Belatedly discovered this episode. In my teens, in the early 1960s, I took up mountain climbing with The Mountaineers. The summits near Snoqualmie Pass were frequent destinations. Friends and I also explored the caves in the saddle between Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain. There is a high point in the saddle labeled Cave Ridge on the map I’m looking at. We thought of cave exploration as inside out mountaineering. I was waiting as you described the sandstones of Guye Peak to mention limestone, and then you noticed a chunk at your feet. Needless to say, The Pass was a much quieter and less populous place 60 years ago. At geological time scales our cities and freeways are but a brief instant. Somehow, I find that comforting.
Highway patrol shut me down my first year of driving a rig cause I didnt have chains. Then I got snowed in like right there. I was there for 2 days lol. I fell in love with the place and that's how I found your show.
30 yrs ago before our college friends had kids they rode their horses from mid California to Canada over 2 summers on the PCTrail. Nice of Nick to share what they saw!!
"self important guy, never had a genuine moment is his life..." I have done the same rant. SO, SO glad you're that device guy. I'm learning and enjoying ALL of it. Thank you!!
As an ex-pat PNW native who quite literally grew up at Snoqualmie Pass (WAC, Guye Cabin, Alpental, etc.), I'm genuinely looking forward to watching this episode over a big cup of coffee first thing Friday AM, from my rural redoubt here in the western borderlands of Germany close to Belgium and Luxembourg. I'd prefer to catch it live, but 6:00 p.m. Pacific streams air at 0300 "over here", making it a real challenge. The only broadcasts (so far) I've powered through to view live have been Seahawk games -- Go Hawks.
@@tooligan113 I do recall you mentioning it some weeks ago. FYI, the former Bitburg AFB is entirely back in state & private hands as of a few years ago, with all flight operations in the region condensed into nearby Spangdahlem AFB, where I occasionally meet up with fellow ex-pat types for lunch. An interesting side note is that the geology of the Eifel-Ardennes region, spanning from the "Champagne Ardennes" of NE France to the "mittelgebirge" ranges on the eastern shores of the Rhine (Taunus, et al.) were a key site in early European geology texts. I also make use of the region's topography to help historical tour clients better understand the back-and-forth flow of the "Bulge" campaign in late '44/early '45, leaning hard on hydrology and the lay of the watershed as defining features when developing ground-based strategy.
@@doug.mitchell.106ID I knew in the '80s that the battle of the bulge was in that region.As I aged myself, and studied WWI, WWII I found out how the military's used the rivers "when developing ground-based strategy." Wile I was in Europe, I became aware of the different wine producing areas and still believe the Mosel river has the best wine
@@tooligan113 Much like the viniculture developed in the US over the last century or so, western Europe is rich with wine regions producing various specialties based on the grapes that grow best locally. The Mosel is rightly famous for it's centuries-old Riesling and Weisburgunder varietals. Fun fact, the first US wine to supercede them in competition was a Johannisberg Riesling produced by Chateau St. Michelle near Woodinville, WA. -- from cuttings originally sourced along the Mosel. One of my favorite stops with inbound/outbound clients from Frankfurt is a former cloister (Klöster Machern) for daughters of wealth located right on the river near Zeltingen. Converted into a restaurant, they produce their own wines, beers and ice cream. It's a happy place, and just 45 minutes from our ancestral family farm within sight of Belgium.
Love your From The Field videos (actually all your videos!) The plants shown at 3:21 are Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus). In early summer the plants produce a spike of small white florets.
In 1965, on our way to Missoula, MT from Seattle, I and a friend pedaled ten-speed bikes over Snoqualmie Pass. He had a Mercier, and I had a Gitane, and neither of us had any previous experience with ten-speeds. But we made it, all the way to Missoula.
The blooms at 3:32 look like “Devil’s Club.” Very spiny stems. I am enjoying this vicarious hike while locked down in 100 degree temperatures and “Unhealthy” levels of PM 2.5, and PM 10 particulate matter from western fires. Don’t underestimate the value of these kinds of videos. Ah, the Swauk formation from Geology 351, This must be the “fold and thrust zone” from the accretion of Siletzia!
