Henrys Fork Caldera: Yellowstone's Last Caldera Eruption Completely in Idaho
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 มิ.ย. 2024
- Join geology professor Shawn Willsey as he takes you on a tour of the Henrys Fork Caldera, a ~20-mile wide caldera that formed 1.3 million years ago during a huge violent eruption that ejected 280 cubic miles of ash. This eruption was the second most recent of the three big Yellowstone eruptions over the last two million years.
00:00 caldera locations
00:20 intro, within the caldera
01:55 map of Yellowstone's three recent calderas (from my book, Roadside Geology of Idaho)
04:08 generalized model of Yellowstone caldera eruptions (also from same book)
09:25 tour of Henrys Fork caldera rim
11:15 intracaldera basalt flow
13:41 Mesa Falls Tuff along caldera flank (just outside caldera)
You can order SIGNED copies of my books that cover this area: Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho (a whole chapter on this area) and Roadside Geology of Idaho. Purchase here: shawn-willsey.square.site/
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Shawn Willsey
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Twin Falls, ID 83303 - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
FYI: Graphics shown in video are from my two books, Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho and Roadside Geology of Idaho. In fact, the content of this video is one full chapter in the Geology Underfoot book. You can order signed copies here: shawn-willsey.square.site/ or get from local booksellers or Amazon (of course).
A great explanation! I love Geology and almost majored in it in the 70’s. I went to Southeast Missouri State and they are in the area of the great New Madrid earthquake. So lots of geologists were there because of that. Very interesting, and I thank you!
Simply love your content. Thank you for sharing.
I was up and down US-20 through Island Park- Yellowstone twice -- once 40 years ago, another about 27 years ago -- and had no idea whatsoever that I was driving over a massive caldera. There is so much geology going on in Idaho that I missed while I was living in Idaho Falls it's a shame now that I'm finding all this out so late in life. But now that I know, I have more incentive to head back to the place I called "home" for 4 years back in the 1980s and view it all with a different pair of eyes.
Better late than never. Enjoy!
How lovely, we hope you do.
@@VbluevitalThere was a brief time when Island Park held the record for the all-time lowest temperature in the contiguous 48. I believe that was eclipsed either by West Yellowstone or Meacham Oregon, I'll have to look up the history.
Yes. I lived in Idaho in the early 1960s in the Challis National Forest. We also traveled widely in Idaho.
Excellent lesson! What I enjoyed the most was the Mesa falls tuff road cut. As you came up to it I recognized that it is tuff. I then remembered seeing the same thing in '82 along the Toutle River at st Helen's. I was confused that day by what I saw. But I really knew nothing about it. This spot was just above the lahar level along the river. Your explanation here and the layers told me what I had seen on a smaller scale that day. Comparing the two places really helps me realize what a large eruption that had been of the Yellowstone hot spot. I'm still glued to the Iceland current eruption cams. This video has also emphasized to me how much more complex explosive eruptions are compared to fissure eruptions. Both are fascinating in their own ways.
We went to Yellowstone when I was 11 in 1973. No one mentioned we were all over a massive volcano:) This is so fascinating!
You are always showing us the coolest stuff and explaining them in the most understandable way. That's why I love supporting you when I can.
I appreciate that!
Thank you for your overview of this caldera area. We midwesteners have such restrictive clues to this type of topography. I lived in Wyo. for 5 yrs.; got to visit Craters of the Moon and there abouts. The magma building period of our planet is so interesting. I'm enjoying all your videos.
thank you for including the GPS coordinates in the video
I went ahead and researched the coordinates on google earth
all around the outside of the caldera streams run every point
of the compass🤠👍👍
Yeah. It is by far the best preserved and most conspicuous landscape of the three recent caldera forming eruptions. The drainages are indeed radially, mainly on west and south side of caldera.
For the viewers used to the metric system: The Henry''s Fork Caldera eruption produced 280 km³ of ash, the Yellowstone Caldera had 1,000 km³ of ash and the Island Park Caldera eruption went off with 2,500 km³ of ash.
The teeny, tiny Mount St. Helens eruption: 1 km³ of ash. Nothing to write home about. [/s]
But what St Helen's ash (2 3/8 inches) made a big impression on my life. No one wants to go through a super eruption for sure.
Hi Professor Willsey! This is one of the best presentations I have seen about geology in the Island Park area! I have to confess that I have binge-watched this serval times. There is just so much there to learn and understand! From now on, whenever I drive up there ( I am from Pocky), I will look at geology in a different light! Thanks again for this excellent presentation!!!
