Wasatch Mountains geology high above North Ogden, Utah near Willard Peak.

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  • Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
  • Check out the geology along the crest of the Wasatch Mountains in northern Utah with geology professor Shawn Willsey. Near the summit of Willard Peak high above Ogden, learn how rocks record changes in sea level and how older rocks can end up on top of younger rocks. Transgressive sequences, thrust faults, and tremendous scenery.
    I love doing these videos and will continue to do so but if you want to provide support or much appreciated gas money, you can send support via:
    Venmo @Shawn-Willsey (be sure to put two L's in last name)
    or PayPal: www.paypal.com....
    or a good ol' fashioned check to this address:
    Shawn Willsey
    College of Southern Idaho
    315 Falls Avenue
    Twin Falls, ID 83303

КОМЕНТАРІ • 97

  • @naoakiooishi6823
    @naoakiooishi6823 2 роки тому +15

    I have been watching many geology videos on the Western US, but mostly of the cartoons and diagrams. This one of yours is really an amazing fantastic field work, felt as if I am standing on the side of the geology professor.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +1

      Naoaki, thanks for watching. Glad you enjoy these videos. Look for more this spring.

  • @HandleThisSelection2
    @HandleThisSelection2 Рік тому +1

    Nice alluvial fan. I'm a fan of alluvials myself.

  • @InterWebGuy99
    @InterWebGuy99 Рік тому +1

    I am now an unrepentant binger of your videos, Shawn. You're my adopted geology prof and helping make up for decades of lost time learning about good old Mother Earth and how she works geologically. Thanks a million.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Рік тому +1

      I love every part of this comment. Welcome aboard and enjoy learning with me.

  • @baileysfixit8225
    @baileysfixit8225 9 місяців тому +2

    Great video. I live in the valley below and now have a better understanding of what is above me.

  • @stevewhalen6973
    @stevewhalen6973 5 місяців тому +1

    Such a fascinating history of just how so many different ages and orgins of rocks from sandy beaches and deep earth mantle to ancient ocean beds ended up layered together in a modern day escarpment. Quite a history!

  • @countrywestern2272
    @countrywestern2272 2 роки тому +1

    Great information I will never look at those the same

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +1

      Awesome. Thanks for watching and learning with me. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future videos.

  • @SidarthDasari
    @SidarthDasari 2 роки тому +1

    Not sure how you don't have more views! These are fantastic

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      Thanks. Please feel free to share with others.

  • @monicacall7532
    @monicacall7532 2 роки тому +2

    My husband’s family had a home with a fantastic view of Willard Peak for many years and we could see it from their yard. Little did we know how interesting that peak really was. I’m loving these videos. Geology was the only science class besides environmental science that I ever enjoyed in school and college. Now I’m remembering why.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      Thanks for watching and learning with me. I’ll do more Wasatch videos soon.

    • @monicacall7532
      @monicacall7532 2 роки тому

      Could you do a video about the strange geology of the Wasatch Front in Provo from Rock Canyon to and then up through Provo Canyon? This part of the Front is uptilted from the mouth of Provo Canyon and rises at a strange angle all of the way to the north side of Rock Canyon. As you drive east from the mouth of Provo Canyon there is serious warping and folding of the sedimentary layers on the right hand side of the canyon which are part of the strange uptilted layers lying north to south seen from there to Rock Canyon. Thanks.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +2

      @@monicacall7532 Thanks for watching and I love the suggestion. The rocks along the Wasatch between Provo and Rock canyons are tilted to the east due to the uplift along the Wasatch fault which runs along the base of the range. The folding of the rocks you see in Provo and Rock canyons are due to the Sevier Orogeny, a mountain building event that occurred around 140-100 million years ago. It was caused by plate collisions to the west which compressed the existing rocks into folds and also shoved slabs of rocks over the top of each other to create thrust faults. Both canyons have some really awesome features to showcase. I will see if I can get out there this summer.