That was a very nice way to wake-up on Friday, cistern of coffee in hand. As a native of Snoqualmie Pass and the Issaquah-Cle Elum corridor, with a lifelong interest in geology, topography, etc., I'm probably qualified to fill in some useful local details for our intrepid field geologist 'Ned Zinger'. To begin, a key reference point : NORTH is actually left of Guye Peak from his vantage point above the PCT parking lot where the trail traverses the slopes of Snoq. Summit heading south. For reference, Mount Stuart and the Stuart Range are not quite due east, hidden from view by the Cascade Crest. The lay of the land : it is known as Snoqualmie -- and not Yakima -- Pass because the divide sits astride two major watersheds, dominated by Snoqualmie Mountain and separating the origins of the South Fork of the Snoqualmie & the uppermost Yakima river systems. The parallel glacial valleys of Keechelus ("few fish"), Kachess ("many fish") and Cle Elum & Cooper Lake all feed into the upper Yakima, which officially originates at Lake Keechelus. Using Guye Peak as our reference point, the lovely "U-shaped valley" extending out of view to the left (NW) is the Source Lake basin, where the headwaters of the South Fork gather between Denny Peak, Chair Peak & Snoqualmie Mtn. Nick identified Denny Peak correctly in the video. Snoqualmie is the broad mountain immediately left and behind Guye Peak on screen, almost due north. Looking north from the summit on a clear day, the Middle Fork Snoq. valley ranges E/W a few thousand thousand feet below, the central Cascade Crest stretched out before you all the way to Glacier Peak and beyond. To the east, Mt. Stuart and the Enchantments also come into view. The South Fork tumbles down the canyon from Source Lake past my favorite ski area (Alpental) on the steep eastern palisades of Denny and through my old stomping grounds (Guye Cabin, Wash. Alpine Club). Here it absorbs Commonwealth Creek before curving around the lower flank of Denny Ridge at the Pass and over Franklin Falls on its way west toward Grouse Ridge and the confluence of the three branches (N/S/Middle Fork) in the valley above Snoqualmie Falls near North Bend. The "hanging valley" right of Guye Peak is the Commonwealth Basin, with Red Mtn. (pretty obvious) and the western flanks of Kendall Peak in view. Water from the basin joins the South Fork at the foot of Denny Ridge, directly on Wash. Alpine Club property, where I grew up hiking, rock hopping, skiing and climbing. [ Nick, the notch and platform where the PCT cuts through Kendall Ridge at the Catwalk would be a *most* auspicious location for an episode discussing the Snoqualmie batholith ("ghost volcano") and the many exotic terranes in view on ALL sides. Pretty please...! ] As if often the case throughout the world, estuarial lines define political "borders" -- which have more to do with taxes than nature -- and the Pass area is no different. The King-Kittitas county line actually traces the crest of Kendall Peak. The western flank feeding Commonwealth Creek in King Co., while the southern section flows to Kendall Peak Lakes and Coal Creek and the eastern slopes drain directly into Gold Creek, both on the Kittitas side. Gold Creek is the uppermost tributary of the Yakima river, emerging from the Cascade Crest above Lake Keechelus to the NE, on the western slopes of Chikamin Peak. Growing up in the PNW climbing community, I became entranced at a very early age by Fred Beckey's mountaineering guides and the rocky observations therein, which is where I first began to understand how "messy" the Central Cascades massif actually was geologically speaking. For those who haven't already backtracked though Nick's earlier media projects, one episode of his "I-90 Rocks" series aired in 2015 goes into more specific detail about the unusual juxtaposition of terranes around Snoqualmie Pass. Definitely worth a look : th-cam.com/video/fuK2kGeV15Q/w-d-xo.html
Watching your shows makes learning geology a delight! It's so awesome that you take so much initiative and passion in taking these field trips where these events actually happened and making this subject accessible to the masses! You are truly living your motto of showing Washington like no one else, and I often spend my weekends these days following up and making these trips myself and watching these videos on my phone on the field :cool: :awesome:
Makes me look at landscapes with a whole new perspective. BTW muffle boy was annoying but most of your videos are so quiet BUT the traffic noise is incredible. Makes you realize how we usually block it out.
Thank you for showing the ridge crest and how the water flowed E and W but the glaciers came from W and went E. That was additional perspective for me that I hadn't quiet soaked up from reading.
Hi, Nick. That is a very interesting hike. the location is magnificent. I can understand why people enjoy skiing there. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
Nick on the fly #22 Yakima River caught a rail mounted automobile - you have to have one of those on your model! Oh and no excuses for getting the rock formations wrong on any outcrops on your model.
Fred Becky wrote that Guye Peak is Rhyolite over sedimentary rocks (sandstone) . There is a steep hiking trail up to the base of Guye Peak that could be used to verify what Fred Becky reported. You can also find Sandstone a few ridges East on the trail to Lake Lillian (before Twin Lakes). Closer to Lake Lillian the rock is more of the “green” metamorphic rock. The road to the Lake Lillian trailhead is rough, but the trail has some great views and huckleberries in places.
What Thomas said. For what it's worth, reaching the summit of Guye Peak requires *serious* scrambling and some low-grade technical climbing. The rock is also notoriously crappy in places. If you really want a great episode from a summit in the area reachable with only serious hiking skills, Snoqualmie is definitely your destination. The views atop the batholith are 360° and should the weather gods favor you, Glacier Peak and Mt. Stuart will make an appearance... =)
Interesting tunnel under there too, 2.3 mile long Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel. Part of a rail to trails setup from the old Milwaukie Road railroad, a story in itself. Lined with concrete though so no visible rock that I know of.
I never watch these live (I suspect your guess about the source of the buffering problem is correct), but I've been to Cle Elum, and over Snoqualmie Pass, noted the glacial valleys and the low elevation, but it was years ago, and at the time, I was living in Colorado at the edge of the Front Range foothills, with Rocky Mountain National Park only 45 minutes away. Now I'm living in Minnesota, but spent a week last summer in Glacier National Park, and will go back next summer, I hope, with more knowledge about both rocks and glaciation. Entertaining and informative, as usual, Dr. Zentner…
Didn't realize that Devil's Club grew at higher elevations, i.e., over 3000 ft at Snoqualmie Pass. I was used to seeing it in Sitka, Alaska where it grows at lea level.
Last night's Premiere was unwatchable due to persistent buffering for those of us watching live. The replay of the video was no problem for all. Am trying another Premiere tonight....but if the same buffering problems return...am thinking that more than 300 of us in the Live Chat together is the problem? If not, I'm needing to learn why we're having problems. My biggest concern relates to our new livestreams that begin on Wed, Sept 9. I need to figure this out before then. Thanks for any help that you can provide.
@Nick - I suspect part of it is the persistent heat on the Left Coast which IS affecting internet transmissions; there's also a lot of incoming solar energies messing with electronics. It's all taxing our patience lately, but divine timing will bring this one forward for us all. It's all good.
Some buffering issues may be from WiFi, if that's what you have verses cat 5 internet(ground cable). Nick it is sorta a fact ,The deeper you get into TH-cam broadcasting the more electronic equipment (camera, mics, etc.) people end up buying to improve content. Many TH-camrs have dedicated camera/audio people.
"i can stand a little rain "...the chat slows and I can catch up , more time to edit out the hard to spell words . Zoom, discord,,ask utube for tech support
takes me back to that mindblowing moment when I learned that the Texas Hill Country and the Appalachians used to be under water to make limestone. I need to visit the PNW (never been unless you count San Francisco).
