insects/bugs. I love insects in their natural habitat. Plus of course the larger fauna. I really liked your digression recently on the Aspen trees with their “pistol grip” trunks which related to land movement. Keep it coming young fella. We interested/curious people want your knowledge.

I've always loved Science and History. My favorite subjects. I'm a HUGE RockHound here in Oregon. Love learning about geology and geography which do go hand in hand. ❤❤❤❤❤

Brilliant analysis

I’m a rockhound so I actually study geography of the locations prior to my trips . I never thought I would be so interested in the topic and it’s amazing

I came across that place several years ago while roaming the backroads of the desert. Thank you for your in depth analysis!

Fascinating. I like your giving clues and wondering musings, as I am beginning to think more of other situations you've covered. It gets me trying to analyze what is seen in this video. Your section showing what's known helped. I was thinking that somehow water was involved. I was surprised by the calcite being an erosional factor. I'm very familiar with areas that have calcite deposition. This is giving me a new viewpoint on calcite. What an interesting place. Of course, I wonder where the pyroclastic flows came from. And if it had to do with the series of hot spots across the west. This expands my Utah knowledge. I really mostly know the area traveling from Colorado to Idaho through Utah. Thank you.

Very informative. Growing up in the country instilled a love of geology in me. Now as I delve into researching natural ceramic materials for pottery, I get to study geology and petrology even deeper. Love it! Oh, by the way we could almost be cousins! Cheers!

Dang it, I've got work to do, and you just had to post this video. Oh, well, guess I'm in...

Your video truly makes me wish that I had taken geology years ago when I was in college. It's so interesting

Hi Shawn, another wonderful explanation of my backyard I only live 40 miles from there and have spent the majority of my life in Utah's West desert or Miller counties West desert One thing that I can't believe you didn't talk about her go to was the painted potholes which are only a mile and a half roughly north of your location there they are waterfall erosion holes similar to what you see at Niagara falls anyway they're very interesting if you should get back out into that country go check those out they're very pretty there's about five of them there and they're six seven ft deep three or four feet across anyway thanks again You're doing a wonderful job.

Amazing how the plants take root and grow in the tiniest bit of soil

Really unusual scene; beckons to be climbed. Again, the scope of geology is unimaginably huge. You do a great job explaining and showing us. ❤

@briantownsend9414

5 ай бұрын

Check out Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands....it looks like this but it's surrounded by a round cliff, almost like a crater.

Reminds me of “Little Moab”, just west of the bottom part of Utah Lake,

Gracias. Me sirve mucho el proceso de razonamiento seguido. Las observaciones iniciales, tipo de roca, el ambiente circundante y las deducciones posteriores . En mi pais he visto tambien Tafonis en Ignimbritas ubicadas a 4000 msnm . Muy interesante. Saludos !

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Excelente amigo! Muchas gracias.

Thank you Shawn. Learned a lot, including a new word "Tafoni". Will catch you on Nick's live stream.

Absolutely Fascinating!! I LOVE learning this stuff! Thank You, Shawn!!

Fascinating as always. Keep these coming!😊

Great geo-ed adventure. Thx Prof. ✌🏻

Thank you for the geology lesson. Much appreciated. Peace and love from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.🙏♥️🇺🇲

Very awesome and interesting. Thank you for sharing this. It is always amazing to learn something new!

Thanks for explaining that amazing landscape!

Awesome research on this video. Thanks for the explanation and history of the mountain. I will put this location in my bucket list and check out the xenoliths as they have a story to tell as well. Thanks for a great video !!

Very interesting place. I will have to try to get there one of these days. The Italian word, tafoni, is pronounced tah-phone-ee. I think it means rock honeycomb, or some such. My Italian is not very good.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Great. That’s how I usually pronounce it too. Thanks.

this Tuff looks similar to the tuff/tufa at Cuma and Pompeii in Italy. Though that Cumaean tuff is more yellow. At first I thought the holes could caused by fallen trees or other organic matter that weathered away after being buried by pyroclastic flow in the same manner Pompeii was but now your calcite explanation makes sense. (Back in 2007-2009 I lived in the Campi Flegrei area near Cuma Tuff dome and was fascinated by that geology,. I hiked many of the craters there. I'm still bummed I didn't save the sulfur rock I had from Sulfotara).

The USA has such rich and diverse geographical features. You guys over there are incredibly lucky to be able to visit so many places without the need for a passport. So many interesting things to visit and see

Very interesting and great explanation. Thanks for sharing the info.

Another cool Utah desert geological mystery on my list has been solved. Thank you Shawn!

Nice geologic tour. Thanks.

Seen that tafoni weathering in quite a few places along the SoCal coastline, in sandstone. Great channel, keep it up.

Fascinating and extremely well presented! Excellent content

very interesting.. thanks Shawn

Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting.

Love the story! Thanks for teaching this awesome geology.