  • @sueellens
    @sueellens 6 місяців тому

    Wow! What a view. I’d love to be up there! Thank you for sharing all of this wonderful scenery and amazing geology. (And it’s literally wonderful-full 😮😊)

  • @dr.a006
    @dr.a006 Місяць тому

    I can see my house from up there! I love the Wasatch Mountains-practically in my backyard and I grew up next to them. Ben Lomond is my favorite mountain and I love the rugged cliffs above Willard. It’s fascinating to fly past these headed to SLC airport and look straight down onto these bands of cliffs and see how they are exposed in areas and appear to dive or fold under the land in others, then reappear further south.

  • @harryromo2508
    @harryromo2508 Рік тому +1

    Thanks Doc, I follow everything you do, ride around Idaho with your book. I'm linking to this video to help my wife understand her little brick house that sits on this fault. We were cutting a ginormous hole in the middle of the back wall of her house, and I needed the geological skinny on the big picture, and it turns out, it's this. I marvel at how you can rattle off rock types and layers without breaking the syntax of the english language . Just another caveman trying to understand his world....your fellow Idahoan....

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Рік тому

      Thanks for watching and learning with me. Hope this help you.

  • @jwardcomo
    @jwardcomo Рік тому

    I am really enjoying these videos. My mother's family is from Malad and we visited many times. Nice to know something about the geology, Thank you!!

  • @briandwi2504
    @briandwi2504 2 роки тому +6

    Very interesting series. I live in the far North of Scotland, so I don't know the areas you describe, but this video resonated with me. I live close to the Moine thrust, which was created in a very similar way. Thanks for these videos, they are fascinating.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +4

      Awesome! I took my class there in 2016. We visited the Moine thrust at Knockan Crag. Amazing geology in Scotland and hope to return someday.

  • @rmcbeath
    @rmcbeath 2 роки тому +1

    Thanks for making and sharing this video.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      You bet. Thanks for watching. If you have any other areas of interest you want featured, let me know.

  • @mikekilian5403
    @mikekilian5403 2 роки тому +1

    I just found your site. I love the information you provide.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      Thanks Mike. Enjoy the videos and look for more this summer.

  • @J0hnC0ltrane
    @J0hnC0ltrane 9 місяців тому

    I drove California across the salt flats to the mountains many years ago. The colder temperatures felt like a luxury after the seemly endless desert. Thanks for the video.

  • @SkepticalRaptor
    @SkepticalRaptor Рік тому +1

    I went to high school in Ogden, and I never knew about the age of these rocks. I’m surprised that Pre-Cambrian rocks exist up near the top of those mountains. Thanks for this information, it’s really cool to know.

  • @MikeJohnson-nj1ry
    @MikeJohnson-nj1ry Рік тому

    My family took the scenic journey in 1850. I'm only met ten people who known more than I above the geography of Utah. Great video!

  • @JanetClancey
    @JanetClancey 6 місяців тому

    Wow another fabulous rock story… in your geological wonderland.. I love how rocks tell you what happened to them thank you Shawn

  • @JoelZieve
    @JoelZieve 3 роки тому +2

    Very cool - thanks for sharing Shawn!

  • @katemcclain8405
    @katemcclain8405 Рік тому

    Thank you Shawn, appreciate the sites and your knowledge.

  • @JPREEDY77
    @JPREEDY77 Рік тому

    I solved this puzzle a while back. I've now solved the globe since I've found the key works to unlock all the mysteries. I need someone like Shawn to see it, and then take me to your leaders! lol I feel like an alien with this knowledge. I really think a mentor representative would be perfect to knock on some heavy doors and say "I think it'd be a good idea if you listened, this guys nuts but I think he's got something BIG". First one to bring this out will be getting the interviews!

  • @mattmaria2226
    @mattmaria2226 2 роки тому

    You rock my world.. thank for your work.