Your a silly man but we love you. I've been around these areas my whole life and am now finally learning something about it. You've been a great help on the basalt flows around vantage. I'm going to go find that and watch it again. Thanks 🤩
3:22 Devil's club or devil's walking stick (Oplopanax horridus, Araliaceae). Bears supposedly eat the berries but they are listed as being poisonous to humans.
Standing up on that hill looking down into the valley reminded me of when you looked down into Missoula, MT from up on the ridged hill with the rings. Greg in TN. :)
Those are NOT thimble berries (Salmon Berries) Those are the fruit at the top of whats called Devils Club !!!! Similar leaves to Salmon Berries but absolutely not. Thimble berries grow like a raspberry or blackberry... not all in one big cluster... and do not eat them.
Oplopanax horridus. Anyone who is curious but not a plant person should get the iNaturalist app on their phones. Great help for IDing plants, insects, and other things that are not rocks.
Muffler boy..lol creepy man guy ha ha ha and of course the Motorola motorcycle mob 😄 🤣 😆... it's a beautiful day who can blame them I'm jelly myself...Guye Peak went from bottom of ocean floor to 3k feet above sea level... wait that's the foot of the peak 😳 🤔.. it's a lovely place and after watching this educational video I want to visit this place. Thank you I most truly enjoyed this and all your videos. I still got some catching up to do, so thank you for this you tube stream
Wasn't there a geology professor who climbed up most of Rainer then was looking at rocks and not noticing he was slowly sliding backwards on the snowboard and fell 3,000 feet?
Memories of Geology 101, 50 years ago. And I have complained for years of choosing to live in an area of nothing but sedimentary metamorphics and the Laurentian ice sheet.
Well, I'm not shocked by the sedimentary rock. I remember your story when your buddy at Glacier NP showed you beach formations on the top of a peak, after that I'm no longer shocked.
Wonderful video Nick and I'm really enjoying your 'on the fly' tours. I was wondering, as so many of your adventures are solo. How safe is it , would you advise lone female hikers to adventure into the parks/nature as you do. Although I'm in the UK, I still hesitate going out into the wild as you do, and I realise I am missing out on so much beauty and everything trekking nature can offer. I just wondered your thoughts on the subject?. Thanks. Best wishes, cal ;-)x
Thanks. I'm a large, white, and male. I've never had a problem with safety and talking with strangers. I can only hope that you would experience the same level of security and love from everyone out there.
Correction- After a closer second look the green rock from near Lake Lillian does not look metamorphic. I examined a small sample that I broke off (Zentner Hammer style) and the minerals look too random for metamorphic, but I will let a professional Geologist provide insight for this area.
I always thought the Snoqualmie Pass area was less dramatic topographically, esp. on the north side of I-90. But Alpental ski area is up there somewhere, isn't it? Wish you had mentioned exactly where it is on that north side of the freeway. (But then again, I guess that is why God created Google Maps, so we could look it up ourselves, right?) Hahaha. Anyway, your segment here was more informative for me than pages 123-125 in Roadside Geology of Washington, which covers this stretch of I-90. (Please don't tell Marli Miller, as I am a huge fan of hers. I mean, she IS primarily an Oregon geology goddess, right?)
How come the glacier went uphill over the pass? Was there a cirque to the west? Was there a continental glacier blocking it going downhill to the west?
A motorcycle does far less damage to the land than a ATV/UTV. I have driven a "Jeep" trail on a mountain near me in my 4x4 Ford Ranger many times until the invention of the ATV/UTV. Now I can't even take my Willys CJ3A on the trail. The ATV/UTV's have done so much damage.
Yup, you know you've become old when in certain situations you are self-aware that you are that "creepy guy" that you made fun of in your youth. Of course, it's good fortune to reach such an age.
I never knew valedictorian's who took chances breaking bones ridding bikes. As they get older, they buy Harleys to relive their missed childhoods. Rocks to them, are something not to fall on!
I used to ski and climb with a class valedictorian who not only rode motocross and BMX, he also loved snowmobiling and pretty much ALL motorsport. Stereotypes are a dangerous thing, my friends. Not all intellectuals and philosophical types are as risk averse as you might think...
I was curious about the plant because I see them all the time near shady, damp trails. I searched and found many hits and one person said they tried the berries and they were edible but not palatable! 😣
Horrible horrible stuff. Thorns like needles cover nearly the entire plant. Makes bushwacking in the North Cascades a nightmare when you run into patches of this stuff.
This 1982 USGS report of the Southern California Terranes may just as we’ll be describing the geologic nature and mechanisms of the NW Terranes: pubs.usgs.gov/of/1982/0593/report.pdf The Introduction if you don’t wish to leave this page: “The concept that much of the Cordillera of western North America is made up of originally separate allochthonous tectonostratigraphic terranes is based largely on stratigraphic, structural, and geophysical data obtained during the past 5 years or so (Coney, Jones and Monger, 1980; Jones and others, 1982). Many of these new data have not yet been published, or are available only piecemeal in various scattered scientific journals or in open-file reports (Jones and others, 1981) of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geologic Survey of Canada. The purpose of this map with accompanying columnar sections and brief text is to make available in preliminary form information on the distribution, character, and age of the various tectonostratigraphic terranes of California. Terrane Definition: Terranes are fault-bounded geologic entities of regional extent, each characterized by a geological history that is different from the histories of contiguous terranes. Ideally, such histories are determined from the stratigraphic succession preserved in a terrane, but in some cases such histories are largely or completely destroyed by tectonic or sedimentological disruptions or by metamorphic overprinting (e.g. Baldy terrane in southern California). In the latter cases, the disruptive or metamorphic event itself may characterize the terrane. In addition, some terranes are composite entities produced by amalgamation of two or more terranes into a single terrane. In cases where juxtaposed terranes possess elements of coeval stratal units, one must demonstrate different and unrelated geologic histories as well as the absences of intermediate lithofacies that might link the two terranes. The basic question that must be asked while analyzing stratigraphic sequences of possibly distinct terranes is whether or not the inferred geologic histories are compatible with the present spatial relation. This decision is not always easy to make, and is heavily dependent on the quality and quantity of geologic controls that are available to the analyzer. The degree of differences noted between terranes is thus variable, and classifications will differ according to the judgement, experience, and competency of the analyzer. New data always require examination of existing terrane classifications, and it is expected that new combinations or subdivisions will result from additional paleontologic, geologic, and geophysical research in California. In this regard, terrane nomenclature is similar to stratigraphic nomenclature, and is subject to continuous revisions as data accumulate and concepts evolve. Terranes are conveniently categorized into four general types (1) stratified, (2) disrupted, (3) metamorphic and (4) composite.”
