The Meteorite That Buried Michigan | The Sudbury Impact
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2021
- 1.8 billion years ago, a space rock the size of a small city collided with what's now Sudbury, Ontario. The impact created one of the largest craters on Earth - and also buried parts of Michigan in debris. Here's the story.
As part of this video, I traveled to the best Sudbury debris site in Michigan and met up with Dr. Bill Cannon, a Scientist Emeritus with the USGS who not only helped me understand the story, but also gave me a pretty incredible tour. I'm excited for y'all to learn from him.
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Bill was my key source for this video, but if you'd like to learn more about the Sudbury Impact, debris sites in Michigan, and more, I recommend this paper he co-authored; it was a helpful starting point for me: pages.mtu.edu/~raman/SilverI/...
#SudburyImpact #UpperPeninsula #geology
Hello! UA-cam seems to be showing this video to a lot of new people - and if you're one of them, welcome! 🥳 If you enjoyed this field trip with Dr. Cannon, good news: There's another one coming along in January! It features a magma almost-island, a tour of ancient, bizarre-looking rocks, and us standing on the Earth's surface as it was more than a billion years ago. You can click here to subscribe if you'd like an update when it launches: ua-cam.com/users/alexisdahl
Thanks for being here! 👋
Indeed, UA-cam sent you to me today! Great video, love the channel and your approach. I really like Geology, and telling the "stories" behind the geology is a talent you have that is quite challenging, so kudos to you. I look forward to watching your past videos and have subscribed so I can see your future videos. Thank you for doing this, I (and others) appreciate it! 🙂
@@mikezimmermann2908 Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the video, and I appreciate the kind words! 🙂
How about a video on the pudding stone and the ultraviolet light glowing rocks..or the Michigan silver wall legend and ancient copper mining...great videos
This dude sounded like George Lucas
Just got this recommended today- and was so interesting that it lead me down your rabbit hole learning about my state. Super interesting, so I'll have to take some time to go through all of your videos. This will make vacation a lot more interesting.
I'm a retired 71-year-old geologist. This fellow is a classic geologist and I love his near final statement about being ready to accept new ideas. This winter, for the 2nd time, I have the privilege of taking nearly twenty geology students to the deserts of the SW to help them better understand geology. At the very least, as one of the other retired geologists said last year to the students, "you have to be able to keep reinventing yourself." That phrase says what being a geology is all about. The science is so young that inevitably our ideas change, and one must change their mind frequently to keep up. It is a great, great science.
Thanks for what you do, Professor. exploring or explaining the hills and desert .
AMERICAN SW
Surely geologists never retire - maybe turn into fossils, but you don't retire! Wish other fields looking back into our ancient past were as ready to accept new ideas & possibilities. Michigan really has so much going for it. Thanks for spreading your knowledge and the desert is wonderful...
I learned so much watching this at lunch today. Very well done and I liked the ending, takeaway especially. Thanks all
And yet Creation science is openly mocked by you, Creation Scientists are banned from entering research areas in the Grand Canyon and institutions are threatened by creationist geologic theories.
Open mind indeed
I was a Blaster on a highway job on what was thought to be the outer rim of the crater of this impact by Webbwood on Hwy 17 in Ontario. The granite had waves in it that looked like it had been melted plastic. Very cool video! Thanks for doing it.
i know exactly what you’re talking about and it looks so cool, almost like damascus steel
What about the Nickel deposits?
What’s the relationship of the impact and ejects to the nickel?
JWC
@@jayclark2077 most of the nickel is deep deep in the ground, i’ve never seen a deposit of nickel near the surface here
I did my doctoral work on this ejecta deposit. Really fascinating, and it was wonderful getting to work with Bill Cannon. I am so glad to see such an accessible and well made video about it!
@@SusanWojcickiTheBolshevik
There's always a narcissist looking for every opportunity to make something about themselves.
That's so cool! :D Congratulations, dude!
Where?
I'd like to read the thesis.
I'm over in Wisconsin on the edge of the Michigan limestone "Bowl" . Also lived in Wilmington NC. Near the many Carolina "Bogs" such as Lake Waccamaw.
The thery is that mysterious holes or pits called bogs were created by fallen chunks of ICE . Since there is no othere ejecta to be found in the bog(s). A body of water created by this Sudbury Ejecta from 900 miles away
As Michigander and a bit of a rock hound I found this absolutely fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing
Me too! 😺
@@MaryClareVideos same here! I’m from Marshall, Mi.
@@juliefreds4594 We're near Clare on a small inland lake. We find cool rocks though. 😺
I knew Sudbury was an impact site, but had no idea how massive and (literally) earthshaking that was. Very cool to learn!
I'm glad you got to learn more about it! It was a lot of fun for me to learn about, too.
That’s why we have lots of Nickel here.