Wow, thanks for the high praise. Happy to share what I know and love. Keep learning.
I absolutely love the simplicity of “Let’s take a seat on the trail and have a quick lesson!” The clipboard and paper spoke to me. Felt like we were sitting with you on the ground reading along! Thank you for sharing with us.
I agree!
Merci beaucoup. One of my favorite memories of my time in Wyoming was taking a Geology class in a Community College. My only regret was being colour blind.
Great lecture, Professor.
Thank you for this. I have a passing familiarity with this area in that years ago I "passed" over it for work ventures related to plants and animals in forests and waterways. Looking at it now and thru the lens of geologic time lends a perspective that is new and welcome to me.
Yellowstone is a favorite; glad to have this information. Thank you.
Thanks, as usual. and I personally want to know more about Colombia River Basalt as it was related to "basin & range" expansion mvement
Ask Nick whom I mentioned a few seconds ago
Another good one, Shawn, thanks. Your Guides are so practical and useful! Looking forward to exploring more of Idaho.
I once watched a show or a video about how the Yellowstone caldera volcano actually started down by Sacramento, CA, then each successive eruption it moved northeast to its' present location in Yellowstone. They said there was at least 12 eruptions that they could verify by satellite pictures. We are talking about 40 million years that it took to get to its' present location.
That is an amazing story. Of course, for folks just getting into amateur geology, the hotspot didn’t move, the track we see today is the track of continent moving over the hotspot.
I have spent quite a bit of time in that area. Absolutely love it and love the geology. When I'm there i wake up on the edge of the caldera and sit and watch the sun rise over the mountains, watching sunlight fill the caldera acting like the magma that once rose from the depths below.
I really enjoyed this video!!! Thank you Shawn.
Awesome. Glad you liked it.
Thank you for covering this area. I was in the area visiting a relative and she called the quartz crystals diamonds. I knew they were not, but I was not sure what they were. You answered my question while providing the background to how the area formed. Please continue making videos!
I will. Thanks for watching.
It is a complete description of the Supervolcano theory, Yellowstone is the unique place, where this theory is sure. Most caldera forming eruptions are different. America is lucky to have such a moving Hotspot under thick crust of a continental plate.
@@ragnapodewski4694 It maybe that the hot spot is stationery and the land mass is moving in a westward direction.
That is the point,I have said!
Seeing new uploads from this channel is really satisfying. I'm a fan at this point. Really great stuff
Hey thanks so much and welcome aboard. Enjoy the existing videos and look for new ones soon!
Explosive potential also relates to the amount of water present... Great explanation of the varied igneous geology, eruptive lavas we find in this location as well as, say, the San Francisco Volcanic Field further south.. Keep up the good work. Your videos spread the geo knowledge far and wide... in the same way that the Roadside Geology books have done for so many years.
Thanks so much And as an aside, I co-wrote the updated and recently released Roadside Geology of Idaho. You can get a signed copy here if interested: shawn-willsey.square.site/
Another outstanding field trip. Thank you!
excellent. thanks 'heaps' for the overview.
Thanks for this most illuminating lecture on what most of us just pass by, without reflecting the least what the rocks might tell us. Prime enlightenment.
Very good sir - as I pass through these areas in the west, I very much like understanding a little bit of the geology and topography.
I know about it because a Geology Professor at Washington State University in Ellensburg, Washington named Nick Zentner has taught me all about things like plate tectonics and a lot of other things. Also that Yellowstone is a HOT SPOT just like Killowaya in Hawaii!
That would be Central Washington University (CWU). I have learned a lot from Nick Zentner too. He makes Geology interesting.
@@conniead5206he does, but so does Shawn!
Outstanding. Another trip to the area is on my agenda. Thanks Shawn.
Awesome. This region offers so much geologically. I have more places to go for videos still too
Hi again! Excellent video. Really enjoyed it. You'd be happy to know that from watching your previous videos I was actually able to easily follow what you were describing! Quality education Professor!
Awesome news. Glad to know that my videos have helped you learn.
A very informative and interesting video.
Terrific presentation; clear visuals, enthusiastic explanation of technical details, and your pacing was perfect. As a novice I had no trouble following along. Thank you.
Thanks for the vid…and the great illustrations. 👍
Graphics are from my book, Roadside Geology of Idaho.
Oh hell yeah. One of the few channels i got notifications turned on for. Thank you Shawn! You are goated.