Nick has 2 things going on here, first these virtual field trips for his GEOL 101 students at CWU. However, the bigger project witch resumes Sept. 9 is the Baja-BC geologic theory. Combined with that Nick has been asked to be the spokes person for a new NSF study, coordinated by a Geol. Prof. at Purdue, Its a big deal, they will focus on the Paleomagnetism study of the past and do new field research as well
John On second thought Having part of the Mount Stuart Batholith and a huge part of Washington and British Columbia appear in two locations, NW North America and Baja Mexico has a solid theory in Strike/Slip Faulting further supported by Paleomagnetism. And this has nothing to do with the Continent of Asia or Russia’s Siberian Sea area. Study how Pangaea moved and it is clear to see
Tooligan I was referring to magnetic North placement, not the cratons. You can find their paleomagnetic North placement data in their research papers which clearly “assumes” an averaged paleomagnetic North location. Science always assumes their are alternatives, and I respect that standard no matter how contrary it may appear to the latest studies.
With all due respect, I will always keep an open mind on the Baja-BC Point of Origin (PO) placement, as the Baja-BC concept is based on an “averaged” paleomagnetic North location, which ignores the extreme location due North of Baja in Russia’s Siberian Sea area; nor can location be inferred based on evidence, because everything West of the NA Craton (including @80% of Mexico) has an extremely convoluted history. If extremes were considered, it could place the PO @ SoCal or Central Mexican latitudes. I’m not questioning anyone’s conclusions, nor am I distancing myself from them, I just believe that there shouldn’t ever be any conclusions nor “consensus” in science other than the physical laws. Averages only make science average, and discourage debate.
I like to play the home version and follow along on maps. Google maps with terrain is good, but USGS topo maps are excellent. here's the topo version of the pass. You can zoom in and out and pan around, too. Greg in TN :) www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=47.42157&lon=-121.42183&datum=nad83&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomout&size=m
Belatedly discovered this episode. In my teens, in the early 1960s, I took up mountain climbing with The Mountaineers. The summits near Snoqualmie Pass were frequent destinations. Friends and I also explored the caves in the saddle between Guye Peak and Snoqualmie Mountain. There is a high point in the saddle labeled Cave Ridge on the map I’m looking at. We thought of cave exploration as inside out mountaineering. I was waiting as you described the sandstones of Guye Peak to mention limestone, and then you noticed a chunk at your feet. Needless to say, The Pass was a much quieter and less populous place 60 years ago. At geological time scales our cities and freeways are but a brief instant. Somehow, I find that comforting.
Also came here looking for more on the limestone/marble of cave ridge!
I'm glad these videos are here. I've seen this before but rewatching because I will be heading to Snoqualmie for my brother's wedding!
Love the cameo from muffler boy. The lengths he goes to troll you during filming is legendary
Big thank you from everyone who has skied Snoqualmie and looked across 90.
Highway patrol shut me down my first year of driving a rig cause I didnt have chains. Then I got snowed in like right there. I was there for 2 days lol. I fell in love with the place and that's how I found your show.
30 yrs ago before our college friends had kids they rode their horses from mid California to Canada over 2 summers on the PCTrail. Nice of Nick to share what they saw!!
Love your enthusiasm for nature 🙏 thanks 🙏
"self important guy, never had a genuine moment is his life..." I have done the same rant. SO, SO glad you're that device guy. I'm learning and enjoying ALL of it. Thank you!!
As an ex-pat PNW native who quite literally grew up at Snoqualmie Pass (WAC, Guye Cabin, Alpental, etc.), I'm genuinely looking forward to watching this episode over a big cup of coffee first thing Friday AM, from my rural redoubt here in the western borderlands of Germany close to Belgium and Luxembourg. I'd prefer to catch it live, but 6:00 p.m. Pacific streams air at 0300 "over here", making it a real challenge. The only broadcasts (so far) I've powered through to view live have been Seahawk games -- Go Hawks.
I think I told you once before, I was stationed at Bitburg AFB '79-83. I loved western Europe, would love to travel Eastern Europe.
@@tooligan113 I do recall you mentioning it some weeks ago. FYI, the former Bitburg AFB is entirely back in state & private hands as of a few years ago, with all flight operations in the region condensed into nearby Spangdahlem AFB, where I occasionally meet up with fellow ex-pat types for lunch. An interesting side note is that the geology of the Eifel-Ardennes region, spanning from the "Champagne Ardennes" of NE France to the "mittelgebirge" ranges on the eastern shores of the Rhine (Taunus, et al.) were a key site in early European geology texts. I also make use of the region's topography to help historical tour clients better understand the back-and-forth flow of the "Bulge" campaign in late '44/early '45, leaning hard on hydrology and the lay of the watershed as defining features when developing ground-based strategy.
