A Volcano Explosively Erupted Under Utah's Ancient Lake Bonneville? Pahvant Butte
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- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- Join geology professor Shawn Willsey as he explores the fascinating geology of Pahvant Butte in western Utah. This landmark topographic feature was formed by an eruption beneath ancient Lake Bonneville. GPS location: 39.12631, -112.54968
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What is the background of the "twin buttes" just outside of Idaho Falls?
East and Middle Butte are lava domes. Same with Big Southern Butte@@PatrickMcCarthy
Fascinating story! Shawn, you make geology so interesting and approachable. And you impart a lot of information in bite-size videos, which are easy to fit into one’s day.
I’ve started watching Nick Zenrner’s geology 101 videos from 2021. Thank you for widening my world.
The Missoula floods get all the attention but the Bonneville flood was also a large GLOF event. It's astounding to see large geologic structures formed in real time by massive amounts of water.
Nick Zentner is amazing. I think I will add this guy to my list.
I watch Nick too, and Myron Cook. It's really interesting how the three approaches are different yet the information dovetails into a whole.
Back in the 60's they had an expression, broadened your
mind and expand your horizon.
Not sure if that had anything to do with geology, lol
This is so interesting! I just love how you can read the rocks and the shapes to tell the story. It's also a beautiful location. Thanks so much for making this video and sharing with us.
Knowledgeable as always thank you.
I love seeing the effect of Lake Bonneville on the geology of most of Utah.
I was watching a different video about Lake Bonneville that suggested that there was an earthquake of the Wasatch Fault between the mouths of Big Cottonwood and Little Willow Canyon that caused a landslide, glacial lake release and a tsunami that overwhelmed Red Rock Pass. I'd love to hear your take on it!
Yeah, that's a great tale, lot of evidence showing a seiche overpowering the dam area-
While an earthquake and sloshing of water in the lake may have triggered the spillover and the Bonneville flood, there is no direct evidence that ties these two together.
That was fantastic! I've hiked up Pahvant Butte in the past and wondered about it's geologic history. Thanks for the field course, I really appreciate it! ~ Mike
I like the video, I am a Geology Major, BS, of Fort Hays State, 1986, and most of my summer camp was in eastern Utah (Dinosaur National Park) and the San Rafael Swell near Price, Utah. It brings back a lot memories for me.
We drive by this on I-15 twice a year as we commute to and from our Idaho home to our winter home in the desert east of San Diego. Humorously, my wife heard you say palagonite and thought you said polyganite, as in polygamy, something associated with some Utah Mormons. I corrected her.
That's not commuting, that's seasonal migration lol
It's So Beautiful in that desert area east of San Diego. I lived in that area for a few years and days off were spent driving and exploring . Very nice Thank you for reminding me.
To help with the gasoline. THANK you for this video. The Pahvant Butte has been the backdrop of number of our family history photos. Never would we have known the amazing perspective you have provided. In fact, my great grandmother was born in a little town just to the west of the butte. Nothing there now but a fence and an old sign. Love your videos Shawn. You are amazing.
Much appreciated. Thanks for your kind donation to geology education. Unfortunately, my video of Lace Curtain on the north side of the butte was deleted somehow so i could not include it.
I am amazed at the information scientists gathered from this terrain.
So we have a subaqueous eruption in Utah? Reminds me of the ones off-shore in Iceland. It's a lesson that some of the best viewpoints are often from relatively insignificant positions. What scenery! I was also reflecting that the field geologist must like getting dirty, like climbing and be pretty hardy!
Thank you, Dr. Willsey. I remember climbing a volcanic cone near Delta many years ago, but it was all basaltic, as I remember. I could be wrong, of course. I didn’t know about the Pahvant volcano. I appreciate the lesson today.
Thank you .😊
Beautiful spot. I had to watch a second time to get the geology lesson after drinking in the landscape.
I got a lightbulb moment in this one. Coming from a place of no geology knowledge, I realize now that I assumed that 'bedding' was always the result of sedimentation. I never considered that tuffs could be deposited in beds. Than I remembered watching a video of yours about a year ago of tuff and breccia layers in a outcrop in southwest Iceland and, looking back, those might have been bedding too. I'll need to rewatch that one again now that I understand a little more. Thanks!