@@AlexisDahl Cuba has a massive Ni deposit too, also, from an asteroid strike. I’d love to hear that story too.
Yep, this was the one that tilted the earth, probably.
@danlux4954 most of the nickle used by the allies during WWII was mined from sudbury
I’m a retired geologist and earth science educator. I took oceanography from Bob Dietz during my undergraduate days. He came to us as a visiting professor from Scripps and was near the end of his career. Still, he had great stories of his work the early plate tectonics pioneers as well as his impact studies.
Many years later I visited the K-Pg boundary deposits at Raton Pass on the CO-NM border. If you’re up for a field trip, you should visit it yourself.
My takeaway is that I'm reminded again what I used to tell students and museum visitors when I was a exhibit interpreter is that every once in a while the Earth has a very bad day.
That “roadside park” you guys were at is about 3 miles from my house. When I worked for the township here, I used to mow the lawn and empty the garbage bins there. Great video.
Kudos to Dr. Cannon for his humble approach to forwarding knowledge.
Ms. Dahl, I'm a retired geologist. I received an M.S. in '75 from a university in Indiana and cannot believe how much the understanding of the science has changed in that fifty years. I'm currently the head of my graduate alma mater's geology alumni and we're putting trips together to inspire geology students. I'd love to have you meet students over our fall break in 2024 at Marquette to discuss the Sudbury Impact. You''re doing great work! I would enjoy corresponding with you to know some good outcrops up that way.
Thank you so much, Richard! I got your e-mail and will look forward to getting back to you soon. 🙂
⁰😅
Dr. Cannon seems so charming.😊 I’m sure spending time with him was just an absolute blessing.
Completely! I feel deeply grateful to have been able to hang out with him for a bit!
My wife and I are both geologists and she got her bachelor’s at a Michigan College and is familiar with the UP. We used to vacation near Sudbury, but decided to go to the UP in 2018. We had a fabulous trip. The Sudbury Breccia, of course, but also the Porcupine Mountains, an ancient volcano complex, and the copper mines of the district. Don’t miss the mineral museum at Houghton, but they request you allow two days.
There are several copper mine tours that are wonderful as well.
Somewhere near Marquette is the most spectacular sandy crescent beach I have seen.
The mineral museum is awesome!
@@blaiseutube the log slide
I'm from Sudbury, and we hang out in the UP during the summer.
SW US desert Geologist here. My hat is always off to my colleagues up north and east who pick through trees, brush, dirt, and moss to see the rocks beneath. Good post. I love how enthusiastic undergrads are!
You forgot about mosquitoes the size of horseflies, and horseflies the size of birds!
Alexis your energy and excitement is contagious. Your interview with Dr. Cannon was fantastic. The Wonderful world of UA-cam has become better because of you recording Dr. Cannon's experience and wise advice at the end of keeping an open mind.
My father was a geologist at the Falconbridge mine in Sudbury Ontario.
It’s cool to see how far the impact area spread.
Thank you.
Loved hearing him say be open to new ideas. We are given the impression that geologists and archaeologists don’t like people challenging the information they built their career on, so ideas move forward reluctantly. I hope the young people watching this question everything and always be ready to be wrong. It is an amazing g trait to be able to hit reset based on new data.
I've lived in Sudbury for 52 years now, I knew rocks were tossed from the impact as far as Michigan but this is the first time I got to see one (outside that building). We have lots of rock and mining here and is a great place to live. 330 lakes in our city! Thanks for the video and sharing!
Thanks, John! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Hello from North Bay, neighbor.
Hello from Sault Ste. Marie, neighbor.
Wow Canada sure can throw big rocks far. Michigan 12-23-2022
Ended up in Sudbury trying to find some Puppers beer and couldn’t find it.
Maybe I am biased, but as a Michigander, this is good content. I love finding interesting little things to do around the state during the summer camping season. I think this would make a lovely stop along the way, Thanks!
I've never been to that part of Michigan but it's on my bucket list now.
I live in traverse city but I try to go to New parts of Michigan every summer, but no matter what time of year I love learning new things about my state!
I'm very happy the algorithm brought this before me
I live just across lake Huron from you near Sauble beach Ontario and have seen many beautiful sunsets looking toward Michigan.
@@0GieLongshank I've only been as far north as Saginaw but now that I'm a retired old foggie I can go as far as I want to.
@@0GieLongshank my Step Father is a park Ranger at Sleeping bear dunes and super Rock obsessed. I can't wait to share this video with him! he lives with my mom in Traverse City. LOL maybe you've seen her dressed as Mother Nature at Environmental Rallies....
IANAG - I am not a geologist, lol. But I learned a bit watching this. Thank you for making this video. It was fascinating, as I didn't know about this event. Your energy and enthusiasm is contagious. Bill is so knowledgeable, not just about the event and how it changed rocks, but the history of discovery. Well done! Again, thank you.
