My geology training was Northeast US and Canada, I knew very little about the west. Now that I am retired from 40 years of teaching Earth Science and Chemistry in NYS and living in Arizona, I have discovered these lectures and am TOTALLY enjoying and learning so much!!! I had great professors in NYS as well, but the way Nick delivers is so "down to earth" pun intended....
I love this guy. I wish teachers were as passionate as him when I was in school. I love his teaching style. I have a lot of his lectures recorded for my granddaughter, I plan to home school her in a few years and this is all important for a basic grounding in geology. Thank you Nick for making these available.
Man oh man is this guy great. Never seen any similar shows quite like his. He grabs a hold of ya and doesn't let no. When he comes to the end of his lecture I'm left wanting more and i'm sure if he had extra time he could EASILY put in another 45 minutes. His enthusiasm is contagious . Wish I could move to Oregon / Washington., take a trip to Ellsworth see the beautiful sights and the rocks!!!
Very much appreciated is the sound quality in these series. Many lectures are ruined by the ambient sound of the voice echoing about the room. Thank you CWU for your production value and thanks for availing to us the knowledge and enthusiasm of Nick Zentner and his colleagues.
Nick...I have always been interested in geology. My cousin is a PHD. Has had it for 25 years on now.... Your energy and series have fully sucked me in. Excellent stuff!! Your passion and delivery are bar none
I am absolutely loving these geology videos!! Thank you so much. I love geology and learning new things. Wishing I wasn't so old and could go back to school .. you take care, thank you again..
Man, y'all are so lucky to live in such dramatic geology. I can't imagine having a breathtaking mountain or canyon etc as an everyday backdrop, or have anything more than the southern Appalachians within practical distance. Just below the Piedmont (upstate) in Greenwood, South Carolina all we have is red mud and sand and on a flat plain. When I've been able to see a "real" mountain in real life; I can actually *feel* it. Not sure what "it" is, but I feel something.
I have box of theses out in my garage. My daughter gave them to me. Her husband and her , were out hunting one day and found so many that she thought I would enjoy them. I would have NEVER, thought to make them into Jewelry, into it. Thank you for your presentation!
Nice lecture again! One of the reasons that Teanaway basalts have large vesicles and CRBs do not may be that the former are more closely related to a subduction environment. There is subducted sea water available in their mantle source. This high water content is then inherited by the Teanaway magmas, resulting in large bubbles when water escapes from the magma. Voluminous flood basalts such as CRBs are usually derived by high degree of melting of relatively dry mantle sources, have rather low water content, and thus also contain smaller vesicles.
Fascinating lecture. The thing I love about geology is the interacting processes that evolve a landscape over time. Tens of millions of years of geology, superheated water dissolving and redepositing minerals, weathering, erosion, stream capture, all worked together to put blue gems on the floor of the now dry valley. Really amazing stuff and really well explained.
rob cammer Great that you've been out there looking. To my knowledge, the quality of blue needed for jewelers is only found here in central Washington.
If you would you ever consider doing a lecture on the goodies found in the central OR region, and how they happened, I would be the happiest rockhound ever!
Purple agates in Holley Oregon, by Sweet Home. I was told they are very similar to Ellensburg Blue. Very small search area. Possibly all on private land. Unsure about that.
Hi Nick. I came across your channel recently, by chance. Thank You for sharing your knowledge. Your style is captivating. I have a few samples of blue agate which my wife has made into "gem" trees. According to the rock shop, they came from Namibia and are known here as " Blue Lace" agate. I have many more of your presentations to keep me entertained, fortunately. Regards from S Africa Clive
I wish they would have taught us this when I went to school. All of his lectures keep me wondering and learning. I was raised in othello and spent time in the areas around Ellensburg. I love rocks and wondered about all the rock formations.
Love the series, been ingesting the video's with interest, thank you for sharing them! I've never had an interest in Geology in the past, I can follow the lecture but what I get to enjoy is the dynamics of Earth's history and a picture of the Earth we know and love forming ;)
I grew up in eastern Washington and never even knew these blue agates existed. Wow, I watched the whole presentation and was truly intrigued, informed and entertained. Really nice video, well done and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about these special minerals and their unique formation & journey to the Ellensburg area.
I’m so sad to have caught up, now I need to rewatch and wait for new videos. We need more people like Nick who can synthesize multiple scientific sources of information into an informative and entertaining lecture.
