Rock Identification with Willsey: BASALT and its many varieties
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ย. 2022
- Team up with geology professor Shawn Willsey as he investigates basalt in all its wonderous varieties. Observe and learn pillow lava, scoria, reticulite, volcanic bombs, and more. Also watch for a special guest appearance at the end by some true rock stars.
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Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
315 Falls Avenue
Twin Falls, ID 83303 - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
I think the basalts are the most interesting looking rocks. The crystals are beautiful. I love the way some basalts fracture into columns as they cool. Once again, really interesting formations.
When visiting sister-in-law in Portrush, County Antrim N. Ireland, was able to pop along to Giants Causeway, incredible hexagonal columns of basalt rising up perfectly interlocking
You are an exceptional teacher, in the teacher-of-the-year category! You make me love learning and discovering and appreciating the Wonderment of nature! I adore your Babies!! And that reticulite, WHOA! I am now a fan of basalt!
Wow, thank you!
The tripod definitely helps professor. I had no idea Basalt had so many variants. Throughly enjoying your work, and learning a lot!
Amygdule - I have wondered about these structures. (Taking notes)...
Another great vid! Thankyou. You are a truly generous teacher; passing your knowledge to all and any.
Ohh man! 😆 Basalt baby #3 ..thats just good fun! Thnx 4 sharing those
This is really fun and special, first maybe because we saw films of babies 2 and 3 being born. And also because some of my own basalt pieces are similar to those you identified. Repeating terms as you do is so helpful to my remembering! You're a thoughtful teacher. 👏🏻 Thank you, Shawn!
I don't understand how some geology enthusiasts aren't interested in Basalt. It can be chunky, & can also speed down slopes in insane speeds! Then the crystals you can get! Dude... I can go on & on! LoL I will say living in Twin Falls is definitely a bonus for my geologic passion! 💚
Great explanation on basalt. I agree they are interesting. Nice to meet the family :)
Far more varieties of basalt than I knew existed! And I've never seen the iridescent surface before. Cool. Thanks.
So awesome! The power of Creation. We live near a once active volcano so this afternoon I plan to hike up closer to get a better look at lava basalts. Appreciate your interest in our Mother, the Earth.
You've got an engaging way of making this interesting. It answered many questions I had about basalt, thank you.
Reasons you'll love Shawn Willsey's videos:
- Covers each specimen in a detailed yet concise manner
- Takes time to zoom in and capture multiple veiws of the specimen
- Confidence in the information, as it comes from a reputable and reliable source
- Delivers information in a manner designed to teach you, not just entertain
Nice compliment. Thank you. Still working on improvements.
Very thorough. I may just be getting the hang of some of the terminology! Thanks.
Great news. The fancy terms are the crux for many folks. The concepts and processes are much more straightforward.
I learned a lot. The only thing I ever really considered when encountered basalt in the past was to look at the edges for seams, and amygdules, or vesicles (vugs to a rock hound) for crystal linings. Seeing your collection of the various types of basalt gives me a new appreciation for what I always thought to be just a mundane rock. Well, I guess it still is mundane but it is a lot more interesting than I used to think.
100% agree!!
That reticulite mineral was amazing. I have never heard of that before.
Thank you, professor, for such a clear and diverse presentation of basalt. This has converted my hohum attitude toward
basalt to an enthusiastic one. I live in tri-cities of Washington state, so this presentation will be in mind on my own explorations of nature among the basalt areas here.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for your video presentation. The visuals really helped and I never knew basalt could be SO interesting.
Great video! I'm used to seeing basalt more in the hexagonal columns or black rocks than as a lava flow. Interesting, never thought about it being so full of gas pockets and vesicles. 😮
I just love basalt. And I do love volcanoes. So, yes, that makes sense, like you said. I learned a few things watching. I really enjoyed seeing all the different specimens. My favorite are amygdaloidal basalts with all the different minerals that fill in the vesicles. The ones I find along Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are really cool. I would like to go to Idaho and collect some. I am fortunate to have collected some basalt from Hawaii. Your babies are the coolest....hahaha, well, now they are 🙃 Thanks for the great informative content. 👍
I live in San Diego I have an extinct volcano in my backyard dictionary hill it's always interesting to hike up there and look at all the different types of volcanic rock.