  • @southern.porkchop1357
    @southern.porkchop1357 3 місяці тому

    Love your videos!! Can you do more videos on the geology of Ogden Utah? Please?! I struggle with identifying the different rocks around Ogden (the Bonneville shoreline trail and Snowbasin areas) even though I’ve watched your rock identification series multiple times 😳

  • @ryanr.182
    @ryanr.182 3 роки тому +1

    well now this was a surprise. I hike/ski/hunt all over these mountains. So yes please ... tell me everything you know. Thank you for the video. Liked shared and subscribed.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому

      Awesome. Glad you like it. Let me know if there are other specific areas you want featured and I will do a video.

  • @kevindorland738
    @kevindorland738 Рік тому

    Admirable knowledge.

  • @melissalloyd1301
    @melissalloyd1301 3 роки тому +1

    Thanks for sharing your videos, I always enjoy them. Best wishes

  • @JonasTravelVlog
    @JonasTravelVlog 2 роки тому +1

    Beautiful I love Ogden Utah ,thank you for sharing your video .

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      You bet. Look for more soon. If you have any areas you want to know more about, let me know.

  • @YewtBoot
    @YewtBoot Місяць тому

    Nice explanation of the remnants of the thrust fault leaving the older layers atop the newer layers in some places. Related to the area, I have heard and read that Ben Lomond, viewed from Ogden, is the model of the opening logo for Paramount pictures?

  • @leechild4655
    @leechild4655 2 роки тому +2

    That is the trickiest thing to figure out. Because the land can rise from great depths sometimes the deepest oldest material ends up at the top of the mountain. Like being buried standing up but over time you end up above ground and in a reclining position with feet higher than your head. And you may be leaning to one side as well. Nothing on earth stays where its at forever.

  • @davidmclean1680
    @davidmclean1680 3 роки тому +1

    Awesome content. Thanks for putting this out there.

  • @blackanode
    @blackanode 3 роки тому +2

    Thank you for the wonderful video! Loved hearing the history of how these mountains formed and their original formation locations. You being on location pointing it out really makes it.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому

      Thank you for watching and your comments. In case you missed it, there is a new video from Ogden Canyon that you might like: ua-cam.com/video/G0swRYNbQ9Q/v-deo.html

  • @dennisdye7270
    @dennisdye7270 2 роки тому

    Fascinating video. I will be in Salt Lake soon from West Virginia and will take time to visit some of the sites of your videos in northern Utah and southern Idaho. Enjoy your content and learning a lot. Thx.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому

      Great news. Enjoy your travels. You might want to also pick up two great books for this area, Geology Underfoot in. southern Idaho and Roadside Geology of Idaho.

  • @texas2645
    @texas2645 Рік тому

    I am grateful for your effort to do these videso. I love geology and i live here in slc and i always wanted to know how everything came to happen

  • @muzikhed
    @muzikhed 2 роки тому +1

    Beautiful view. Must have been a good walk, a good day for it too. Excellent explanation given of formation and rock types. How is it that the Limestone is almost black ?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +1

      It was a pretty big hike (~18 miles) as I was training for a Grand Canyon rim to rim hike later that year. Thanks for your kind words and viewership. I believe the color of the limestone may be related to the carbon (organic) content.

  • @larryhinze8658
    @larryhinze8658 4 місяці тому

    Nice Video, Shawn. Thanks.

  • @straightbaked420
    @straightbaked420 3 роки тому +1

    Hey, awesome information! I love this area!

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому

      Thanks for watching. I plan to do more in this area.

  • @frannysinclair2613
    @frannysinclair2613 2 роки тому

    Thanks for pointing out many interesting features of Ogden canyon. I visited my son who was living there several years and we drove through the canyon and on several roads in the area of the Wasatch Mts. It is a beautiful area. We didn't stop to see the Z fold, so what I saw was more of a 7 fold ad we drove by. Thank for the cartoon drawings to show exactly what happened to create the fascinating geology of the area. I live in the hill country of Tx which is all limestone, so not a good place for collecting rocks but great for fossils.