Any unit formed by deposition, whether sediment or volcanic material, can be bedded.
a bed is simply a layer. Doesn’t matter how it is deposited!
Very interesting. I just watched your video on Lake Bonneville last week. You mentioned at the end here that Pahvant Butte would have taken a beating from the wind driven wave action. Would that explain the big gap in the cone? Or was it from lava overflowing the top of the cone and eroding the cone? Thanks Shawn!
Argh, I missed the Lake Bonneville vid. Thanks for the heads up!
I'm a Utah native and live close to the mountains, really not to far from this area. You can still see the shore line from Lake Bonneville along the Wasatch front (Mountains or we also call it the bench). It was a massive lake! This is also where the Wasatch Fault is located.
Thank you for sharing! Super interesting!
The native culture here is so amazing also! Straight up some of the most accepting native American people ive met
That had to have been a spectacular eruption 🌋
That's a beautiful view.
Really enjoyed this video. Thankyou from Australia.
Thank you Shawn. Great video.
A squirly road? Something new for my geology dictionary, thanks Shawn.
Thanks Shawn!
I love Utah’s west desert. There are some awesome places out there
Here for the Ca/NV/Id /Ut education … NV resident & love learning about the West!! I AMAZING VIEWS!!!
Great information and context. I liked listening.
Thanks!
Much appreciated
I recently read Roadside Geology of Utah (excellent book) and your videos are great at helping bring to life the words and pictures that were in that book. Thank you!
Nice day, clear skies. Thanks.
Thank You Shawn!
Great vid. Utah has so much geological history, alongside Wyoming, that you would think there would be more geologists in these states inspecting everything.
Wow. Enjoyed that. Now there's somewhere else I want to visit.
Beautiful view...quite interesting as usual.
Thx Shawn
Besides crustal distortion from (plate) tectonic forces I wonder if the mass of a full Lake Bonneville played a part in triggering eruption?
Living out west, it’s nice to have some of these features put in context and gain knowledge about this amazing geology.
shawn wilsey there is volcano in border between utah and nevada called caliente-indian peak caldera i have seen the gravity landslide
Millford, my ggg grandfather was the town’s founder.
So cool! Thank you Shawn.
This is so interesting. I have always been interested in volcanos in Utah and in Lake Bonneville. Thank you
Watching the history of Bonneville - thanks to you and most certainly @SUVRVing!
@shawnwillsey I love how you 'read' the landscape and the rocks, and how everything makes sense... Fascinating! Thanks :)
If only we had a time machine to go back and see what happened here 15000 years ago. Would have to be quite some
distance away and in a large boat! I take it palagonite is a iron rich basaltic lava hench the fresh rust color. Love the way
you explain geological processes and on the fly no less.
You make me excited to live in utah! So many amazing things to see it you actually look it's truly remarkable and you have taught me so much
Well, what could be cooler than a volcano slooshing up through a huge lake-especially one I-80 travelers have wondered upon for years-
The Pleistocene would have been a truly insane time to be alive.
Wow! What an awesome view of that thunderstorm in the background way out there too!
Fascinating! I wonder what was the size of the explosion and the plume? Would this have been a significant or widespread ashfall fifteen thousand years ago? And how would the additional water vapor in the plume affect the atmosphere? Or would this be too small to have much of an atmospheric impact? Great geology lesson & hike sir!
Ashfall was localized here.
I wish you were on the east coast. The rocks in our mountains amaze me and would love to hear your explanation. I'm in foothills/mountains of NC.
That Google aerial view was interesting, I’m asking questions as I go 😅
Wait, on the overhead it looks like there are four overlapping craters? A huge one that's mostly eroded away, the main one, and two smaller ones.
Thank you so much for sharing an overview of education about Utah Volcanos. ❤
Love ❤. Shared 💜. Saved on UA-cam ❤.
Such great country to explore! (My Utah Roadside Guide is ordered.) Thank you for teaching us so well. Question: might the volcanic activity contribute to Lake Bonneville overtopping and flooding? ❤
No, the lake persisted after this volcanic episode.