Most people don't know this is a volcano and are very surprised when I tell them
You should come to Newfoundland there is so much to see. This was such a fascinating segment. Thank you.
Now I know more about what kind of host rock I'm finding when I'm finding the best amethyst at the Kingston Range. Thanks for the help!
I just Love Rocks!! The history of our Earth!!
I have carved in Columbia River basalt's which are very hard(I use diamond abrasives) and are dark green when the weather rind is removed.
Excellent instructive description of basalt's.
Basalt is my favorite!
Thanks so much for the rapid fire education. Not a criticism at all as most of us folks are not conversant with the in depth explanations of each type so a sound/video bite is perfect for our attention span.
So many favourites but the spinning one with the breaking off tails piqued my interest most.
I agree that a ~10 or so minute engaging video is ideal and I try to stick to that when possible.
Brilliant…. Love those lava babies…. Love rock story telling…. I LOVE ROCKS 😊THEY ROCK!!!!
Nice video. Helped me brush up on my basalt knowledge. I live on the Keweenaw Peninsula of Upper Michigan, which, as you may know, is almost entirely made of basalt from the Mid-Continent Rift. Lots of native copper was deposited in the vesicles and faults in the basalt. Our area is also called the Copper Country from all the prehistoric and historic copper mining that happened here.
Fascinating! Lived 'under' cliffs of lava, west of Oakley, growing up and saw a lot of those but never knew much about how they developed, just that they were from lava.
What a great view on Basalt rocks. Love the close ups and descriptions. Thanks for making this video.
Great samples, and great explanation. I have a few samples that are very similar to some of these. I was assuming mine were some type of basalt, but wasn't sure. Now I am certain. Thank you, and keep these great videos coming. Your hard work is appreciated.
Looking at these basalts, I feel like I missed out! I think the only time I crossed paths with igneous rocks in the field was in grad school when I visited outcrops of carbonatite and some nepheline syenite in the Little Rock-Hot Springs area of Arkansas. Otherwise, we were awash in sedimentary rocks! The basalts are interesting, and I was really impressed with the reticulite specimen which has an almost organic appearance. Always look forward to your videos!
Basalt fibers and fabrics are used as an alternative to fiberglass in skis and snowboards.
I had no idea. Wow.
There's a company up here that I believe uses basalt in making non-ferrous rebar.
@@jimcurtis569 do you know the company name please
@ramppit The product is called Gator Bar. The company name is Nouvakis or something like that.
Ah... Such a good daddy. Do you light a candle for them every year on their birthdays? Let them bask in its warmth... I bet they love and appreciate that about you being their dad. 😂
They do get preferential treatment over other samples and have a nice place in my office.
😮😮😮😮😮😮😊😊😊😊
Very nice videos. So much information.
I have a couple large rocks in my front flower bed. I have never paid much mind to them and until last month as a tree was kind of hiding them. I watched this video and I will be darned…one of them is porphyritic basalt with plagioclase crystals. It matches your first sample exactly but then this is southern Idaho. The other rock appears to be basic basalt with a few vesicles but mostly a black rock. Wowed my Mom when I told her what the one with crystals was.😅 I have a piece of baby basalt from Fagradalsfjall 2021. It came in the ‘volcano’ box from the Reykjavik Grapevine (along with Hraun candy, 2 volcano books..Lava and On Fire and some ‘volcano’ salt). I was amazed it made it to Idaho without breaking the volcanic ‘hairs’ that formed on one side of it.
I love that glassy look
Great video especially your descriptions of your baby basalt samples. Could you explain the physics behind why basalt bombs have tails? This is new to me. Love your videos and thanks!
I love how you describe some volcanoes as "nice".
Some volcanoes (fissures, shield, cinder cone) are "nice", very approachable, and safe. Others (stratovolcanoes, lava domes, and any lava playing with water/ice) are "naughty". Stay away from these when they act up.
At least he didn't say they were gneiss.
Always excellent information! Thanks for this!
Great series.
OMGosh! LOL! You’re not a good father! So funny! Once again I’m envious of your experiences as well as your basalt collection! I have watched the “birth” videos. So exciting! I’m very happy for you to be able to do the things you do! Thank you so much for sharing!