    • @haroldtanner9600
      @haroldtanner9600 Місяць тому

      The Texas Hill Country also has some interesting caves!

  • @philsigman9088
    @philsigman9088 Рік тому

    Mind blowing!

  • @OldBrownDog
    @OldBrownDog 2 роки тому

    Cool beans, I've been in those hills and there were seashells everywhere from lake Bonneville I assume.

  • @juliamarple3785
    @juliamarple3785 Рік тому

    That is SO COOL!

  • @DavidHuber63
    @DavidHuber63 Рік тому

    Geology rocks 👍🏻❤️

  • @stevewhalen6973
    @stevewhalen6973 5 місяців тому

    Thanks!

  • @irenewaldron9802
    @irenewaldron9802 Рік тому

    Great video, Shawn

  • @mindytimothy390
    @mindytimothy390 3 роки тому +1

    Very cool! Thank you for the informative video! I would love to see your description of Big Cottonwood Canyon-- haha. How long would that video be? :P Thank you for your work.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому

      Thanks for watching. BCC has some great geology. What are you most interested in? The story of the rocks or how the canyon formed?

  • @louiscervantez1639
    @louiscervantez1639 Рік тому

    Great stuff - been there - thansk

  • @Anne5440_
    @Anne5440_ Рік тому

    As I have traveled in Utah it seemed to me that the mountains were uplifted. The severe orogeny I have heard of and is on my study list. I found the layers and ages of the rocks interesting. It struck me that the forces to lift layers above younger layers had to be immense. I wondered at first that the sea you talked about might be an inland sea. But at the edge I think it must have been ocean. Which would it be?

  • @number4cat1
    @number4cat1 2 роки тому

    Please do a video on the Riggins, Idaho area where the X plate has been diving under the Y plate, or whatever. Occasionally I see a geology class looking at something along the Salmon River canyon, and I get out of my car and ask them a question. They never seem sure about the answer. Edit: OK, I see you did a Salmon River float trip video. Watching that one now.

  • @TheSunAndTheMoonrising
    @TheSunAndTheMoonrising Рік тому

    My great, great uncle actually located the silver king in park city, he sold it for a shot of whiskey, I am told. It might have been a whole bottle, when he woke up after getting totally sloshed he was no longer allowed near the mine (it wasn't a mine then but merely a located source), lest he be shot on sight.
    He couldn't complain because he wasn't in the "in" crowd of that era. A little trivia.
    Oh also, he was the adopted son/brother in law of Joseph Stacey Murdock.

  • @palomine2606
    @palomine2606 2 роки тому +1

    I'm really fascinated by Utah's geology/geography and found this video really informative. Can you recommend any good books that focus on Utah? I've lived much of my life in the Utah County area and am very curious about the Mt. Timpanogos area in particular. Thanks for the video and clear explanations!

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +1

      You bet. Thanks for watching and learning. There are more Utah geology videos here for you and more to come. I can try and answer any questions you have on Timp and will try to do a hike and video there sometime soon. As for books on Utah geology, here are a few: Roadside Geology of Utah, Geology Underfoot in Southern Utah, Hiking Guide to the Geology of the Wasatch Mountains, Utah's Spectacular Geology. These should all be available at the Utah Geological Survey bookstore.

    • @satajet883
      @satajet883 2 роки тому

      Great video. We traveled through that area last year. Being from the North East I was fascinated with the geography of the western mountains all the way down to AZ. The forces that created these features. Thank you for this video.

  • @TheSunAndTheMoonrising
    @TheSunAndTheMoonrising Рік тому

    I would have paid more attention to geology if my teacher was as interesting, intelligent and engaging as Mr Shawn Willsey.
    That was fifty years ago, so, what can one expect.
    Many teachers taught more than one subject.