Awesome! Thanks for being a fan of my georamblings and geoventures.
Thanks for a great show Shawn.Much appreciated.
You bet!
Glad you did this. Not a lot of videos on the older eruptions. Thanks
I just did a road trip out to Yellowstone. Part of my trip was on US 20, its awesome to watch this video.
OK Shawn, I'm hooked. I find myself watching certain videos over and over again, sometimes 3-4 times so that I can: 1. Get all of the information in the first place. 2. Look again with new eyes after getting more information that you've given elsewhere.
You're a stupendous educator. Aristotle would have been impressed.
Many thanks. Glad you enjoy.
It is so cool that the pyroclastic flow stopped before crossing the road. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, roads built in the past few hundred years form excellent boundaries, often strong enough to prevent any lava from half a million years ago from flowing over them! - j q t -
wow, modern engineering solving problems happening hundred of thousand of years ago, life is good@@quill444
@@quill444😅
I learned more from this video than i ever did in geology class in school.
Thanks for watching and learning with me.
Hi Shawn thank you very much for this video and the one on Upper Mesa Falls. We are travelling from Ireland and will staying in this area in about 10 days time. The content is perfect for what I am aiming to see while we are here. Thank you for all your efforts posting the videos they are fascinating. Take care
Awesome! Enjoy your travels. I highly recommend my books, Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho and Roadside Geology of Idaho, as handy companions to help you find and understand the geology as you travel. Let me know if your travels bring you through Twin Falls.
@@shawnwillsey Thank you Shawn appreciate it, I sent you a quick email
I've lived in southeast Idaho for over thirty years and your videos are awesome and have taught me so much about the geology of the snake river plains and surrounding areas. I would love to see a video on the hells half acre volcano area in-between idaho falls and blackfoot.
You did a very nice video ....a first time for me that you included all three! Bravo👏💕
Thank you!❤ You always have such great information and on site!
You’ve got me super stoked about Geology. All your videos are great. I live in Hood River Oregon and was wondering if you have any videos on the Columbia River Gorge or Cascade Mountains.
Thank you, Prof. Willsey.
You are very welcome. Thanks for your kind donation.
One of my favorite videos that you've done.
Wow, thanks!
Thanks, looking forward boondocking there and watching your video and reading your book.
Professor, thank you for your time. I am much more familiar with composite cones,Vesuvius, Eatna, the Peruvean peaks, Popcotapetl, the Cascades, etc. The hot spot shields are only familiar through Hawaii,and, now Iceland. Thank you for your updates on the activity in Iceland. Between you and Gylfi , I think I'm getting the whole picture. I learned from Prof Zetner, in Washington, about the successfully older calderas that track across to CA. And then a few slightly north. These are so interesting, I can't get enough!!
I never would have guessed that the light loose "fluffy" ground / sandy looking stuff was ash! I would have presumed it was just dry old loose "dirt" (soil) of some type. And I have heard of pumice before but I had no idea they could be so big! Great video!!
Thanks. FYI-in my world, there is no such thing as "dirt". There is soil, sediment (sand, gravel, silt, etc.), rocks, and minerals.
this is awesome thank you Shawn!
Excellent video Shawn, that is where we're planning to explore.
It’s an amazing area.
This is such a great video, thank you!!!!!!
Great explanation, thank you!
I find this really interesting. Thanks.
You’re a rockstar! Great video, thanks for posting.
Thank you for this. I own a home near Blackfoot but I work overseas most of the time. Always good to learn about the area. I’ll be glad when I move back.
👏👏👏👏❤️my mind couldnt have been more excited about the thorough diagram description and explanation!! ✨️🌟thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
Love geology. Excellent lesson, thanks
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
Very interesting and well explained
im really beginning to enjoy your videos so fascinating the size of volcanoes
Better than my earthquakes and volcanoes college geology class.
Fascinating ❤
thanks for a great video, also i really liked the paypal method of donating --this is the 1st time i have seen this type of method for supporting a you-tube channel, nice method, much better than patreon.
Thank you for your kind donation. I agree that the PayPal link is simple and effective.
shawn - do you have videos ( or maybe covered in one of your books?) - about the river canton around malad? the dark blocks of rock above the river are stunning formations.
this was a great vid, by the way.
i never knew there were 3 separate calderas
Thanks!
Thank you Steve.
Excellent!!!! Discussion!!!!
Cool thanks for the short lecture, Hope your book goes well,
"you knew it was going to be a rough day" and your "superhuman grip" made me laugh out loud! loved it, thanks!