You are a fine UA-cam docent for interesting geology in the Great Lakes region. Thank you for introducing me to the Sudbury impact and Dr. Cannon!
I spent my childhood working and vacationing at my grandfathers cabin about 30 minutes from Sudbury and was always entranced by the scale of the mining and local geological interest in the area. I’m very glad to have found this video.
Its thanks to videos like this that helped me solve a 30 + year old curiousty related to the sudbury impact. Living on a farm 200 miles south of Sudbury about 40 miles west of Toronto, I happened upon this weird rock in the field. Knowing it was out of place from the local geology I brought back to the house with the aid of a front end loader. It was heavy and about the size of a microwave, it was mostly grey with smaller darker rocks embeded in it. My father right away said it was just a old chunk of concrete, I always questioned that as why would it be so far from any structure or possible dumping site, and why would anybody mix in such small rocks ...basically more concrete than rock not very financially smart I thought. The rock was placed in front of one of the farm builldings where I presume it sits to this day, slowing getting buried again. It wasn't till about 3 years after we had sold the place did I find out what it was, after watching a youtube video on another meteriote impact. It was piece of melted rock ejected from the impact in sudbury called seuvite.
NO, that is not what that rock was. The rock you are talking about was most likely brought there by a glacier some 20,000 years ago, or by a river that was once in that area. Now, I dont know what the rock looks like, but if it looks like concrete, it is a sedimentary rock, which is very common in that region of Ontario.
Most likely conglomerate rock as per your description
I’m a 73 year old, living 100 miles west of Sudbury. My only regret is not becoming a geologist. This field was never presented to girls my age. My retirement is enhanced by everything I can now learn on a daily basis. Videos like this are fascinating. Thank you so much.
I grew up in eastern Washington state and North Idaho. My father was a forester for a railroad company and geology was a side interest of his. One of the great mysteries of the region was how the Scablands of Eastern Washington were formed. The area covers nearly a quarter of the state. A geologist came up with the radical theory of Lake Missoula and huge ice dams breaking, releasing millions upon millions of gallons of water across what now is North Idaho and Eastern Washington. For decades other geologists thought he was crazy, but step by step, discovery after discovery proved him to be correct. The Scablands are strange and beautiful in their own particular way.
The story of the geology of your region and how it was changed by the Sudbury Impact and the theories behind it remind me of Great Lake Missoula, the ice dams and the formation of the Scablands.
Thank you again for a well told bit of Upper Michigan history, and in this case, geology.
I saw a wonderful film about the formation of the Scablands. It included imagery of the various formations and a stunning animation of what happened to create them. I learned that water 'tornadoes' , bearing various sized sand and stones, literally drilled cylindrical indentations into bedrock in some places. Amazing! Geology can be ... thrilling.
@@ZebaKnight Absolutely! There are some bizarre landscapes out there.
The area west of Spokane WA to the Columbia River is very interesting. Going north or south of I90 can lead you to some very interesting areas such as the terrain near Soap Lake or Palouse Falls, below which is like a miniature Grand Canyon.
Camping out in the Scab Lands can feel odd with the strange rock formations, especially on crystal clear nights.
Then there are Steptoe and Kamiah Buttes, along with the Snake River Canyon, Hells Canyon, the lava beds in southeastern Idaho know as The Craters Of the Moon . . . and of course Yellowstone NS.
I could go on and on. It is quite fascinating.
@@markkover8040 Wow! I'm on the east coast, but I'll keep the list of places you mentioned.
@@ZebaKnight I have lived in SE Virginia for 33 years. I do miss that area tremendously and go back to visit when I can.
This is one of my favorite videos you've done so far (and that's saying a lot after the toxic sand vacuum)! I had zero idea about this before. Its impressive that not only are you able to constantly finding new fascinating material, but that it is all about MICHIGAN! Great work!
Thanks, Randall! I'm excited about how it came out. (Also, there are just so many stories up here! I'm a little convinced that's true of everywhere, though - most of my curiosity just happens to be pointed at this area!)
Yeah, that's kind of the lesson here, there's interesting stuff around...you just have to be curious and look.
Great video! I actually grew up in Sudbury and lived there for 28 years. I've seen the city change throughout the the 80's until I moved away in the early 2000's. It once looked like a different planet before there was a big reforestation done in the 80's. 🇨🇦🇨🇦
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
In 1976 my parents and I drove from Montreal through Sudbury on our way to the Upper Penisula of Michigan. We had no idea about the town and so wondered why suddenly we drove from the northern forests into the deserts of the American South West. Bare rocks stained black and red. Then we saw the smokestacks in Sudbury and understood.