@@doug.mitchell.106ID I knew in the '80s that the battle of the bulge was in that region.As I aged myself, and studied WWI, WWII I found out how the military's used the rivers "when developing ground-based strategy." Wile I was in Europe, I became aware of the different wine producing areas and still believe the Mosel river has the best wine
@@tooligan113 Much like the viniculture developed in the US over the last century or so, western Europe is rich with wine regions producing various specialties based on the grapes that grow best locally. The Mosel is rightly famous for it's centuries-old Riesling and Weisburgunder varietals. Fun fact, the first US wine to supercede them in competition was a Johannisberg Riesling produced by Chateau St. Michelle near Woodinville, WA. -- from cuttings originally sourced along the Mosel. One of my favorite stops with inbound/outbound clients from Frankfurt is a former cloister (Klöster Machern) for daughters of wealth located right on the river near Zeltingen. Converted into a restaurant, they produce their own wines, beers and ice cream. It's a happy place, and just 45 minutes from our ancestral family farm within sight of Belgium.
@@doug.mitchell.106ID We used to go to the pig fest in Wittlich and drink Riesling Spatlese
Love your From The Field videos (actually all your videos!) The plants shown at 3:21 are Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus). In early summer the plants produce a spike of small white florets.
In 1965, on our way to Missoula, MT from Seattle, I and a friend pedaled ten-speed bikes over Snoqualmie Pass. He had a Mercier, and I had a Gitane, and neither of us had any previous experience with ten-speeds. But we made it, all the way to Missoula.
Thank you SO much, from Colorado. I just enjoyed your Snoqualmie Pass tour over my lunch break. Such a nice getaway for me.
Beautiful place! Thanks for the wonderful video.
The blooms at 3:32 look like “Devil’s Club.” Very spiny stems. I am enjoying this vicarious hike while locked down in 100 degree temperatures and “Unhealthy” levels of PM 2.5, and PM 10 particulate matter from western fires. Don’t underestimate the value of these kinds of videos. Ah, the Swauk formation from Geology 351, This must be the “fold and thrust zone” from the accretion of Siletzia!
I'm so happy to have found your channel great stuff! Your enthusiasm is infectious! 😁
That was a very nice way to wake-up on Friday, cistern of coffee in hand.
As a native of Snoqualmie Pass and the Issaquah-Cle Elum corridor, with a lifelong interest in geology, topography, etc., I'm probably qualified to fill in some useful local details for our intrepid field geologist 'Ned Zinger'. To begin, a key reference point : NORTH is actually left of Guye Peak from his vantage point above the PCT parking lot where the trail traverses the slopes of Snoq. Summit heading south. For reference, Mount Stuart and the Stuart Range are not quite due east, hidden from view by the Cascade Crest.
The lay of the land : it is known as Snoqualmie -- and not Yakima -- Pass because the divide sits astride two major watersheds, dominated by Snoqualmie Mountain and separating the origins of the South Fork of the Snoqualmie & the uppermost Yakima river systems. The parallel glacial valleys of Keechelus ("few fish"), Kachess ("many fish") and Cle Elum & Cooper Lake all feed into the upper Yakima, which officially originates at Lake Keechelus.
Using Guye Peak as our reference point, the lovely "U-shaped valley" extending out of view to the left (NW) is the Source Lake basin, where the headwaters of the South Fork gather between Denny Peak, Chair Peak & Snoqualmie Mtn. Nick identified Denny Peak correctly in the video. Snoqualmie is the broad mountain immediately left and behind Guye Peak on screen, almost due north. Looking north from the summit on a clear day, the Middle Fork Snoq. valley ranges E/W a few thousand thousand feet below, the central Cascade Crest stretched out before you all the way to Glacier Peak and beyond. To the east, Mt. Stuart and the Enchantments also come into view.
The South Fork tumbles down the canyon from Source Lake past my favorite ski area (Alpental) on the steep eastern palisades of Denny and through my old stomping grounds (Guye Cabin, Wash. Alpine Club). Here it absorbs Commonwealth Creek before curving around the lower flank of Denny Ridge at the Pass and over Franklin Falls on its way west toward Grouse Ridge and the confluence of the three branches (N/S/Middle Fork) in the valley above Snoqualmie Falls near North Bend.
The "hanging valley" right of Guye Peak is the Commonwealth Basin, with Red Mtn. (pretty obvious) and the western flanks of Kendall Peak in view. Water from the basin joins the South Fork at the foot of Denny Ridge, directly on Wash. Alpine Club property, where I grew up hiking, rock hopping, skiing and climbing. [ Nick, the notch and platform where the PCT cuts through Kendall Ridge at the Catwalk would be a *most* auspicious location for an episode discussing the Snoqualmie batholith ("ghost volcano") and the many exotic terranes in view on ALL sides. Pretty please...! ]
As if often the case throughout the world, estuarial lines define political "borders" -- which have more to do with taxes than nature -- and the Pass area is no different. The King-Kittitas county line actually traces the crest of Kendall Peak. The western flank feeding Commonwealth Creek in King Co., while the southern section flows to Kendall Peak Lakes and Coal Creek and the eastern slopes drain directly into Gold Creek, both on the Kittitas side. Gold Creek is the uppermost tributary of the Yakima river, emerging from the Cascade Crest above Lake Keechelus to the NE, on the western slopes of Chikamin Peak.
Growing up in the PNW climbing community, I became entranced at a very early age by Fred Beckey's mountaineering guides and the rocky observations therein, which is where I first began to understand how "messy" the Central Cascades massif actually was geologically speaking. For those who haven't already backtracked though Nick's earlier media projects, one episode of his "I-90 Rocks" series aired in 2015 goes into more specific detail about the unusual juxtaposition of terranes around Snoqualmie Pass. Definitely worth a look : th-cam.com/video/fuK2kGeV15Q/w-d-xo.html
Amazing information. Love it. Thanks!
One of the most beautiful places on earth!
Prof Nick. Thank you for the lovely and vivid storytelling explaination of snoqualmie pass, that I have traveled and taken pictures of for decades.