I love the mini tutorials that you have created. Could you please think about doing something on these holes that have made their appearance the last few years all over the world. also I would enjoy it if you could think about covering the east coast as their are many many geological things that are interesting. Your 2 or 3 minute geology series is amazing and so informative for adults and kids too. It is precious and I consider it one of the things that should be programmed into kid viewing plans by parents and grandparents. Thank you so much.
Yeah, and when you get bored with Washington, please consider moving to Colorado to settle in and take up lecturing. ;- ). Fortunately I've traveled through Washington a few times, so can relate to some of the places you discuss.
Yup, geeks rule the world. Truly love his work and very very good at it. Totally enjoy watching your talent and understanding. Thanks for sharing your life and teaching with the world, keep going. :)
I found some right by the road going into Green Canyon on the west side. There are hundreds of acres for you to look. There are several kinds of agates you can find out there. You will go home with red,green,white,and blues agates. One time I was giving up for the day and had the car door open and something 20 yards away something was shining, I went over and there in the ditch was a real nice blue dross on one side which in layers went to cornflower blue. I still have that piece ,most of it anyway. I kept the bluest part and gave the blue dross to my honey at the time, she was with me when we found the speciman. I love Washington Geology.
Dear Nick, I have enjoyed all your videos and many more than once. As a modest rock and mineral collector, I seem to be drawn more to geology sites than collector sites. It all fascinates me. I am especially attracted to those blues. Some day I hope to add one to my collection but I imagine they are well hunted out as far as public land goes. It does pike my curiosity whether or not you have a modest mineral/rock collection of your own. It just seems natural to me. Anyways, I am finally subscribing. I am in Pierce Co. and hope to make the trek to your side-o-the-mountains and maybe sit in on a lecture if that is still an option. Thank you-Mark
I’ve been looking for similar presentations elsewhere around the Northwest and unfortunately Nick’s entertaining & informative style and synthesis of data is not common. If you’ve watched these videos you have more of a foundation for understanding the dry silo type lectures that are out there, but unfortunately it’s hard to find anyone else synthesizing the data into relatable informative narratives.
Thank you so much! Although I have hunted Blues off and on for over 40 years I did not know the specifics on where they come from, how they got here. I found the best one of my life 4 years ago and was thrilled to see it in this video. The two pictures one I was holding it in my hand and the next it was on a white tape measure. I did sell that one for $1,200. In recent years I have heard from a few people that go hunting up First Creek. I did not know until watching this video as to why. Curious though, I did ask how to get there. It sounds like you have to park a long ways from it and hike in. I think I may check it out soon as this video definitely has me intrigued as to that area. Thank you again for the most informative video I have ever seen about the Ellensburg Blue Agate and for making my day by seeing one of my own on this video.
Thank you for a great explanation of the formation and source of Ellensburg Blues. I'm in MO, but come thru to visit family, and would love to spend a day (not long enough, but all that is free) on an agate hunt. Are there people, or clubs, I could contact for directions and permission for such a thing? I expect landowners would want a fee?
Blues of small size but superb color come out of the Walker Valley basalts near Mt.Vernon. There is an in situ source people can work as well as blues in very small amounts in the glacial sediments out as far as the west beaches of Whidbey Island.
I havent heard about Ellensburg or any of the names of places, I only know of agate gems from the game Baldur's Gate. Yet, I watched your entire video. It's very compelling.
In reference to him talking about water precipitating layers of quartz in the vesicles of the basalt, how does new water get into the hole when it already has a layer of quartz lining it? Wouldn't that layer seal it off?
He is so captivating and wish I could move there to finish my grad work even though I ha 5 to 8 gray hairs myself! I miss geology, mineralogy and structural geology. Illinois is so boring and moldy. I had to go 850feet underground to find some cool minerals but they where so tiny and fragile.
Nice... so what may be the matrix for the SE Iowa Geodes around New London? They have a sort of tan/brownish brain external texture & insides sport crystals, oil, etc. Any ideas?
Dude, the absolute fuckery is this. This stuff is amazing dude. It's educational entertainment on youtube that youtuhbe recommended to me. It's wholesome and lovely, with a great presenter. Congrats on having this sude CQU.
Yesterday I was driving north on 97 just past the Rocky Reach Dam, and noticed a thin layer (about a foot or less) of white rock between thick layers of basalt. Just wondering if this was volcanic ash from an ancient eruption. Any ideas?