@@dawsonl That stack is in the process of being decommissioned and torn down. The smelter there at Copper cliff is still very much and active part of Vale operations. My father was a medic who had to evacuate a worker off the stack when it was being erected and a tornado hit in 1970.
if you're from Ontario you must be slightly annoyed by how she's pronouncing sudberry haha.
i don’t think there tearing that stack down, they said they would years ago and nothings been done
I visited Sudbury in the 1960s and I remember that as we traveled east toward Toronto for many miles we saw nary a stick of wood, bare rock. This was caused mainly by the emissions of sulfur dioxide by smelting operations leading to severe acidification but remember that since nickel is rare on the surface of the Earth many plants and animals are rather intolerant of it, e.g nickel allergy. My recollection is that even way back then Sudbury was widely thought to be an impact basin. Enjoyed your video very much. Thank you for tackling this subject that has always been of interest to me. By the way my wife is from Sault Ste. Marie and I grew up in Marinette WI.
The acidification was primarily caused by industrial operations in the US surrounding the Great Lakes, which led to the 'death' of hundreds of lakes in Northern Ontario, which led in turn to difficult negotiations between Canada and the US. An agreement was reached and things have improved immeasurably since.
This is so crazy to find this video! This summer we learned of the Giant crater while visiting Sudbury and the aforementioned big nickel. In October we were visiting Jasper Knob and the banded iron formation in the Marquette area! We also love the geology of the Thunder Bay area and are from Minnesota. This video brings so many things together!
Being a lifelong citizen of sudbury the geology and landscape of this area is so amazing, you can see the crater where it’s mostly flat farmland and grazing land and surrounding the area is loads of igneous rock cliffs and mounds known as the sudbury igneous complex. Unfortunately due to the mines here there are a lot of issues like pollution and health problems. There is a beautiful charm this place brings and it has a few attractions like a giant nickel and a massive smokestack you can see from miles away.
I was born and raised in Michigan. I'm thankful to you and Bill for putting the knowledge out about the place I call home. One of my hobbies is rock polishing, and I'm tempted to get some of the chert/banded iron to polish one side. I think it would be cool.
What nice man. I like how he said it was a pleasure to pass along information in ways other than highly technical papers that hardly anyone was ever going to see.
Thank you Alexis and Bill for sharing the history of our Michigan geography.
that's neat, I've been to sudbury a few times and always found it interesting how suddenly the rocks seemed to change in that area.
Thank you ! I have been curious about Michigan's geology, but no idea it was THIS interesting! Thanks for sharing Dr. Cannon and his insights with us.
My pleasure, genuinely! I'm always just so surprised and delighted by how many cool stories I keep finding in Michigan. I'm glad you enjoyed this!
Wow! How could you possibly hold me through this entire video? Was it really that interesting? YES!! Awesome work on the video and thank you so much for the mass of information.
I love those seasoned and knowledgeable professionals about their life's passion about our world!
So personable too!
I love all the stories about what took place in Michigan you are finding and sharing!
Thanks, Erik! I'm genuinely surprised at how many of them I keep running into. There's no shortage of fascinating stuff around here!
This really explains a lot about the rock formations that I see on M-95 up by Koski Corners. Lots of banded iron layers, and then something totally different on top of it.
I have to wonder how thick the Sudbury layer was before the last glacial age. The glaciers must have scraped a fair amount of that away and pushed it south into Wisconsin.
South is Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Glaciers pushed down to 37 degrees.
A great question.
@leonardcollings7389 Well, actually, as a Wisconsin resident, and one who has also studied geology, I can tell you that the last great glaciation left a terminal moraine that begins (at least within the boundaries of Wisconsin) right around the city of Madison, and continues on an almost straight line northwest near to about Eau Claire. Everything to the west of that line is called the Driftless Area. It's quite easy to tell when you've entered the Driftless Area in Wisconsin as the topography there is completely different from what you'll find in the rest of the state.
@@ScottysHaze Yeah, the moraines are really fascinating!
@@leonardcollings7389 if you are in the upper peninsula of michigan than Wisconsin is to the south 🙈
Thank you Alexis! My mind is blown! This was an extinction level event that i never heard about and one of the mind blowing things about this discovery is the shear size of the nickel deposit, that was not a small meteor! Also, i have to wrap my head around the idea that this area was under water because of the iron banding. Just so much to take in and it really is incredible. Thank you again Alexis for bringing this to the internet!
I had geologists in my family and though I didn't get to attend university myself, I still love seeing people geek out over rocks!
This is simply amazing! You make geology as exciting as a mystery novel (so take that, Sheldon Cooper!). Thanks for another fascinating insight into my old vacation spot in the Upper Peninsula.
Aw, thank you so much! That's so heartwarming, genuinely. The storytelling aspect of these videos is a lot of fun for me, and one I think a lot about as I'm drafting!