Thank you for a very clear picture, have traveled those roads manny times.
Thank you for climbing that hill! It is soo pretty from up there!!
I almost spit out my tea when you said, "... I'm sure he's a valedictorian." LOL
Great job, Nick! This one really helped in my own study...this is where I am from... greater Seattle area
Oops, that was supposed to be attached to the Seattle vid
Educational and beautiful…does not get any better lol
Watching your shows makes learning geology a delight! It's so awesome that you take so much initiative and passion in taking these field trips where these events actually happened and making this subject accessible to the masses!
You are truly living your motto of showing Washington like no one else, and I often spend my weekends these days following up and making these trips myself and watching these videos on my phone on the field :cool: :awesome:
Beautiful day and awesome rocks! Thanks for another great field trip - great visual explanation!! 👍👍
Makes me look at landscapes with a whole new perspective. BTW muffle boy was annoying but most of your videos are so quiet BUT the traffic noise is incredible. Makes you realize how we usually block it out.
Nick, the mountain scenery is so beautiful! Only the freeway noise gives away the closeness of "civilization" ...
Man - so beautiful what you shared here. Just played this twice back to back. Please keep sharing these videos.
Thank you for showing the ridge crest and how the water flowed E and W but the glaciers came from W and went E. That was additional perspective for me that I hadn't quiet soaked up from reading.
Looking from cave ridge to mt Snoqualmie the sandstone layer is unmistakeable.
Oh I just love coming home from a long hike and seeing a new episode! Thank you so much Nick!! ❤️ Rachael
Hi, Nick. That is a very interesting hike. the location is magnificent. I can understand why people enjoy skiing there. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
Always the best my friend
I am currently building an N scale model railroad depicting the area between Cle Elum and the pass. This is very helpful. Thank you.
Nick on the fly #22 Yakima River caught a rail mounted automobile - you have to have one of those on your model! Oh and no excuses for getting the rock formations wrong on any outcrops on your model.
Fred Becky wrote that Guye Peak is Rhyolite over sedimentary rocks (sandstone) . There is a steep hiking trail up to the base of Guye Peak that could be used to verify what Fred Becky reported. You can also find Sandstone a few ridges East on the trail to Lake Lillian (before Twin Lakes). Closer to Lake Lillian the rock is more of the “green” metamorphic rock. The road to the Lake Lillian trailhead is rough, but the trail has some great views and huckleberries in places.
What Thomas said. For what it's worth, reaching the summit of Guye Peak requires *serious* scrambling and some low-grade technical climbing. The rock is also notoriously crappy in places. If you really want a great episode from a summit in the area reachable with only serious hiking skills, Snoqualmie is definitely your destination. The views atop the batholith are 360° and should the weather gods favor you, Glacier Peak and Mt. Stuart will make an appearance... =)
Interesting tunnel under there too, 2.3 mile long Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel. Part of a rail to trails setup from the old Milwaukie Road railroad, a story in itself. Lined with concrete though so no visible rock that I know of.
I never watch these live (I suspect your guess about the source of the buffering problem is correct), but I've been to Cle Elum, and over Snoqualmie Pass, noted the glacial valleys and the low elevation, but it was years ago, and at the time, I was living in Colorado at the edge of the Front Range foothills, with Rocky Mountain National Park only 45 minutes away. Now I'm living in Minnesota, but spent a week last summer in Glacier National Park, and will go back next summer, I hope, with more knowledge about both rocks and glaciation. Entertaining and informative, as usual, Dr. Zentner…
Didn't realize that Devil's Club grew at higher elevations, i.e., over 3000 ft at Snoqualmie Pass. I was used to seeing it in Sitka, Alaska where it grows at lea level.
Last night's Premiere was unwatchable due to persistent buffering for those of us watching live. The replay of the video was no problem for all. Am trying another Premiere tonight....but if the same buffering problems return...am thinking that more than 300 of us in the Live Chat together is the problem? If not, I'm needing to learn why we're having problems. My biggest concern relates to our new livestreams that begin on Wed, Sept 9. I need to figure this out before then. Thanks for any help that you can provide.
Nick Zentner Nick I watch live premieres with thousands of people in the chat, no problems.
@Nick - I suspect part of it is the persistent heat on the Left Coast which IS affecting internet transmissions; there's also a lot of incoming solar energies messing with electronics. It's all taxing our patience lately, but divine timing will bring this one forward for us all. It's all good.
Some buffering issues may be from WiFi, if that's what you have verses cat 5 internet(ground cable). Nick it is sorta a fact ,The deeper you get into TH-cam broadcasting the more electronic equipment (camera, mics, etc.) people end up buying to improve content. Many TH-camrs have dedicated camera/audio people.
Or should Ned pony up for TH-cam Premium if he hasn’t already?
"i can stand a little rain "...the chat slows and I can catch up , more time to edit
out the hard to spell
words . Zoom, discord,,ask utube for tech support
I was up high in the Cascades today amongst the gneiss of sourdough mountain...North Cascades, of course! No trace of lava at that summit.
I really love learning from you. Please keep it up
takes me back to that mindblowing moment when I learned that the Texas Hill Country and the Appalachians used to be under water to make limestone. I need to visit the PNW (never been unless you count San Francisco).
Thank you Nick for another wonderful and informative video.
Your a silly man but we love you. I've been around these areas my whole life and am now finally learning something about it. You've been a great help on the basalt flows around vantage. I'm going to go find that and watch it again.
Thanks 🤩
3:22 Devil's club or devil's walking stick (Oplopanax horridus, Araliaceae). Bears supposedly eat the berries but they are listed as being poisonous to humans.
Thanks for another couple of hours of interesting and educational geology. You gotta love it! @22:43 Chert boulder/outcropping?
So, why does the glacier flow across the divide?