These videos are great! Just a guy and a chalkboard. No fancy camera editing. But the speaker is immediately engaging and stops me from clicking to a different video.
Wow! those are beautiful and so much prettier than Lake Superior agates which are mainly brown colors. I don't think I got to keep any of the agates I found up north but they were small to tiny anyway. There's 2 or 3 buckets of beach pebbles up north but I can't get up there any longer. I do want to mention the gas bubbles in the magma. (You didn't mention this as I recall) Those that cool slower have larger 'pockets' to fill than those that cooled quickly. Mother Nature sure has given us some beautiful things.
The Ellensburg Blue Agates remind me of the Holly Blue Agates found in the western Cascade range of Oregon. Holly Blue Agates are actually opal not chalcedony. Are the Ellensburg Blue Agates opal or chalcedony? I heard mention of a taste test in the video portion of your stage presentation and was wondering if the individuals were looking to see if the “Agates” were sticky which to me would indicate the presence of opal. Thanks for a great presentation!
Nick Zenter that was very informative for me being a begginer to rock hounding. One of these days my family and I want to try looking for a blue or 2. Where can we look that is public access? Thank you for the video we have subscribed. I'll have to make a video of all the different rocks we have found in just one spot down here on the Lewis river.
Some amazing Clovis points were made out of a moss agate I believe. Would this have been formed in a similar manner? The nodules must have been huge given the size of the points. Are there physical limitations on how big the nodules can grow, ie the size of the gas bubbles / voids or is an entirely different process responsible for such agates? Outstanding lecture, Thank you.
The massive clovis points (largest ever discovered) in Wenatchee were 9" and said to be made up of "Sage Agate" and they found the source. They also found mammoth ivory which apparently was used to haft the points to a spear, and I reckon the prey was mammoth as well. ua-cam.com/video/-kQF8eiGO7g/v-deo.html
CWU Class of 75 here---- (CWSC Then) My sister and I went agate hunting up under the powerlines a couple times. She found a large gem quality Blue agate, the best I've ever seen. She was going to keep it but she took it to a local Jewler who offered her $250 for it. To a poor college student in 1974 this was a fortune so she sold it. It was later made into a pair of wedding rings.
You speak of gas bubbles in basalt. Our water well is 430 feet of solid basalt. The water comes from the ground with tiny gas bubbles to the extent that the water looks grey for about 20 seconds until the gas break the surface ... what gas might that be? In case it matters, the bottom of the well is below sea level about 250 ft although it's 4miles away.
Great informative videos. Seems like all of my favorite twisty roads ( Frenchman’s coullee, sun lakes, whiskey dick highway) have great geological history
Another great talk. Although a little more information about the origins of the saturated heated water that flowed through the basalt host rock, ... and that whole process would have been interesting. Still I learned a lot.
I've always thought that the agate at Red Top is the exact same material that many call Ellensburg blues. There is catastrophic flood evidence just about everywhere in Washington. Not too far of a move geographically, maybe 25 miles in a straight line?
something I'm not getting: why is the majority of the audience silver haired? Just my second video of this man and I love him. Just not understanding the age of the audience. I mean, I have silver hair and I'd sit in this room...just not sure why others would?
This man was born to do this. Enthusiasm, passion, humour. I just stumbled onto these lectures and can't stop watching !
I completely agree. I am a rockhound and thoroughly enjoyed this presentation.
Same here!
Dang ain't that the truth... It was the same with me.. I just stumbled into now I can't stop watching them..
Some of his talks are dam scary.
@@marlonjalen1765 Creeper, weirdo, perv.
My geology training was Northeast US and Canada, I knew very little about the west. Now that I am retired from 40 years of teaching Earth Science and Chemistry in NYS and living in Arizona, I have discovered these lectures and am TOTALLY enjoying and learning so much!!! I had great professors in NYS as well, but the way Nick delivers is so "down to earth" pun intended....
I love this guy. I wish teachers were as passionate as him when I was in school. I love his teaching style. I have a lot of his lectures recorded for my granddaughter, I plan to home school her in a few years and this is all important for a basic grounding in geology. Thank you Nick for making these available.
Thanks for the nice comments!
Agreed, I'm hooked. Thanks Nick...smh
If you were to show her these lectures and get her interested in geology through this, you would probably be a far better teacher than any that I had.
7munkee amen to that !!!