Geology Rocks! 😃
We live almost smack dab in the middle of the US, and when you dig on our property, you find a wide range of rocks that are not from our local area. I have been looking into the source of these rocks, believing they would be north and carried south by glaciers. They are typically worn smooth as an additional hint.
It is hard enough to find info on my little subject, (where concentrations of this or that rock are found, etc) let alone something like this.
I can see why it took 2 people 10 years, and they were smarter than I am too.
I loved "earth science" as a child. My teacher was amazing. Truly taught me to think. Thx 4 this!!
Hi Alexis,
Thanks for the very interesting interview with ex-USGS Geologist Dr. Bill Cannon and your active presentation and full of curiosity questions. You have a talent to keep your audience interested in the presentation. Well done!!
My former thesis degree professor Dr. Jorge Oyarzun - deceased December 2021 - told me once that he was interested in Banded Iron Formations (called BIF's). He had studied the 350 to 450 ºC crystallized Fe ores deposits origin in Chile, mainly formed by Magnetite and Hematite, related to the active Cretaceous Nazca Plate subduction zone activity; these deposits extend for about 750 km. northwards from La Serena to Iquique, parallel to the Pacific ocean coast.
So my curiosity was about the Sudbury meteoric impact and Ni deposits link which is why I opened your PW and interview. I am amazed at the size of the impact crater and the major earthquake magnitude 11 (never heard a place with such a record!!), the widespread reach and the size of ejecta. But suddenly in came the BIF's rock fragments.
I joined the geology school at Universidad de Chile in 1966 and finished in 1971. My main subjects of interest have been Geochemistry, Metallogenesis and Minerals exploration; of course I am very interested in the tectonic evolution of Chile which is connected to the lengthy Fe and Cu districts which lie on parallel tectonic belts.
I have seen several circular impact structures on satellite imagery of Chile, albeit much smaller, in the range of 1 to 5 km. diameter; once saw a major circular structure in Argentina near the border area with Chile, which may have been some 15 to 20 km. diameter in the High Flat Puna region.
Aam unaware of anybody studying meteorite impact structures in Chile, but some very beatiful Pyroxene meteorites were found in the Chile High Puna flats near the border with Argentina by a former student of mine. So you are welcome to start their research in Chile.
Please accept my regards for your exciting interview work and enthusiasm, and pass my respects to Dr. Bill Cannon for his dedication to geological science research.
Jaime ARIAS
Geologist - U. de Chile 1971
Ph. D. Minerals Exploration Applied Geochemistry - London University UK, 1978
Whole video has me thinking of Joe Pera. That guy loves his rocks!
Ha ha, oh, man! I haven't watched (yet), but there are definitely a lot of good rocks to marvel at around Marquette!
I live in Sudbury and the landscape here makes the area very interesting. I have a series of Bike riding videos on UA-cam through trails around Sudbury that is all new growth forest and broken up bedrock, It's very beautiful area and worth checking out.
Another interesting thing about Sudbury is how fast nature rebounded once the Nickle smelter stopped belching heavy metals into the air.
INCO planted lots of trees
@@danlux4954 Yes I think was over a million and they did a great job of making it look like a natural forest.
Really interesting discussion. Bill is amazing. Shared with my buddy from Michigan!
Thanks for sharing your study into a fascinating subject! Much respect for not just investigating this topic, but tracking down an expert and recording your findings. I feel that people like you are the reason our species advances so quickly.
My daughter lives in Sudbury. If only I had a nickel for every relative I have that lives in Sudbury :)
Cheers!
This is the most mind blowing thing I've learned in decades. You going and finding this man and the harmonious why you bring this science to light is food for the mind and soul. I'd adore seeing you two do something else in the future. What's he think of the Clovis Comet? The Carolina bays and Dakota rainwater basins? Ejecta? More please!💚🌏🌍🌎🌠
Thanks, Todd! I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Even months later, this is still one of my favorite projects I've worked on. 🙂 I'd also love to do something again with Dr. Cannon in the future! I've also got a few more videos with subject matter experts on the horizon, both in the geology world and otherwise!
There is no soul, but I get your meaning.
There's more? 👍
@@seanjones2456 Until fairly recently, a "soul" was a creature that breathed. Animals were souls too. Language changes, sometimes in very weird ways.
So the video title could also be "The Meteor that named his own impact crater". Funny how nature reminds us constantly that we don't understand everything and there is always so much more to learn. This gives me hope for the future.
A well presented video as always and I am looking forward to many more videos from you in the future. :)
Ha, fair enough! And it's so true. That also makes me feel hopeful. We have a long way to go in some areas, but someday, we'll probably find a lot of the answers we're looking for.
Thanks as always for the kind words!