Standing up on that hill looking down into the valley reminded me of when you looked down into Missoula, MT from up on the ridged hill with the rings. Greg in TN. :)
How do we get Ned Zinger to do videos on the Eastern Sierra???
Thanks Nick.
@17:00 not Julie Andrews, Nick, its Steve McQueen, trying to get around the barriers in "The Great Escape" on his motocycle.
I wish I was on the PCT until October!
Thanks for the look and talk about the pass as I didn’t know that!
*GLACIER:* When Big Momma Nature needed a bulldozer, she created a glacier.
*I-90:* "Works for me!"
Some PCT action! How I wish I had both had the resources and motivation to attempt the through hike!!
10:18 Those are Thimbleberries. Not only can you eat them, but they are great!
Yes!
I learned them as a kid incorrectly as Scotch Caps.
Those are NOT thimble berries (Salmon Berries) Those are the fruit at the top of whats called Devils Club !!!! Similar leaves to Salmon Berries but absolutely not. Thimble berries grow like a raspberry or blackberry... not all in one big cluster... and do not eat them.
And you can tell the difference @ 10:20 ... Those are Thimble Berries.
Also known as nature's greatest natural toilet paper 🧻
Wow! Thank you!
Been on top of Guye Peak, I believe there is a band of low grade Garnet of something reddish running through the top of the peak.
Devil’s Club. Is the plant you inquired about.
Exactly !!
Oplopanax horridus. Anyone who is curious but not a plant person should get the iNaturalist app on their phones. Great help for IDing plants, insects, and other things that are not rocks.
Muffler boy..lol creepy man guy ha ha ha and of course the Motorola motorcycle mob 😄 🤣 😆... it's a beautiful day who can blame them I'm jelly myself...Guye Peak went from bottom of ocean floor to 3k feet above sea level... wait that's the foot of the peak 😳 🤔.. it's a lovely place and after watching this educational video I want to visit this place. Thank you I most truly enjoyed this and all your videos. I still got some catching up to do, so thank you for this you tube stream
Looks like Nick is not alone.
Wasn't there a geology professor who climbed up most of Rainer then was looking at rocks and not noticing he was slowly sliding backwards on the snowboard and fell 3,000 feet?
So with a little Bondo and a good polish to the face of Guye Peak, you'd have a sandstone mini Half Dome?
Thanks for the video!
Devil club ( 3:22 ) may look pretty but those spines lurking under those peddles will play havoc on your skin. It's a very fitting name .
Yeah, Nick. Those kids with their cellphones, hah. So now you get it :)
10:56 btw, that's the best 3d "blackboard" demonstration there is.
If Snoqualmie Pass is lower than Stevens Pass, why do you suppose the Great Northern RR chose Stevens Pass?
A mini Yosemite valley... guy/gal was probably probing for things people lost during the skiing season..🍀
Memories of Geology 101, 50 years ago. And I have complained for years of choosing to live in an area of nothing but sedimentary metamorphics and the Laurentian ice sheet.
The camera is great and thanks for the lessons, but i thought I saw a sasquatch.
there was an amazing quartz crystal mine up there somewhere [ i think ]
Well, I'm not shocked by the sedimentary rock. I remember your story when your buddy at Glacier NP showed you beach formations on the top of a peak, after that I'm no longer shocked.
Wonderful video Nick and I'm really enjoying your 'on the fly' tours. I was wondering, as so many of your adventures are solo. How safe is it , would you advise lone female hikers to adventure into the parks/nature as you do. Although I'm in the UK, I still hesitate going out into the wild as you do, and I realise I am missing out on so much beauty and everything trekking nature can offer. I just wondered your thoughts on the subject?. Thanks. Best wishes, cal ;-)x
Thanks. I'm a large, white, and male. I've never had a problem with safety and talking with strangers. I can only hope that you would experience the same level of security and love from everyone out there.
When you're trolled by Nick you have attained a privileged place.
Correction- After a closer second look the green rock from near Lake Lillian does not look metamorphic. I examined a small sample that I broke off (Zentner Hammer style) and the minerals look too random for metamorphic, but I will let a professional Geologist provide insight for this area.
LOL! Did you just say, “Creepy guy alert!”
Also, that limestone looks very different from the limestone in The Bahamas.
I've always wondered why that pass was the shape it is. Thank you. Why is the rock red on the west side of the hanging valley?
I always thought the Snoqualmie Pass area was less dramatic topographically, esp. on the north side of I-90. But Alpental ski area is up there somewhere, isn't it? Wish you had mentioned exactly where it is on that north side of the freeway. (But then again, I guess that is why God created Google Maps, so we could look it up ourselves, right?) Hahaha.
Anyway, your segment here was more informative for me than pages 123-125 in Roadside Geology of Washington, which covers this stretch of I-90. (Please don't tell Marli Miller, as I am a huge fan of hers. I mean, she IS primarily an Oregon geology goddess, right?)
Why did the glacier defy the laws of nature?
By the way, I forgot to comment on how beautiful it is up there.
I hope you stopped at Dru Bru for a refreshing beverage!
How come the glacier went uphill over the pass? Was there a cirque to the west? Was there a continental glacier blocking it going downhill to the west?
Was a good vidio but for that question
A motorcycle does far less damage to the land than a ATV/UTV. I have driven a "Jeep" trail on a mountain near me in my 4x4 Ford Ranger many times until the invention of the ATV/UTV. Now I can't even take my Willys CJ3A on the trail. The ATV/UTV's have done so much damage.
Um looking at all the videos about the ice age.Getting ready for the Ice Age floods A-Z coming In about three weeks.
Yup, you know you've become old when in certain situations you are self-aware that you are that "creepy guy" that you made fun of in your youth. Of course, it's good fortune to reach such an age.
wanting you to pick up every rock on trail
I never knew valedictorian's who took chances breaking bones ridding bikes. As they get older, they buy Harleys to relive their missed childhoods. Rocks to them, are something not to fall on!