I never knew that basaltic rocks being denser and more compacting the terrains caused the ocean filled lowlands.
Another fascinating educational video. Thanks Shawn for all your information. Found this, when placed in a jar of water, Scoria sinks to the bottom, and pumice will float. 41 like ...
This is amazing and helpful, thank you so much!
I’m rewatching the rocks and minerals. Thanks!
I live on the north shore of Lake Superior, in Minnesota. One of the largest basalt out flows occured here about 1.1.billion years ago. My own house is built on a portion of that rock. It is part of what is called the Northshore Volcanics, and, is part of the larger group know as the Dultuth Complex. It makes building a challenge, since we have very thin soils, and we often have to blast for foundations and utility lines.
I live in Panama about 10 miles from a dormant volcano (Baru) and I have a lot that I use for agriculture and periodically encounter small boulders while digging. holes for trees etc. I use wedge & feathers to fracture and remove the rocks which I conclude are basalt. One of your samples aspirated basalt which is black and has tiny shiny specs throughout. The exterior surface is quite smooth and brownish. These rocks are very easy to break and remove. However I found a couple of other rocks that appear very similar but are brown inside and show some evidence of small pitting or pok marks. In the light you can see tiny crystals. The exterior surface is coarse and has small dimples.
What intrigues me is that the aspirated basalt fractures very easily and these are boulders that are 3' x 3' x 2' deep. The other rock of similar size will not fracture or split with the same application of wedge and feathers that are driven into the rock until they bottom out. The outer skin of the rock will spall and small pieces will splinter off but hardly a victory. Why the difference?
Wow! I’ve known so little about basalt, so this is great stuff for me. Being in Minnesota, I know that Minnesota has impressive dark reddish-brownish basalt cliffs along the shores of Lake Superior, reddish from MN’s massive iron minerals deposits. The lava formations were sourced from the Mid-continent Rift that started splitting North America in two, and resulted in gigantic fissure eruptions, miles in length, out of which flowed lava for hundreds of miles. That’s dated at around 1.1 billion years ago. I think it must have looked a lot like what’s occurring on a smaller scale in Iceland!! The North Shore, as it’s called here, is a beautiful place, and some cliffs are popular with rock-climbers.
Looks like you are showing us the Rosetta stone. 😄
Do you have any interest in some Amygdaloidal Basalt from the Wolverine Mine, Keweenaw County, Michigan? It's the top of the Kearsarge Flow of the Portage Lake Volcanics. I collected some last month. Basalt is cool, lol. I dig it too.
Would pele’s hair be a special case of a reticulite?
Yes, they form together. I couldn't find my samples of Pele's hair or I would have included it as well.
Great videos bro! Your geology knowledge is impressive
Great samples! Great camera! 💯
The tripod has improved the camera work 100%!! Thank you!
I absolutly love your videos, thank you for creating this content! I have been binging your videos for days, I can't get enough. One small, tip, request, call it what you will :)
It is important to give the viewer time to see the subject of the video without moving it. You are great at transfering your knoweldge and enthusisim. However, often in you videos, field trips included, as soon as my eye starts to focus on a detail it is moved or gone. Either via camera movement, or in this video, zoom or hand movement.
One other note, I think some of the field videos suffer from flicker caused from the frame rate being too high when it was recorded, this can be remdied using neutral density filters or by other means. The human brain is strange, it actually likes a bit of motion blur. Just something to look into, it is well documented. I'm certainly not an expert, but had the same look when I started playing with drones. Something else to think about for your content maybe😅
Regardless, thank you again, As long as your are creating content I wil be watching.
That was great. Gives me some ideas of what I could be looking at here in Missouri.
I have a new life goal. To catch a lava bomb in-flight so the tail doesn't break off.
Wow, wear some sturdy gloves and good luck!
Baseball or cricket training? 😅
I didn't know basalt was real until today. I thought it was just a video game material
Oh boy did I learn alot. I love basalt
Really informative video and fun to watch. Your enthusiasm really shines through. I'm looking into basalt enhanced weathering for carbon removal as a potential PhD topic and this gives me a greater appreciation for just how much diversity there is here!