I loved this video! Thanks for looking into this, and for presenting what you found so clearly and nicely. For the past fifteen or so years I've been learning about geology in various ways. This kind of video is invaluable. Dr. Cannon is so right to say that lots of people are never exposed to geology, or, if they are, not in a way that feels inviting or exciting. Dr. Cannon and many other USGS scientists have discovered and investigated so much that is astonishing, exciting, and delightful about the Earth (and about planetary science elsewhere). I am grateful to him, and to many others for enriching my life.
I love science, geology and the history of our planet. You bring out excitement and enthusiasm in your teaching of these subjects and I thank you.:-)
I am thrilled with this. Fascinating subject. Alexis and Dr Cannon are treasures. Thank you for imparting this knowledge to us. It is wonderful to hear of the formation of Michigan.
Banded iron formed when the oxygen in the atmosphere rose above 4% and precipitated the iron dissolved in water in the “great oxygenation event”.
The same structure is present in Western Australia and is a kilometre thick of up to 60% iron (not iron oxide - actual iron content - you can arc weld posts to the rock on the ground).
The other possible reason for iron rich sediments stopping forming in an area is it no longer being in sea water due to uplift or direct burial.
I really like that man, Dr Cannon! I just love souls like his. I also like you, your love and enthusiasm!
Fascinating! Thank you and thank you Dr. Bill Cannon! I live close enough to go visit some of this area! I think Mr. Cannon has a great job! Love to all!
Wow! I had no idea. I have a lot of relatives in the Sudbury area, some of whom made their living mining nickel. It’s great that you were able to find this fascinating man and that you are enabling the passing on some of his knowledge. Cheers from Moose Jaw
Tim
I've said it before, and I'll say it again...you have an amazing way of weaving a tail, not just telling the facts. You connect dots across space and time to make a story that is both informative and inspirational.
Aw, shucks. This means a lot - thank you! My hope with these videos is always that they'll be more than just informative, so I especially appreciate this. :)
...weaving a tale.
@@checkenginelightison8317 my bad...thanks for pointing that out.
Thanks Alexis! Awesome video. Lived in MI all my life, worked with a good friend who came from up by Sudbury, whose ancestors were nickel miners there. His dad is nearing 100, and still golfs and likes his Crown Royal! 😊
Wow what an incredibly underrated channel. How do you not have at least 10x more subs?
Im a meteorite collector/hunter , and rockhound, this was an awesome video. Love hearing about geology
I love the energy. It’s easy to see the absolutely unbridled curiosity you’ve got going on and it’s wonderful.
Aw, well, thank you! I appreciate it.
Dr. Canon recommended this video during his presentation at the Marquette Regional History Center last night, and I'm so glad to have found your channel! Thanks for making such wonderful content!
Nicely done. Very informative. Made me feel like I was back in Geology class at Michigan State University in 1983.
Such a cool thing to learn about! If I understand right... one day theres banded iron formation then the next like 130ft of ejecta sitting on top of it??? That's crazy to think about!!!
You've got it! And right?? It's completely wild. Within minutes, this whole new pile of rock just showed up, and this part of the world (at minimum) was never the same.
@@AlexisDahl everything changed when ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY FEET of rock attacked haha
@@C.Schmidt Pffffffft. That got me. Thank you, ha ha.
Slate Islands on the far north shore of Lake Superior are the uplift of another meteorite impact. I think it's a bit younger than the Sudbury impact. Now I'm wondering if there are other known impact sites in and around Michigan. Sounds like another late night search of the interwebs for obscure things for me. Lol!
Very interesting and informative. I was in Sudbury, Ont., for a few days in 1967. There were no trees and no grass anywhere, because of the smelter fumes then. The exposed rocks in Sudbury looked different than in other parts of Northern Ontario. Little did I know that the story of that region's ancient history was changing.
Amazing geology lesson and history about identifying this breathtaking impact event. Never knew Michigan was so affected. I've worked at Canadian hydrothermal mineral deposits (not Sudbury) and been long interested in Sudbury's unique geology. If you drive through Sudbury area you'll find a more recent impact is clear as well. For decades the mining companies never scrubbed the SO2 before emitting it and for many miles around the vegetation is still recovering from effects of 'acid rain'. Congrats on the 'Algorithm of Sauron' suddenly providing more viewers!
So much to learn. So little time. The Sudbury area is such a important geological feature in North America and should be visited by everyone with a mind for science or interest. Visually impressive.
Apollo 17 astronauts trained in the area because of its lunarlike features.
🤔Alexis, the enthusiasm and sense of curiosity and wonder which you exhibit in your videos is quite infectious, whether the topic is scientific or historical. You are a fantastic educator or ambassador on arcane subjects which many might find boring. I’m really a fan of your channel because no matter the subject your enthusiasm makes it interesting.