So interesting. Thank you for this video.

thanks prof

Very clear and detailed explanation for students of geology. 👍✌️

Awesome! So glad that I randomly ran across this channel. Utah has to be the most astounding state out of the 10-12 states that I've visited so far. Zion (my favorite National Park. I mean, it has Angels Landing AND The Narrows!!), The Grand Canyon (the most surreal "WTF" inducing place I've ever been), Lake Powell, Arches, Bryce Canyon....and those are only the places that I've been to. You've then got Moab, Capital Reef, Canyonlands, Great Salt Lake, Bonneville Salt Flats, Grand Staircase, Goblin Valley, Dinosaur National Monument (hello fossils and ancient hieroglyphs!), Coral Pink Sand Dunes, the various slot canyons, etc. And I'm STILL leaving out a lot of other great destinations. It's absolutely insane. Anyone who simply thinks "Mormon desert" when they think Utah is doing themselves a severe disservice by not digging into the state a bit. It's an outdoorsman's paradise, as well as an astrologer's/recreational stargazer's, as it has a whopping 24 Dark Sky Reserves!! I can't wait until I visit again. I'm seeing the Great Sand Dunes of Colorado for the first time this weekend though :) Keep up the awesome work Shawn! Geology rules!....or something like that

@shawnwillsey

3 ай бұрын

Geology rocks!

Epistemology of tafoni (pronounced taf-owe-ni, not taf-on-i). First appeared in a geological publication in Italy in 1882. May derive from the Greek taphos, meaning tomb, or from the Corsican word taffoni (two effs!) meaning window, or from tafonare (one eff!) meaning to perforate. Also, in Sicilian the word tafoni (one eff!) means window.

Super interesting. My suggestion camera work wise early on in the video, allow yourself some more time on each “particle” you’re showing us. That is, keep the camera still for a longer period of time so we can spend more visual study time on it before moving the camera to another spot.

@davidk7324

7 ай бұрын

I pause Shawn's videos frequently.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip. Decent geologist, lousy cameraman but working on it.

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

Wonderful story, well told.

There so many cool places in the west desert. Great job!

Nice video! Thank you. It’s really interesting to see a geologist at work, and also see a geologist using the work of other people over many years to try and understand the features of the landscape.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Very interesting. Thank you.

Wow! There is so much fascinating information here! As you speak about the actions which created this geology, I can picture them occurring. What's more difficult to imagine is the length of time it actually took. Thank you, Professor. Glad I found (and subscribed to ) your channel. 🙂

@shawnwillsey

4 ай бұрын

Many thanks! Enjoy the existing geology videos.

Very interesting! ... At first I guessed wind blown material, but then you mentioned no round rocks and I was puzzled... well done!! Thanks for posting this video!!

Wow enjoyed the learning. Nicely done

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Very absorbing ! I was intrigued by the calcite rich zenolith "crazy holes"

New sub, thanks for the content. I found your video interesting informative and entertaining. I look forward to watching more from your channel.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Awesome. Welcome aboard. Enjoy the existing videos.

Nice work!

Very enjoyable, Prof.

Nicely educational, always good to increase one understanding of geology…

Amazing place! THank you!

Fascinating!!!! Thank you!

A great (modern) example of pyroclastic tephra and tuff filling and artificially flattening a valley is "the valley of ten thousand smokes" in Katmai, Alaska, where an eruption in the early 1900s scoured away all top soil and trees, and now the pyroclasts sit directly on top of jurassic age sedimentary rocks :) (which are nicely exposed thanks to a nearby river).

*amazing* (I should have gone into geology) *super* interesting. TY for sharing!

Very interesting - TY 🙌🏼

Fascinating! Great fun.

Outstanding

I thoroughly enjoyed your video. I felt like a member of your team on an expedition. Great job for that! I am happy that I was able to follow along and visualize these processes that formed this topography. I will definitely subscribe and enjoy watching more of this type of content. So glad you spell it the right way, too!!! (Your name 😆) Happy Thanksgiving!

@shawnwillsey

6 ай бұрын

Welcome aboard! Enjoy the existing videos in the collection.

fascinating. thank you

50 plus years ago I visited Drummond Island, MI, and I remember the rocky shore with smooth, round holes that were fascinating. Probably totally different, but thanks for the memory! And thanks so much for your clear communications about the seismic activity in Iceland.

and thank you. very cool video!!!

Thank you for this fascinating video. My father was a geologist who worked for many years at Kennecott (long before the Rio Tinto days). and he was passionate about the stories the earth tells and the mysteries it holds. Much like you, he was a great narrator of those tales. I'm picky about channels I subscribe to, but I'm adding yours today.

@shawnwillsey

6 ай бұрын

Awesome. Welcome aboard and enjoy the existing videos.

Very good analysis and well presented ..........👍⛏️

Have you ever looked into a discussion about the Delaware Basin of Western Texas, Eastern New Mexico? Like your videos and your observations of the geology in the area discussed.

That giant "X" is no doubt where the treasure is! 😊 ( just a shot at humor, I couldn't resist) very interesting and I liked the lesson in geology, much respect!

Very knowledgeable geologist and interesting.

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

thanks

I live in Utah Co., so cool to go see these Pt. of interest you have covered.

Wow! So interesting! Wish I had seen that, while living in Utah.

Great detective work.

Good video. I learned some things.

The tuff layer was laid down 33 million years ago and still not much of anything grows there! Wow!😮

@shawnwillsey

7 ай бұрын

Partly due to rock composition and party the arid climate.