Great video thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Cool it probably floats very neat
Great video thanks, have you ever looked into paramagnetic basalt rock, it's very good for your soil as it energises the minerals if sprinkled on top, it works with the magnetic forces of the earth.
I sure do miss your class!!!!
After that description of the volcanic bomb, I don't think I'll ever look at a bowel movement the same. ;-)
Great video btw and one I needed.
Thanks!
You're a fantastic teacher.
I have an Aunt in Idaho who has been there most her life. I love Basalt with a passion. I have been in Australia for the last 20 years. I live in Victoria of which the entire state used to be many millions of years ago a flood plane of Volcanoes which is why we have so much Basalt. Does anyone know why the word salt is in this type of rock or what it has to do with volcanoes. I understand how Basalt is made from volcanoes🌋but I do not understand why the word salt is part of it. It sure would be great if maybe someone knew this. This was the best video I’ve ever seen that I’ve always wanted to see my whole life about Basalt. We have a lot of bluestone in Victoria to which apparently is 10 times harder than concrete but I don’t know. I also don’t know what is harder between granite or bluestone in Victoria Australia. I think definitely granite but bluestone is really tough stuff too. Thank you for making this video.
I am a new subscriber. Thank you for the content
Welcome! Hope you enjoy
Reticulite foam is an amazing rock. I still have a sample of reticulite I took from the big island in 1993. So far I haven't incurred the rath of Pele for removing some of her essence. LOL! One term I'd like to add here is what is called "spatter". Basaltic bombs may be somewhat pliable when they're ejected into the air and they can congeal on impact into a crudely welded deposit named spatter. Spatter can even move on the ground for short distances as a "rootless" lava flow until it cools enough to freeze in place. Good job on this video! I enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for this! I know I will refer to it often as I have so much basalt in my "backyard" on the Columbia Plateau. Living near Wenatchee at the edge of the CRB, with other basalts of older vintage coming from the Eocene potentially in the same vicinity, I was wondering what specific test can be made on basalts to determine their age and origin? I am specifically wondering about basalts I can see ringing part of Wenatchee Heights like plums in a plum pudding, and all at pretty much the same elevation, but quite a lower elevation than the CRB of Jumpoff Ridge and Mission Ridge nearby to the south. The base of Wenatchee Heights is pretty much all Eocene sandstone but then there are these resistant rounded remnants of basalt that I described poking out towards the top.
You should look into professor Nick Zentner of CWU. He has a literal flood of videos on the geology of your area
Excellent🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉❤🎉
Hmm! Very informative
Glad you think so!
This is incredible, thanks for the excellent video. how recent roughly do you think the cinders are that you showed from near twin that still had the iridescence?
Good question. I'm not sure. Certainly the arid climate in southern Idaho allows the iridescence to persist longer than a humid climate. Many of the cinders at Craters of the Moon still have strong iridescence so a ballpark number might be 2 to 5 thousands years or longer.
Shawn, your presentation is very intriguing and quite informative. Before your video I knew almost nothing about basalt and now I find myself enthralled and wanting to learn more. In short your teaching skills are great. On a negative note and please don’t take this personally, it is my hope your comment about the gender of a rock is somewhat off-putting. I understand we live in a tense and sensitive woke period and it is sad that academia is drawn into the quagmire.
Dr Sean - yay basalt! 🎉 loved meeting your lava basalt babies! Sooo cool! On that note, I have a serious 'parenting' question. my basalt babies, specimens collected from different locations in California are among my favorite rock children. I've taken care of my many-vessicled samples for years without any special treatment. But recently, they were exposed to some high humidity and developed annoying rust crust 😟 😢😮 Is there any safe way to remove this, restore their lovely gray/black colors and coat to prevent future oxidation? Any advice, learnings or links would be so appreciated. Thank you for all your excellent content - i'm learning so much from all your videos. Always enjoy the field trips and btw 👍 on Random Roadcuts - fun! And, lol, regretting not pursuing geology as my major in college but am happy to study with your channe. Thank you Dr! 😊
How fun you have a batch of your own! BTW, I have a Masters degree not a PhD so not a Dr. It sounds like your basalt babies are suffering from the humidity of your area and are oxidizing. The only way to get the color back would be to cut or break off the exposed surface and reveal the beautiful fresh surface (but then the process may start again). Glad you enjoy the videos and geology makes a great hobby or career. Win-win.
