Geology of the Pacific Northwest lecture series

[Mushroom]

One of the most fascinating series on geology is by Nick Zentner, a professor at Central Washington University. For years now he has been fiving free 1 hour lectures on the geology of the region to any that want to attend. And thankfully for people like that are fascinated by geology, he and the University have made them available for free on Youtube.

And just a week ago they kicked off their latest series of lectures that kicks off with how some of the exotic terranes found in the region came to be here, some of the newest discoveries about the formation of the Rocky Mountains, and more. I encourage any who are interested in geology to check them out, as he is not only informative but entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/@GeologyNick

And I promise that after one watches them, they will never view the planet the same way afterwards.

 

[ReinyDays]

Too much Washingtoning ... not enough Oregoning ...

He's smart enough not to even try to address the crazy mixed up terrain we all lovingly call the Coast Mountain Range here in Jefferson ... his videos are a bit too long I think ...

Rocks from Baja here in my garden:

 

[Mushroom]

Too much Washingtoning ... not enough Oregoning ...

He's smart enough not to even try to address the crazy mixed up terrain we all lovingly call the Coast Mountain Range here in Jefferson ... his videos are a bit too long I think ...

Rocks from Baja here in my garden:

He actually does cover a fair amount of Oregon also. In an earlier series he talked extensively about the Yellowstone Hot Spot when it was moving through Oregon, and the basalt beds and calderas in the Eastern half of the state. As well as the exotic terrenes that make up our coastal area as well.

A lot of his talks have also concentrated on Idaho and Wyoming.

But that lecture and others did talk a lot about the terrenes in Oregon, as they stretch from Alaska down to California. He just concentrates on Washington as that is where the university is located.

 

[ReinyDays]

He actually does cover a fair amount of Oregon also. In an earlier series he talked extensively about the Yellowstone Hot Spot when it was moving through Oregon, and the basalt beds and calderas in the Eastern half of the state. As well as the exotic terrenes that make up our coastal area as well.

A lot of his talks have also concentrated on Idaho and Wyoming.

But that lecture and others did talk a lot about the terrenes in Oregon, as they stretch from Alaska down to California. He just concentrates on Washington as that is where the university is located.

I think the areas he does cover extensively are the most interesting ... perhaps in the world ... Western Oregon is boring old volcanic arc territory ... [yawn] ... seen one eruption, seen them all ... the Coast Range here is the scrapings off the top of the Farallon plate all piled up every which way ... add twelve feet of rain a year and we have the classic temperate rain forest ... think X-Files ...

 

[Mushroom]

Western Oregon is boring old volcanic arc territory ... [yawn] ... seen one eruption, seen them all ... the Coast Range here is the scrapings off the top of the Farallon plate all piled up every which way ... add twelve feet of rain a year and we have the classic temperate rain forest ... think X-Files

Yes, almost everything from the Cascade's west are exotic terrenes that have been puled up one after another. But less of them than California and Washington, as there was apparently a split in the ocean crust that caused most of them to avoid that area. However, it seems that Oregon got in exchange the Yellowstone Hot Spot, as the oldest surface plumes of the Yellowstone Hot Spot were in Oregon around 40 mya.

Some of the first geology trips I took were to SE Oregon, way back in the 1970s when the very concept that the Yellowstone Caldera moved was a radical concept that most did not accept yet.

And living near the Siskiyou Pass, I still enjoy exploring even this area. I have a nice chunk of petrified wood that must weigh around 5 pounds, and some really large chunks of pumice from the area (likely around 7 kya from Mt. Mazama). But other than those more recent fossils, most in this area are cretaceous era seabed with lots of shells and invertebrates.

 

[ReinyDays]

And living near the Siskiyou Pass ...

Rip City ... when Cascadia slips, Mazama awakes? ... a shame you're in the crosshairs of the next pyroclastic flow ... [giggle] ... I'm on the Umpqua so the end will be quick for me I hope ... I guess we get 300 foot lahars ... or something ...

I'm glad The Z is back to lecturing ... just wish they were shorter ...