(just got your book)
Glad you enjoyed it!
I live in Ashton - so cool to understand why the rock and soil looks like it does. Thanks for the info!
You bet!
Yet again we get a lesson in How to look at everyday landscape. Roadside geology is a good name for this. Book sounds intetesting ... must find out if it ships to Ireland
Thank you so much for sharing your research with the World. ❤🌎🌏🌍.
Love ❤. Shared ❤. Saved on TH-cam ❤.
I saw a video from a Professor in Washington State that did a video. He explained that it was actuality in Washington State and moved to where it is at now. The Caldera is 30 by 45 miles.
Excelente video didáctico, acerca de la petrologia en la caldera volcánica en el campo, esperemos más vídeos de estos fenómenos naturales, saludos desde México.
Gracias amigo. Encantado de que disfrutes de los videos.
The Hot Spot has never moved, it is plate tectonics that has carried the older erupting sequences into No. Nevada and Eastern Idaho. Future areas that will erupt over the Yellowstone Hot Spot are now in South Central Canada….NE Johanson MD
Professor Wolsey! I don’t know if you take a request to do Geology shows,! Have you ever considered doing a program that would cover the Geology around in and Pocatello? Could you explain how we got the lava bed in Rosses Park? Could you explain, possibly what it was like when the Bonneville flood came in and went out the Inkom gap, what is the geology of scout mountain, and how that formed? I thought it was a volcano by shape just an idea for you. Thanks again for everything.!👍
I lived inside the caldera for four years when stationed at the Island Park Ranger Station. The whole area was geologically interesting. I put up a timber sale along Thurmon Ridge which is the common edge of the Henry's Fork and Island Park Calderas. (It was a salvage sale that harvested trees killed by a mountain pine beetle epidemic that stretched from Montana to the escarpment North of Aston.) There had been a salvage sale in the area that harvested over a 1000 acres of wind thrown trees. They were blown over by hurricane force wind in the lat 1960's.
My wife had a plastic raised relief map that really showed the calderas. (Ashton, ID 1 in 250,000) The Moose Creek Plateau basalt flow covered much of the Island Park Caldera all the way into Idaho. There was a huge obsidian outcrop along the Fish creek Road. Locals said that Native Americans came a long way to get the obsidian for projectile points.
You should do a video on Upper and Lower Mesa Falls on the warm River that are exceptionally scenic.
Oops. Just got further down the list of your videos and see that you have one on Upper Mesa Falls.
Thanks!
Absolutely amazing the story this material tells if you know how to read the book. I love the Island Park area....gorgeous place. They have great, world class fly fishing. I did notice that the invasive mullen plant has managed to eke out a living there as well. What a tenacious plant.
Yellowstone is fascinating.
The crater I am curious about is one I found while looking at google maps a few years ago. It is located just south of Blackfoot, ID at [ 43.104994, -112.343015 ]. If you look at google maps, either with the satellite view or terrain view it is obvious. I figure it was part of the Yellowstone Hotspot migration from about the same time as the Picabo Volcanic Field era.
See the comment I made just a few seconds ago about Nick Zentner and his talk about Yellowstone and the one in Idaho. He is worth watching!
Excellent presentation again. A question came to my mind about the huge eruption of 2.1 million years ago? Was the planet at the time of that eruption already in this current Ice Age or could this eruption have dropped temperatures so much to influence the Ice Age, or do you think that it has nothing to do with the current Ice Age that we are in? Or did this Ice Age start as a result of North America and South America joining up around 2.5 million years ago thereby changing the Thermal Haline current and helping to start the Ice Age?
What's cool is because the north American plate is moving east, there should be old Yellowstone caldera's dotted all the way to oregon
Hey Shawn, could you help me clarify how much ash a cubic mile is? Like, what density is the ash considered? Is the volume measured/estimated at the density it leaves the caldera during the eruptive process, or soon after it's airborne, or once it's in the stratosphere? It seems like it is going to be a lot less dense once aloft, and a single cubic mile of ejecta could be many in the sky. The unit a cubic mile, when applied to something that's changing from a burning solid into an aerosol, is confusing for me. Can you elaborate? Thanks!
Good question. I believe these estimated volumes are erupted ash volumes (uncompacted).
A family member has a home on the hill above Ashton, adjacent to Highway 20. His basement slab shattered after a water pipe leak beneath the slab. I guess the tuff/ash has hydro-expansive properties?