Cheers
Where I live in Johannesburg South Africa there are so many fine grained basalt rocks everywhere, sizes say from a football to a small car. They have been well rounded, like they have been subjected to some water flow, like rocks get rounded in a river, and all are brown coated. Mystery.
Nice, I can’t believe you are talking about basalt rocks and not mention , Nan Madol . 😂😂 yeah the basalt here looks nothing like that . Thanks, Cool. 👍🏼
21:00 I call it Lava Foam. Or Lava Froth!
Headed to Chile in March to visit my sister in Santiago. We'll be hiking and looking at volcanic rocks at the base of the Andes. Volcanic rock porn ! Txs for the class.
The Reticulite might be a good tool to generate the hydrogen, thanks
I've often wondered why several different horizontal layers of lave erode to form vertical columns. Also, wondered what gases form the bubbles, is it water (steam) or CO2 from heated limestone, or something else?
Were you concerned about damaging the temper of your rock hammer by dipping it in hot lava? Where it's thinnest at the tip it would heat quickly.
I remember dates without writing them down; I still write down dates.
😂Cool you made a rock
Thank you for the series. Please, focus on focusing and use an external mic.
Any idea how the ancient Warangal Thousand Pillar Temple black glass like pillar was shaped and cut centuries ago?
I live on the Metacoma mountain range
In Massachusetts it's is some of the oldest basalt in America if my research is correct
Thank you for another great video. You make beautiful rock babies, congrats. Thank you for showing us an ultra-mafic. While what I have found may not be an ultra-mafic, I am unsatisfied with most answers that have been suggested. I would love to have you take a look, perhaps I could email you?
Got your email. I'll respond in the next few days and take a swing at it.
Question: do the olivine crystals migrate in their crystallized form from the magma chamber?
🙏
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Come to the volcanic state of New Mexico Shawn. More volcanism than you can shake a stick at. No kidding either. I live next to the dormant Potrillo Volcanic Field with its varieties of volcanism, but some of its basalt has xenoliths of peridotite in it. Around Kilbourne Hole is where you find it, I'm sure you've heard of it, not sure if you'd call it ultra-mafic. Small shield volcano called Aden Crater has some dark basalt there as well. They dated it around 15,000 years since its crater had a lava lake in it.
Then the Valles Caldera, second largest in US, it is miles of welded tuff as it was mostly rhyolite. Zuni Banderas lava flow about 3000 years old and Carrizozo about 5000 years ago, it is a 50 miles long lava flow from one cinder cone over about a 30 year eruption. Under Socorro is a 1300 square mile magma chamber, but it is thin in many places, but half our earthquakes come from it.
The Rio Grande Rift and Jemez Lineament really did a number on this state. You have the beginning of the Rocky Mountains here too.
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En el minuto 18:23 ese es un meteorito, tienes una obra de arte.👌
None of these samples were meteorites.
Volcanoes that are people friendly. Ones where people threw babies and virgins into to appease their volcano gods
Hi Shawn, I really enjoyed the variety of basalts. I have some “turkey feet” basalt from Steens Mtn where my brother and I went this last fall. Hey, this may sound stupid, but I am really curious about how basalts erode. All around Oregon where my brother lives are these “soft” basalts, browns and reds that I keep thinking must be sandstone or something but I think it is basalt.
These basalts have extensive chemical weathering due to groundwater moving through the basalt and altering the rock and oxidizing much of its iron.
@@shawnwillsey is basalt fairly porous then? It looks so hard.
Shawn, perhaps exhibiting my ignorance, but what differentiates igneous rocks such as obsidian from basalt? Is it strictly the chemical structure or varying degrees of viscosity ? Thank you.
The chemical composition is the most telling. Also, in the field the context of the rock can be instructive. For example, since obsidian originates from felsic (high silica) magma, it is usually found and associated with rhyolite and/or vitrophyre. The silica content of the parent magma dictates temperature and viscosity which are typically reflected in the resulting rock.