As a pilot that flies all over the west I am constantly in awe over how many volcanoes we have. It pretty easy to identify these areas from the air. If all of these volcanoes woke up at once there wouldn’t be room for humans.
Has this been drilled for geothermal energy? I know there's a field south of there, just north of Milford, where geothermal wells exist.
Yes - Blundell geothermal power plant, very near Milford. A combined project. You can look it up; UA-cam won't let me post a link. I've toured it- very cool.
Go to femoral butte by the hot pots out there. Spent many nights out in that desert when I way young and I loved every bit of it.
It is something like the underwater eruptions of Surtsey, the new island near Iceland.
Just LOVE your channel ❤
🌟 ✨SHAWN✨Great job! Thanks a million for sharing such a wonderful and enjoyable history of Pahvant Butte.
I had no idea it was here. Great UA-cam video…. Very interesting and helpful information! 👍
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟’s
Thank you Shawn, I found your channel after the "algorithm" realized I was watching a lot of Nick Zentner - I've stumbled on a second career opportunity !
Reminds me of my native southeast Idaho home. I live in Utah now and will visit this site
YEAH!!! I guessed the palagonite before you said it…. I’m definitely absorbing this knowledge THANK YOU SHAWN 🎉
Good video!!! It covers a lot of basics. People have a hard time thinking of an active volcano in Utah… One thing mentioned is throwing me… He said this occurred 15k ago… My impression is Lake Bonneville and the associated floods from its natural damns on the Snake River occurred before the 15k timeline… not quite sure off the exact time line but it is fascinating to think the ground in Utah/Idaho was covered by a lake that was 1000 feet deep!!!
The USGS has a 'Volcano Tour' of Utah. Pahvant Butte is part of the tour. It is fascinating to motor along the volcanoes and see, as well as read, what might have happened, how big were the eruptions, and see how the topography was altered. It's about a 3 or 4 day tour to take in this fascinating history of Utah, as well as how active the area remains.
Hi Shawn
I’d like to send you a photo of a usual rock I found and have you give me your thoughts. How do I do that?
I’ve always termed the rock as a geological record of an earthquake fault.
Steve Grant
Easiest to call your nearest Museum of Natural History or University Geology Dept. They're always happy to answer questions from the public. Your local public librarians may know a local retired geologist or two in your community. Location of find wil help. Cheers.
That light brown slope is the result of a landslide just like Mt St Helens, the bench used to be the cone that slid.
Thank you...great content....keep on keeping on!🥂🥂😊👨🌾🚜👨🌾
What Temps are required to melt the tuff together?
Hi Shawn
Yep, supporting the algorithm ! Love all of these vids💚
Hello Shawn just saying hi from Melaia and Vincent from Australia when will the Grindavik eruption happen ?
Shawn you have to check out Sand Butte if you can find a way to get there- south of and west of Carey Idaho
I know this volcano. Similar to Split Butte also which I did a video on.
Although I've noted that feature from the road before, I didn't associate it with Lake Bonneville. Thanks for the connection.
Most volcanic soils carry mineral wealth around here be sure to look for things whenever you're out. Topaz crystals are a form of lithium metals as a by product. Lapidilite ore sound off
Wonderful ... 😃
You should have checked out the little hot springs out by Holden. The main spring is very nice and people say they do scuba diving in it due to how deep it is and apparently plenty of smaller caverns. I live just west in that valley 😊
I’ve driven past this volcano many times and have wanted to climb it.
Have you heard of little mountain in box Elder County? My teacher said it wasn't a volcano but there are hot spots surrounding it and there is definitely a dome at the top and has the same distinctive features that this video is showing
Would you say that this volcano is completely extinct or could erupt again?
Bedankt
Thank you!
Did you head over to the Lace Curtain? Such a cool spot.
Yes but the video I recorded there somehow was deleted. Ugh.
I wonder if the met office has taken into account the power plant and blue lagoon may become a source of ignition if a big and wide enough crack forms underneath the area, and it seems it has recently. Knowing what we know about magma and water nobody in that area is in any way safe from that kind of catastrophe.