I grew up on the Niagara River between Lakes Erie and Ontario and love the Natural History and general history of the Great Lakes region. The western end of the GL’s is less familiar and your videos have given me an appreciation of the state of Michigan which I visited six times as a youth when traveling across Ontario between Buffalo and Mt Clemons to visit family for Thanksgiving.
I wish you continuing success for creating such a great channel. 😎
Your bubbly personality and fearlessness to take on these subjects about things in the UP, which I am adopting as my new home, is very catchy and alluring!
Hi there! Greetings from Calgary, Alberta. I have two connections to this story. I am a born and raised Michigander (metro Detroit), married to a Canadian whose parents were both born and raised in Sudbury, ON. These parents married, and moved away to Quebec so the husband could go to graduate school. My MIL had never heard this story, because they left in 1964. The other connection is that the province of Alberta is of course gas and oil country, giant dinosaur skeletons (Royal Tyrell Museum), and…meteorite fragments. They are found in the Canadian Rockies as well as downslope in the deserts and Great Plains.
Best wishes for a New Year.
Awesome video, Alexis! Probably my favorite one yet.
Aw, thank you! It's definitely up there for me as well.
Love it. I'm a troll from below the bridge, but have spent time on the Moonscape in Marquette a couple times. Now I have a new place to explore thanks to this video. Has anyone mapped out this ejecta rock layer in other areas beyond Thunder Bay and Marquette? Would be very interesting to see a map of this rock layer, as it might even provide some info on the angle of impact. (Plus, I'd love to do some rockhounding and find a piece of Sudbury ejecta for my personal collection!)
They kind of know the angle of the impact and pretty much know the middle of where the impact was by looking at the shatter cones. However, after 1.8 billion years, It is hard know the exact angle because the crater has changed it shape. It isnt round any more, its a distorted oval and after a lot of isostatic uplift from many glaciated periods, it would be hard to say the exact angle the cones were originally. Also, keep in mind, Sudbury is not where it use to be 1.8 billion years ago. Sudbury at that time would probably be near the equator and in the middle of where the Atlantic Ocean is now, and has moved thousands of miles from continental drift over the eons. Just like the deformation of the crater, the area where all that debris feel would also be distorted, folded and metamorphed. However, assuming the debris feel in a circle, we could use that data to understand how North America has moved and changed it's shape by looking at how the circle of debris changed. It would be an interesting paper, but an expensive one. You would have to drill many core samples all over and in a way that could show there is change. I am sure there is lots of data the Canadian and U.S Geological survey would have, but it would be a lot work finding it all. There is no money doing those types of studies, so I doubt anyone will do one any time soon.
That was a good question, made me think for a bit.
@@zzzubmno2755 ...well said.
Thank you, Alexis and Dr. Cannon, really fascinating ! I live in Ontario and was in Sudbury this summer but there was so much construction, we couldn't just pull over. We will definitely be going back!
Thank You and Dr. Cannon very much for this educational and entertaining vid!
A dude named Dr Cannon for a video about a massive rock hitting earth?! What a big get!
Oh, man, ha ha. I knew I enjoyed chatting with him for some reason!
Thank you for this! I love to learn about impacts and geology in general and this was fun. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for this post, and for the Many days and weeks and hours of energy and sweat you invested in research, interviews, and editing a story out of all that. You've made a fascinating story. This new subscriber is looking forward to more.
just found this video... but through all the interesting insights about our state - i am super impressed with your ability to hold that camera at shoulder height for as long as you did. my arm is sore just from watching it...
During my first and only earth science course, we were told at bottom of the Great Lakes there was a very hard rock that resisted the glaciers from carving out the Lakes any deeper, or that's how I interpreted it. To me, the Great Lakes create a round shape with Michigan in the middle-ish. I always wondered of they could be a giant ancient crater, like a dolomite pie crust with some of the soft filling scraped off. My teacher said, no.
No, that isnt true. Glaciers will carve even the hardest of rock, not as easy as sandstone, but will carve even the hardest of rock. I live in Sudbury and the rocks here are some the oldest in the world, and the hardest and you can see all over the region how glaciers carved the rock. A lot of the area the Great Lakes are on, is not on hard rock. Yes, a lot of the lakes were carved out by glaciers, but there are parts of Michigan, like the Michigan basin that was not formed by glaciers, but formed by different land masses that were pushed together. All of Canada and the U.S is not just one big rock, its many different types of rock that were all pushed together that formed North America. All the different "rocks" pushed together over many millions of years is what shaped Michigan and different regions all around the Great Lakes.
Awesome and informative. Gets me thinking about how much impact (no pun intended) geology has on the evolution of life. And I love the painting of Winterhold behind you on the couch.
Thanks! And right? It's wild. There's so much there to unpack, too. (Also, thanks! Most of the paintings I put behind me when I film are borrowed from other parts of the house, but that one stays on the wall all the time!)