Man oh man is this guy great. Never seen any similar shows quite like his. He grabs a hold of ya and doesn't let no. When he comes to the end of his lecture I'm left wanting more and i'm sure if he had extra time he could EASILY put in another 45 minutes. His enthusiasm is contagious . Wish I could move to Oregon / Washington., take a trip to Ellsworth see the beautiful sights and the rocks!!!
I wish we had standup geology here in my town! I would buy season tickets!!!
I have an Ellensburg Blue Agate ring passed down from my grandfather. He had so many, my dad has many of them now.
Very much appreciated is the sound quality in these series. Many lectures are ruined by the ambient sound of the voice echoing about the room. Thank you CWU for your production value and thanks for availing to us the knowledge and enthusiasm of Nick Zentner and his colleagues.
I nerd out to every single one of his lecture series!.. but this one has me hooked more than usual... A great story teller and passionate teacher. 😁👍💚
Nick...I have always been interested in geology. My cousin is a PHD. Has had it for 25 years on now.... Your energy and series have fully sucked me in. Excellent stuff!! Your passion and delivery are bar none
I am absolutely loving these geology videos!! Thank you so much. I love geology and learning new things. Wishing I wasn't so old and could go back to school .. you take care, thank you again..
Thanks Lisa. Come visit!
I just can't stop watching this Guys Lectures/Talks. He just like Prof. Brian Cox!
Awesome. I love his explanation of how thunder eggs are made. Nick is a national treasure.
I can't stop watching. He's the educator that we all wanted as students, and the one we teachers tried to be.
Man, y'all are so lucky to live in such dramatic geology. I can't imagine having a breathtaking mountain or canyon etc as an everyday backdrop, or have anything more than the southern Appalachians within practical distance. Just below the Piedmont (upstate) in Greenwood, South Carolina all we have is red mud and sand and on a flat plain. When I've been able to see a "real" mountain in real life; I can actually *feel* it. Not sure what "it" is, but I feel something.
I just love the fact you can regularly fill a modest multipurpose room with people interested in geological topics.
Me too! Thanks Matthew.
I stumbled onto these lectures and I am hooked! this is so interesting...! Thanks...!
The best lecture series. Nick Rocks!
If every professor was like this man...
Everyone would love being educated.
Nick, your like a drug, I can’t get enough. You make learning so much fun. Lord, what I could have learned from a teacher like you!!👍👍😁🇺🇸
Hello
These lectures make me want to go to graduate school and join CWU Geological Sciences
I have box of theses out in my garage. My daughter gave them to me. Her husband and her , were out hunting one day and found so many that she thought I would enjoy them. I would have NEVER, thought to make them into Jewelry, into it. Thank you for your presentation!
Cool👍🏼
Thank you.
Start to finish, incredibly informative and entertaining.
Thank you :-)
Thanks Leonard!
Nice lecture again! One of the reasons that Teanaway basalts have large vesicles and CRBs do not may be that the former are more closely related to a subduction environment. There is subducted sea water available in their mantle source. This high water content is then inherited by the Teanaway magmas, resulting in large bubbles when water escapes from the magma. Voluminous flood basalts such as CRBs are usually derived by high degree of melting of relatively dry mantle sources, have rather low water content, and thus also contain smaller vesicles.
Great input, Jussi. Thanks. I will use this.
Fascinating lecture. The thing I love about geology is the interacting processes that evolve a landscape over time. Tens of millions of years of geology, superheated water dissolving and redepositing minerals, weathering, erosion, stream capture, all worked together to put blue gems on the floor of the now dry valley. Really amazing stuff and really well explained.
StereoSpace Your comments are much appreciated. Thanks for watching!
***** a few places in washington state i have seen deep blue Agates.
rob cammer Great that you've been out there looking. To my knowledge, the quality of blue needed for jewelers is only found here in central Washington.
I was stationed in Idar-Oberstein while in the army. Lots of agate diggings and goods in shops.
If you would you ever consider doing a lecture on the goodies found in the central OR region, and how they happened, I would be the happiest rockhound ever!
Wow awesome I have listen to a few geology speakers and your explanation makes sense to me. Thank you
Another magnificent lecture.
Enjoyed very much!!! Thank you!!!
Have very much enjoyed this series! Great information well presented for my second grade mind to absorb. Thank You Nick
Ha! Thanks for watching, Dennis.
Does he remind anybody else of Jimmy Stewart? It's the way he talks. Love these lectures!