There's helium 3 and 4 in American thermal pools Shawn Wilsey
Hi Shawn, a little off-topic, but I'm currently in Utah near the Wasatch Range in the Payson/Goshen area as a background extra, and have a question for you. I noticed a few buttes and other features along the road in between the two places that appear to be volcanic in origin, to your knowledge, was there ever any volcanism in that region? Though, that being said, I'm not a seasoned geologist, and I could be dead wrong. Just saw them and was curious.
Thanks.
I would be interested to see videos about Fort Rock and Hole in the Ground in Oregon if you are ever out that way.
Thanks Shawn. Because of the close timeline, I've long wondered if the impacts of Pahvant Butte erupting could have caused a tsunami which assisted in Lake Bonneville breaking through Red Rock Pass. Do you think that is feasible?
Pavant eruption is much older than flood.
I believe Topaz Mountain was an underwater volcano with crystals. That view from above totally shows the igneous origin of this hill. Snakes?
@shawnwillsey Can you do something about the recent earthquakes and land uplift in the naples region, Italy?
If you want to see more of the benchlines or benchmarks made by Lake Bonneville, the mountains directy east of Salt Lake City and cities both north and south of there are marked by them. They are very visable and in some areas they are wide enough for homes. Lake Bonneville was huge. I would guess that these benchmarks are on many mountains around northern Utah, but I only know of the ones around Salt Lake City, Provo and Bountiful. We live to, say, around 78 years old or so. Things that happened 15,000 years ago is nothing to the earth. We are just minor, temporary, fleeting, insignificant specks.
15k years ago isn't that long. Is the black rock desert still that active?
Yes, it last erupted around 600 years ago.
You should definitely read up on that particular eruption, it's very interesting.
Four different volcanic fields in the region erupted within 100 years of each other, namely the black rock desert field, markagunt field, uinkaret field, and San Francisco field.
Is the subduction of the Farallon plate the cause for the volcanic activity along with the Basin and Range formation?
No, east-west extension.
U should travel to Vermont and do a segment on its 3 extinct volcanoes
In central oregon we've got fort rock that was an under water eruption in what's now desert. 5000 year old items have been found in it's caves.
About 7 miles west of it is hole in the ground. That looks like the meteor crater in Arizona but is an eruption also.
A few miles north u can see where the old lake outlet eroded & the lake drained dry. Theres obsidian chips all over there above the outlet😊
🦋
it you ever get back to Pahvant Butte you should go to the north side and see the lace curtain
I did but my video accidentally was deleted
Could the magma be part of the Yellowstone Hotspot at 15 MYA?
No. Way too young and distant.
SINCE THE VOLCANO ERUPTED UNDER A DEEP LAKE, WOULDN'T THERE BE SIGNS OF PILLOW LAVA SOMEWHERE ALONG THE BASE OF THE VOLCANO?
Water was too shallow.
I wonder if rafted pumice from the volcano might be found on the distant shorelines?
No pumice was erupted. Magma was basaltic.
@@shawnwillsey Ah! I forgot about that. Thx!
I know Kilauea and Mauna Loa are basaltic shield volcanoes!
And I know in late 2022 Mauna Loa erupted for the first time since 1984!
Was Pahvant Buttes eruption phreatomagmatic?!
Yes.
How do Geologist tell the difference between it being a remnant of very old volcano vs. a very old asteroid impact?
With the eruption under water, are there any pillow lava forms there? Maybe too explosive for that...
After watching your video here it conjured up a bunch of questions into my mind.
The flood with Lake Bonnieville you mention was that a likely Glacial Flood event left over from an ice age or maybe mini iceage event❓️
Are these radomly scatter achient volcanoes in Utah/Nevada/Idaho one & done events, eruptive periods or a mix of that, & along with could erupted again at some point down the road, & are just on a long siesta❓️
What is the triggering or collusion of events that need to occure for one of these volcanos in this region to erupt❓️ I gotta imagine it's a thing of things coming together right❓️ What's your take❓️
Bonneville flood was not caused by glaciers. See my presentation here: ua-cam.com/video/3osCxhhl7ZI/v-deo.html