I'm a member of three rock & gem clubs in Connecticut. One of our members teaches science in a high school. He also has a great interest in meteorites and on occasion, has given programs on them, expanding our knowledge with his enthusiasium.
Looking forward to your channel & info. 😊
your smile and enthusiasm are infectious! Keep up the good work!
I really liked this video! I live in Ohio and I had never heard about this impact. Thanks for bringing it my and our attention. If possible, bring some more material like this.
Very cool video Alexis! I love the UP so I subcribed a while back when I saw you posting your videos on UP sub Reddits. Imagine my surprise when you do one on my hometown of Sudbury! I've driven though Houghton and Marquette quite a few times and had no idea about this stuff. I learned a lot from this video! I work in engineering consulting for the mining industry. Mining is the reason this city continues to this day, and we wouldn't be here if it weren't for this huge impact.
Thanks, Adam! That's such a fun coincidence - thanks for sharing that! I don't really know anyone from Sudbury, so it's especially fun to know that an actual person with a connection to the city got to learn from this. :)
Born and raised in Michigan I remember passing by the rocks in Marquette so many times, I've always loved collecting rocks that look strange and unique, and now living in Houghton myself for the last 5 years, there's so much rock up here too, even some of the residential streets are carved through a whole rock like it towers up on both sides, along with all the other big rocks I see around town while walking around, makes me wonder how much of the rock around here must have come from that meteor and the impact
As a Michigander, I think your presentation is fascinating, Thank You!
now you need to do a video on the banded iron formation and the great oxygenation
Believe it or not, that's been on my list longer than this idea about the Sudbury Impact! I need to wade through a few more papers about banded iron formation (or ask a few researchers) before I'm quite ready to dive in there... but someday, it'll happen! :)
Have you done any stories about the obsidian in Michigan? I found 2 large pieces in my yard many years ago. They weren’t put there by a human because my mother-in-laws family settled the land and they used to find it when plowing.
Obsidian can be chemically typed. Some was found, on a submerged ridge in Lake Huron, that came from central Oregon. The site was dated to 9000 years ago. What do you consider "large"? I have dug obsidian boulders weighing a few hundred pounds.
Obsidian only forms from rapidly cooled lava flows. There are no volcanoes near Michigan. Once upon a time, the great lakes were not full of water. There were old native trading posts where the lake is now. They traded obsidian from Oregon and possibly from Yellow Stone. People have also found pumice like rocks floating on Michigan shores, but those are believed to be slag from industrial smelters.
@@zzzubmno2755but there were volcanos around MI (At least what is now northern MI) billions of years ago. Check out some of Alexis’ other videos where she describes them.
I recently found your site, and every time one of your articles appears, I watch it. You are entertaining and really do a great job investigating things you see. Keep it up. I love your energy.
What a wonderfully bubbly personality! So captivating! You made the delivery of this information quite fun and entertaining! I cant wait for more!
Incredible video, thank you very much for your efforts to educate
Thanks, Spencer! I appreciate that. I'm just out here asking questions and learning fun things, and I'm grateful some people come along for the ride. :)
You’re in my neck of the woods! My mom lives in Calumet. I know that rock well. I have Sudbury ejecta from Thunder Bay. I see you met Bill. You should probably go to an ILSG meeting. I was in Marquette with ISU in early September.
Amazing! Also, I hadn't heard for ILSG, but I'll have to look into it more. Is it mostly comprised of professional/career geologists, or are there others in the mix as well?
@@AlexisDahl it’s mostly professionals but if you email them anyone can join. The field trips you do have to pay to go on.
Bill what a humble man and very likable. Thanks bill I learned something new today.
Your enthusiasm is absolutely contagious.
Very interesting! Thank you for doing your videos.
My pleasure! Thanks for being here!
I was a geology major until I took up partying full time (experiencing the’60’s)and I find this really interesting. So, where did the nickel in Sudbury come from? Was it part of the meteorite? Or moved closer to the surface by the impact?
I am sure there were some minerals in the meteorite or comet, but for the most part, the minerals like nickel, gold, copper, platinum and palladium were already there. When it hit, there was a massive amount of energy that created a crater about 200kms diameter and a molten pool of melted rock that was over 3 miles deep. As the pool cooled, the minerals condensed into long vanes and dykes where a lot of the minerals concentrated. Different minerals and at different temperatures react differently. Some come together at different temps at different pressures. They are currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to figure out how meteorite was able to condense and concentrate the minerals. Who knows, maybe in the future we will just have to dug up rocks, melt them under pressure and get different minerals at different temps and pressure.
Just found this and it's amazing! Your enthusiasm and the incredible story about this earth event made it fun to learn. Rock on Alexis!
Having gone to college in Marquette, and spending a lot of time around there, I had ZERO idea this was a thing. This is incredibly interesting.