Purple agates in Holley Oregon, by Sweet Home. I was told they are very similar to Ellensburg Blue. Very small search area. Possibly all on private land. Unsure about that.
Great video, excellent presentation. Thank you!
Appreciate your comment, Randall. Thanks.
NZ is a thrilling speaker. Enjoying these very much. This one has better sound than some of the older ones. Totally into this.
Hi Nick.
I came across your channel recently, by chance.
Thank You for sharing your knowledge. Your style is captivating.
I have a few samples of blue agate which my wife has made into "gem" trees.
According to the rock shop, they came from Namibia and are known here as " Blue Lace" agate.
I have many more of your presentations to keep me entertained, fortunately.
Regards from S Africa
Clive
I wish they would have taught us this when I went to school. All of his lectures keep me wondering and learning. I was raised in othello and spent time in the areas around Ellensburg. I love rocks and wondered about all the rock formations.
Love the series, been ingesting the video's with interest, thank you for sharing them!
I've never had an interest in Geology in the past, I can follow the lecture but what I get to enjoy is the dynamics of Earth's history and a picture of the Earth we know and love forming ;)
I grew up in eastern Washington and never even knew these blue agates existed. Wow, I watched the whole presentation and was truly intrigued, informed and entertained. Really nice video, well done and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about these special minerals and their unique formation & journey to the Ellensburg area.
Well done presentations.
Its amazing to find some one who can make geology so fun. His passion makes it so fun
NZ, you are the super club of Geology!
I spent many hours up near green canyon looking for blues did I find any , you bet I found several nice pieces.
Great.
Cool presentation thanks much.
Why weren’t any of my teachers this amazing in school.
My uni profs were. I love watching Dr. Zentner because he takes me right back to that happy time of my life.
Bought a lovely blue agate ring at a craft show a few years ago when we visited Ellensburg.
Nice!
We have red agates here in Minnesota. Great video.
I’m so sad to have caught up, now I need to rewatch and wait for new videos. We need more people like Nick who can synthesize multiple scientific sources of information into an informative and entertaining lecture.
Truly amazing.
He sees what most cannot.
One in a trillion.
"Nick...
You Rock"
Absolutely riveting
Great speaker, fun and interesting video. Thank you!
Thanks for watching.
I admit I am so envious of you guys. We need a Nick of our own in N.E. Oklahoma.
Excellent seminar!
I love the mini tutorials that you have created. Could you please think about doing something on these holes that have made their appearance the last few years all over the world. also I would enjoy it if you could think about covering the east coast as their are many many geological things that are interesting. Your 2 or 3 minute geology series is amazing and so informative for adults and kids too. It is precious and I consider it one of the things that should be programmed into kid viewing plans by parents and grandparents. Thank you so much.
Thanks much. I don't know much about sinkholes...but will keep it in mind.
Yeah, and when you get bored with Washington, please consider moving to Colorado to settle in and take up lecturing. ;- ).
Fortunately I've traveled through Washington a few times, so can relate to some of the places you discuss.
Yup, geeks rule the world. Truly love his work and very very good at it. Totally enjoy watching your talent and understanding. Thanks for sharing your life and teaching with the world, keep going. :)
I found some right by the road going into Green Canyon on the west side. There are hundreds of acres for you to look. There are several kinds of agates you can find out there. You will go home with red,green,white,and blues agates. One time I was giving up for the day and had the car door open and something 20 yards away something was shining, I went over and there in the ditch was a real nice blue dross on one side which in layers went to cornflower blue. I still have that piece ,most of it anyway. I kept the bluest part and gave the blue dross to my honey at the time, she was with me when we found the speciman. I love Washington Geology.
Dear Nick, I have enjoyed all your videos and many more than once. As a modest rock and mineral collector, I seem to be drawn more to geology sites than collector sites. It all fascinates me. I am especially attracted to those blues. Some day I hope to add one to my collection but I imagine they are well hunted out as far as public land goes. It does pike my curiosity whether or not you have a modest mineral/rock collection of your own. It just seems natural to me. Anyways, I am finally subscribing. I am in Pierce Co. and hope to make the trek to your side-o-the-mountains and maybe sit in on a lecture if that is still an option. Thank you-Mark
This has been most informative ,thanks so much .
These lectures are great. Anybody know of something similar for California?
Thanks. Don't know about California.