I used to ski and climb with a class valedictorian who not only rode motocross and BMX, he also loved snowmobiling and pretty much ALL motorsport. Stereotypes are a dangerous thing, my friends. Not all intellectuals and philosophical types are as risk averse as you might think...
Good stuff:)
That plant is Devil’s Club and the indigenous of these areas use those for many different things. I honestly do not know about the fruit they grow.
I was curious about the plant because I see them all the time near shady, damp trails. I searched and found many hits and one person said they tried the berries and they were edible but not palatable! 😣
Bill Thompson - thank you for the info 😀 we did not eat those berries when I was a kid because they looked tart and dry.
Horrible horrible stuff. Thorns like needles cover nearly the entire plant. Makes bushwacking in the North Cascades a nightmare when you run into patches of this stuff.
Swirvin' Birds -oh for sure! As far as the thorns etc., they hurt and are ruthless. Sorry you had to deal with those, if you did.
Ooohhhhh. This is gonna be good! 😃
❤
This 1982 USGS report of the Southern California Terranes may just as we’ll be describing the geologic nature and mechanisms of the NW Terranes: pubs.usgs.gov/of/1982/0593/report.pdf
The Introduction if you don’t wish to leave this page:
“The concept that much of the Cordillera of western North America is made up of originally separate allochthonous tectonostratigraphic terranes is based largely on stratigraphic, structural, and geophysical data obtained during the past 5 years or so (Coney, Jones and Monger, 1980; Jones and others, 1982). Many of these new data have not yet been published, or are available only piecemeal in various scattered scientific journals or in open-file reports (Jones and others, 1981) of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Geologic Survey of Canada. The purpose of this map with accompanying columnar sections and brief text is to make available in preliminary form information on the distribution, character, and age of the various tectonostratigraphic terranes of California.
Terrane Definition:
Terranes are fault-bounded geologic entities of regional extent, each
characterized by a geological history that is different from the histories of contiguous terranes. Ideally, such histories are determined from the stratigraphic succession preserved in a terrane, but in some cases such histories are largely or completely destroyed by tectonic or sedimentological disruptions or by metamorphic overprinting (e.g. Baldy terrane in southern California). In the latter cases, the disruptive or metamorphic event itself may characterize the terrane. In addition, some terranes are composite entities produced by amalgamation of two or more terranes into a single terrane. In cases where juxtaposed terranes possess elements of coeval stratal units, one must demonstrate different and unrelated geologic histories as well as the absences of intermediate lithofacies that might link the two terranes. The basic question that must be asked while analyzing stratigraphic sequences of possibly distinct terranes is whether or not the inferred geologic histories are compatible with the present spatial relation. This decision is not always easy to make, and is heavily dependent on the quality and quantity of geologic controls that are available to the analyzer. The degree of differences noted between terranes is thus variable, and classifications will differ according to the judgement, experience, and competency of the analyzer.
New data always require examination of existing terrane classifications, and it is expected that new combinations or subdivisions will result from additional paleontologic, geologic, and geophysical research in California. In this regard, terrane nomenclature is similar to stratigraphic nomenclature, and is subject to continuous revisions as data accumulate and concepts evolve. Terranes are conveniently categorized into four general types (1) stratified, (2) disrupted, (3) metamorphic and (4) composite.”
Thanks for sharing!
Nick has 2 things going on here, first these virtual field trips for his GEOL 101 students at CWU. However, the bigger project witch resumes Sept. 9 is the Baja-BC geologic theory. Combined with that Nick has been asked to be the spokes person for a new NSF study, coordinated by a Geol. Prof. at Purdue, Its a big deal, they will focus on the Paleomagnetism study of the past and do new field research as well
John On second thought Having part of the Mount Stuart Batholith and a huge part of Washington and British Columbia appear in two locations, NW North America and Baja Mexico has a solid theory in Strike/Slip Faulting further supported by Paleomagnetism. And this has nothing to do with the Continent of Asia or Russia’s Siberian Sea area. Study how Pangaea moved and it is clear to see
Tooligan I was referring to magnetic North placement, not the cratons. You can find their paleomagnetic North placement data in their research papers which clearly “assumes” an averaged paleomagnetic North location. Science always assumes their are alternatives, and I respect that standard no matter how contrary it may appear to the latest studies.
... I am driven to Wikipedia yet again .... I didn't wake up this morning yearning for the meaning of 'allochthonous', yet here I am.
With all due respect, I will always keep an open mind on the Baja-BC Point of Origin (PO) placement, as the Baja-BC concept is based on an “averaged” paleomagnetic North location, which ignores the extreme location due North of Baja in Russia’s Siberian Sea area; nor can location be inferred based on evidence, because everything West of the NA Craton (including @80% of Mexico) has an extremely convoluted history. If extremes were considered, it could place the PO @ SoCal or Central Mexican latitudes. I’m not questioning anyone’s conclusions, nor am I distancing myself from them, I just believe that there shouldn’t ever be any conclusions nor “consensus” in science other than the physical laws. Averages only make science average, and discourage debate.
2:55 LOL Im 2 hrs from the Mexican border! Corpus Christi!
I like to play the home version and follow along on maps. Google maps with terrain is good, but USGS topo maps are excellent. here's the topo version of the pass. You can zoom in and out and pan around, too. Greg in TN :)
www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=47.42157&lon=-121.42183&datum=nad83&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=zoomout&size=m
Too bad it was cloudy and drizzling when I was there.
Where a gla...What, Nick? Where a glazed donut gouged out the pass? lol Wow, that would be something.
That would require Jeff from Vinman's Bakery. :)
Anyone else see the face of a skull that is Guye Peak?? 💀
Yes you can eat them they are called thimble berries.
You are looking at a plant called devil's club it is full of thorns .that loggers fear.