  • @justincarter8990
    @justincarter8990 2 роки тому +1

    Good vids! So is the Wasatch front still rising and valley dropping to this day? How much if it is?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  2 роки тому +1

      Thanks for watching. Be sure to sub. Yes, the Wasatch Mountains are still rising but not at a steady pace. Instead the movement is episodic and occurs when large quakes push the mountains up and drop the valley.

    • @justincarter8990
      @justincarter8990 2 роки тому

      @@shawnwillsey definitely sub. Been telling people about your channel and awesome glimpses into our region’s past. Awesome work!

  • @richheimreal
    @richheimreal Рік тому

    Very cool.

  • @awright16789
    @awright16789 3 роки тому +1

    Thanks for the video, I have always wondered how the straight rock lines were formed that are very evident in the first few seconds of your video. Do you know? These lines are also very evident on satellite images around Ben Lomond.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому +1

      Great question. Are you referring to the nearly horizontal lines you see near the summit of Ben Lomond? If so, these are one of two features. 1) the bedding, or deposition layers of the sedimentary rocks (mostly limestone and quartzite from the Cambrian period, about 530 million years ago). 2) thrust faults that divide the units. These are what I talk about in the video. The rocks get repeated as slices are shoved over the top of younger rock layers due to compression during the Sevier Orogeny (a mountain building event) about 130-80 million years ago. These mountains are now long gone. Hope this helps. If I missed the intent of your question, please let me know.

  • @jerryofsanfrancisco
    @jerryofsanfrancisco Рік тому

    I love your videos and your talks. Your treks sometimes scare me as you are on the edge of cliffs like a mountain goat! Please be safe!

  • @toughenupfluffy7294
    @toughenupfluffy7294 Рік тому

    I think the Wasatch Front is primarily a Laramide feature that has been modified by extension, not the direct result of the Sevier orogeny. It may very well be that the overthrusting you show occurred during the Sevier orogeny, but the modern Wasatch is an extensional Basin and Range feature, with normal faulting, not low-angle thrust faults. I just wanted to make it clear that the Wasatch Front itself is not a Cretaceous Sevier orogeny feature, but a more recent phenomenon.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Рік тому +1

      Most Laramide structures are further east. Sevier Orogeny is the main player in this part of Utah. Modern Wasatch are a result of Basin and Range extension as you point out.

  • @straightbaked420
    @straightbaked420 3 роки тому

    How did you get up there anyway? I hike up Willard canyon all the time but that trail is so easy to lose

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  3 роки тому +2

      Hiked North Skyline trail from North Ogden Divide over to Ben Lomond Peak then continued north to just west of Willard Peak. Long hike but awesome.

  • @number4cat1
    @number4cat1 2 роки тому

    I'd be more impressed if you had hiked up from the valley floor to get where you were standing. ;-)

  • @lauram9478
    @lauram9478 Рік тому

  • @lauram9478
    @lauram9478 Рік тому

    ❤❤

  • @billysunerson
    @billysunerson Місяць тому

    If it's quartzite then it's metamorphic and no longer called sandstone, isn't it?

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Місяць тому

      There is a gray area between sandstone and quartzite. We even use two terms, orthoquartzite (a highly compressed sandstone where quartz sand grains are fused together) and metaquartzite (a true metamorphic rock caused by heat and pressure).

  • @michaelreynolds1500
    @michaelreynolds1500 2 роки тому

    Weird. Wheres all the fossil in those millions of years? Spread throughout right?

  • @magicdinsmore3107
    @magicdinsmore3107 Рік тому +1

    'Rule of superposition', would have saved you a few words.

    • @shawnwillsey
      @shawnwillsey  Рік тому +2

      Yes, but not all viewers may be familiar with this.

  • @aprendelearnespanolspanish4838
    @aprendelearnespanolspanish4838 2 роки тому

    I only came here to see how it was pronounced lol

  • @johnturner9818
    @johnturner9818 Рік тому

    I use to live right there, in Ogden..... you're up there alright