I’ve been looking for similar presentations elsewhere around the Northwest and unfortunately Nick’s entertaining & informative style and synthesis of data is not common. If you’ve watched these videos you have more of a foundation for understanding the dry silo type lectures that are out there, but unfortunately it’s hard to find anyone else synthesizing the data into relatable informative narratives.
twotoes.com
This guy does a way better job than the history channel.
Move to Yakima Washington in 1967 lived next to the owners of Beeman's Rock Shop owned some of Andy's beautiful Ellensburg blue Rings sadly have lost
Why are Ellensburg Agates so expensive, though??
Thank you so much! Although I have hunted Blues off and on for over 40 years I did not know the specifics on where they come from, how they got here. I found the best one of my life 4 years ago and was thrilled to see it in this video. The two pictures one I was holding it in my hand and the next it was on a white tape measure. I did sell that one for $1,200. In recent years I have heard from a few people that go hunting up First Creek. I did not know until watching this video as to why. Curious though, I did ask how to get there. It sounds like you have to park a long ways from it and hike in. I think I may check it out soon as this video definitely has me intrigued as to that area. Thank you again for the most informative video I have ever seen about the Ellensburg Blue Agate and for making my day by seeing one of my own on this video.
Very pleased to hear that you enjoyed this lecture, Lori! Congrats on finding a big one a few years back...
MAY I ASK WHERE YOU SOLD, YOUR AGATE?
Excellent lecture series.
I want to go rock hunting with you Nick!! Loving your videos. My spouse and I are planning on going hunting for Blues next summer.
Did you go?
Thank you for a great explanation of the formation and source of Ellensburg Blues. I'm in MO, but come thru to visit family, and would love to spend a day (not long enough, but all that is free) on an agate hunt. Are there people, or clubs, I could contact for directions and permission for such a thing? I expect landowners would want a fee?
Blues of small size but superb color come out of the Walker Valley basalts near Mt.Vernon. There is an in situ source people can work as well as blues in very small amounts in the glacial sediments out as far as the west beaches of Whidbey Island.
I wish that my college professors would have been so interesting to watch!
I havent heard about Ellensburg or any of the names of places, I only know of agate gems from the game Baldur's Gate. Yet, I watched your entire video. It's very compelling.
In reference to him talking about water precipitating layers of quartz in the vesicles of the basalt, how does new water get into the hole when it already has a layer of quartz lining it? Wouldn't that layer seal it off?
Good question. I'm weak on such matters, but apparently all rocks and minerals have dense networks of microfractures.
very engaging lecture,
Love this stuff... however it is saddening that there are so many grey-hairs (like myself) in the audience and not enough younger folks.
OneWorldHistory that was the first thing I noticed! Love his lectures though!
A'Men
The realization that we don't know as much as we think we do comes with age (wisdom).
He is so captivating and wish I could move there to finish my grad work even though I ha 5 to 8 gray hairs myself! I miss geology, mineralogy and structural geology. Illinois is so boring and moldy. I had to go 850feet underground to find some cool minerals but they where so tiny and fragile.
I went to CWSC in 73-75 then again after the Army in 82-84.
Hey Brad! Great to see you here. I love Nick! Watch his lecture on the Leavenworth area and the big lake there. Very interesting!
If Tom Hanks was a geology teacher.
Nice... so what may be the matrix for the SE Iowa Geodes around New London? They have a sort of tan/brownish brain external texture & insides sport crystals, oil, etc. Any ideas?
I want to move to Washington!
Let's all meet there for one of Nick's exhilarating lectures, Rose Marie! After the smoke clears...
We've got jade, really beautiful carnelian, thulite, fossils, azurite, crystal points (clear quartz, amethyst), pyrite, amber, and more!
I’m going to have to come get some for my little trees!
Dude, the absolute fuckery is this. This stuff is amazing dude. It's educational entertainment on youtube that youtuhbe recommended to me. It's wholesome and lovely, with a great presenter. Congrats on having this sude CQU.
Hey Nick! What if I told you that you could find blue agate east of Wallowa mountain, in the Snake River at Farewell Bend?
I have found blue agate near Huntington as well.
Yesterday I was driving north on 97 just past the Rocky Reach Dam, and noticed a thin layer (about a foot or less) of white rock between thick layers of basalt. Just wondering if this was volcanic ash from an ancient eruption. Any ideas?
Probably lake beds between giant lava eruptions, Jeffrey. 15 million years ago.