Hmm, older ash layers might do this if ash is altered to clay and prone to shrink-swell. I doubt these young ash layers would expand much in water
O M G, I'm a beginning, self- taught geology lover. I'm so happy I found you! I'm headed to some family property on the Sun River, outside of Augusta, MT. I'm so curious about this area. Do have any good resources for me to check out so I can be a bit more informed? Thank you so much!!!
Maybe look at some published geologic maps or just Google things like "Augusta Montana geology" or "Sun River Montana geologic guide". Here is one thing I found with a quick search: pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0663b/report.pdf
Concerning that last stage of the caldera eruption being basaltic flows: because the ash and tuff from the explosive eruption haven't been buried by basalt at the Henrys Fork Caldera, does this mean that there are still some forthcoming basaltic eruptions that can happen there?
Absolutely. The Pinehaven flow by Mesa Falls is only 29,000 years old and there may be younger ones (don't have map in front of me at moment). Future eruptions of basalt are very possible (and more likely than an explosive ash eruption). If this occurs in my lifetime, I'll be there!
"You'll be there??" Won't it instantly incinerate a whole bunch of people ? You'll be the only one running towards it. Sounds dangerous.
I have heard there is a spot directly above the magma chamber in Idaho that keeps getting earthquakes.
I'm curious how the previous magma chambers sort of migrate away from the current ones, as the NA plates moves -- are there discrete chambers, or a continuous line of increasingly crystalized felsic rock (in the case ofnthe upper chamber) extending to the E-SE of the current partially molten chamber?
Have you ever taken the Fish Creek Road out to the East of the Warm River. I was up there last summer and found some really neat rock. Black but not obviously basalt with small bubbles coated with ash. They were in a rock scree right off the road. Watch out for bears though.
Have you been to the crater rings near mountain home? Looks like a cool area near I84
I know of it but haven’t been yet.
Nice rhyolite columns @ 11;30. Does that mean slow cooling?
We can see the slow wandering of the Hot spot to the East.
GreatVid!
If you remember, Ashley was a robot. In the movie Alien 😊. He was a company man.
I'm curious, to the best of your knowledge when do you think the next eruption of any kind will and where might occur in either Idaho, Wyoming. or any other of the lower 48 states?
It's anyone's guess. Most likely would be a Cascade volcano eruption, possibly St Helens, Lassen, or South Sister. Another eruption at Craters of the Moon is likely. Less likely is the huge Yellowstone eruption that folks get super worked up about.
Now, what have you confirmed about the former Farallon tectonic plate (now remnants are Juan de Fuco). I heard that the bottom of the Yellowstone caldera meets the mantle lava separated by the plate.
Hi Shawn,
How do you explain the deviation of the West Snake River Plain from the YHS track? The WSRP continues West across Oregon’s High Lava Plains, with a string of calderas aging from East to West and ending at Newberry Caldera. The aging is the opposite of the YHS. Is that caused by slab rollback or perhaps a rift associated with the B&R extension?
You read my mind. Planning a video on this very topic. Can I keep you in suspense longer?
Also WSRP does not tie into high plains volcanic field in central idaho.
Keep making these and come to Colorado. Buffalo peaks
I'll keep making the videos for sure. I love Colorado and wish it was closer. I have a few from western CO in my playlist if you look.
2nd most recent super-volcanic eruption, in other words, an 8+ volcanic explosivity index.
Shawn Willsey with kung fu grip and lifelike hair.
All 3 eruptions were during the Ice Ages. I wonder if pressure flexing the plate had any effect. A few quadrillion tons of ice may have just squashed it.
What is the name of the book that the graphics came from? Is that one of your books? Love your videos! Our road trips have not been the same since we discovered your videos 😊😊
I obviously can't share a link You tube being corporate controlled, but google this it will do the job "Since 1972, Mountain Press's Roadside Geology series has been providing geology enthusiasts with fascinating and accessible information for states and provinces in the United States and Canada."
Yes. Roadside Geology of Idaho. Similar graphics and a full chapter on this area is in my other book, Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho. Available at Amazon or local stores or you can get signed copies from me.
I love that my videos enhance your travels. Win-win.
Sidenote: I don't know which one Shawn uses.
I do note a subtitle on his map open at 2:01 Chelsea N. Feeney cmc Feeney websight listed.
My two books are: Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho (whole chapter on Henrys Fork Caldera) and Roadside Geology of Idaho. Order signed copies here: shawn-willsey.square.site/ or on Amazon or from local booksellers.