Love your lectures, and my hair is not grey!?
These videos are great! Just a guy and a chalkboard. No fancy camera editing. But the speaker is immediately engaging and stops me from clicking to a different video.
Wow! those are beautiful and so much prettier than Lake Superior agates which are mainly brown colors. I don't think I got to keep any of the agates I found up north but they were small to tiny anyway. There's 2 or 3 buckets of beach pebbles up north but I can't get up there any longer.
I do want to mention the gas bubbles in the magma. (You didn't mention this as I recall) Those that cool slower have larger 'pockets' to fill than those that cooled quickly. Mother Nature sure has given us some beautiful things.
Thanks.
The Ellensburg Blue Agates remind me of the Holly Blue Agates found in the western Cascade range of Oregon. Holly Blue Agates are actually opal not chalcedony. Are the Ellensburg Blue Agates opal or chalcedony? I heard mention of a taste test in the video portion of your stage presentation and was wondering if the individuals were looking to see if the “Agates” were sticky which to me would indicate the presence of opal. Thanks for a great presentation!
Excellent - MORE - More
So the blue is "structrural" blue, much like how butterfly wings use tiny scales that act as a diffraction pattern to diffract out blue light..
Among the wealth of geological information in here, there are some hidden nuggets if you pause and compare to a GPS map. Amazing!
Are blue agates related to silver foxes?
damn, now i want to go to Ellensburg
Why is NOONE who attends Nick's lectures younger than 82?
Nick Zenter that was very informative for me being a begginer to rock hounding. One of these days my family and I want to try looking for a blue or 2. Where can we look that is public access? Thank you for the video we have subscribed. I'll have to make a video of all the different rocks we have found in just one spot down here on the Lewis river.
Thanks. Email me for directions for public land with blues. nick@geology.cwu.edu
Some amazing Clovis points were made out of a moss agate I believe. Would this have been formed in a similar manner? The nodules must have been huge given the size of the points. Are there physical limitations on how big the nodules can grow, ie the size of the gas bubbles / voids or is an entirely different process responsible for such agates? Outstanding lecture, Thank you.
Thanks for watching. Not sure how big the agates can get. Have see fist-sized.
Cracks can be filled to.
The massive clovis points (largest ever discovered) in Wenatchee were 9" and said to be made up of "Sage Agate" and they found the source. They also found mammoth ivory which apparently was used to haft the points to a spear, and I reckon the prey was mammoth as well. ua-cam.com/video/-kQF8eiGO7g/v-deo.html
You should come to 681 Thorofare Road crimora Virginia and explain these bulbs they look like asteroid strikes
Every three minutes I am yelling out, "WHAT?!" This is so interesting!!!!
CWU Class of 75 here---- (CWSC Then) My sister and I went agate hunting up under the powerlines a couple times. She found a large gem quality Blue agate, the best I've ever seen. She was going to keep it but she took it to a local Jewler who offered her $250 for it. To a poor college student in 1974 this was a fortune so she sold it. It was later made into a pair of wedding rings.
You speak of gas bubbles in basalt. Our water well is 430 feet of solid basalt. The water comes from the ground with tiny gas bubbles to the extent that the water looks grey for about 20 seconds until the gas break the surface ... what gas might that be? In case it matters, the bottom of the well is below sea level about 250 ft although it's 4miles away.
Great informative videos. Seems like all of my favorite twisty roads ( Frenchman’s coullee, sun lakes, whiskey dick highway) have great geological history
Another great talk. Although a little more information about the origins of the saturated heated water that flowed through the basalt host rock, ... and that whole process would have been interesting. Still I learned a lot.
Thanks. Tried to learn more about hot fluids - no known research exists.
Nick could you Don a Colorado geology series?
I've always thought that the agate at Red Top is the exact same material that many call Ellensburg blues. There is catastrophic flood evidence just about everywhere in Washington. Not too far of a move geographically, maybe 25 miles in a straight line?
Washington was made like Hawaii and used to feel like Florida, and had flowing lava : ) earth is cool
Thats the half of it, the other half came crashing in from the sea.
something I'm not getting: why is the majority of the audience silver haired? Just my second video of this man and I love him. Just not understanding the age of the audience. I mean, I have silver hair and I'd sit in this room...just not sure why others would?
I suppose by this logic, the lake Superior Aggets over here in minnesota are formed from the rift valley basalt around lake superior eh?