When a teacher says things like, "I'll shut up now and let you observe. Or, I'm not sure, I'll have to learn", I know I've arrived at a fabulous learning environment.
Notice to all Oregonians, Nick is back in Oregon! We have to set roadblocks up on all northbound bridges immediately if we are going to succeed at keeping him here for more than one video this time!
I live here in Texas just now, but I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in northwest Oregon. As we would travel through those remarkable landscapes I always wondered why the land looked like it did. I wondered what the story was there. My mother and father could not answer my questions, being only blue collar high school graduates. Thus it is that Nick's videos have captured and enthralled me. I'm just glad I can watch his work! Nick, tell your wife I sympathize, but also tell her that I am glad she's allowing you to make these videos. They sooth this erstwhile Oregonian's heart.
Thank you for taking us -- for those that will never see these amazing glass "rocks" in person. One can see why Native Americans used this material for weapons! Best, from Colorado!
When I was a kid in the 60s someone dumped truck loads of fine pieces of obsidian where we played baseball in Michigan. I got a tiny sliver stuck deep in the palm of my right hand and 52 years later it's still there. We were told it came from Oregon.
Remembering the sound of walking on the glass. I had forgotten until you were walking. Put my hand down to steady myself and got a scalpel to the pinky! Love this place!
I said good morning to you there, I thought you look familiar, but wasn't sure. You were just coming down, my husband and I were going up. Thank you for all you do.
I've been to the Big Obsidian Flow more than a dozen times. We vacationed at Bend for 20 years and I bought land their to retire. I've been a geoarchaeologist for 47 years and worked in Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, and Arizona. I've woked on four different obsidian flows and I've found obsidian from 13 different flows. The variations in obsidian are remarkably diverse. Black is the most common color but I've found brown, red, green,, and banded. Each flow has a unique chemical composition that is identified through the x-ray fluorescence and the neutron activation. Obsidian is very interesting stuff. It's actually shaper than manufactured glass and the finest steel scapels. Flint knapper Donald Crabtree manufactured a set of surgical instruments that his cardiologist then used on Crabtree's heart surgery. It's perhaps the most important stone material archaeologists can find in an archaeological deposit.
Ah memories. Left a chunk of leg flesh there in the 70s playing king of the hill with my cousin. That glass is oh so sharp, and also oh so beautiful, as is that region. Nice outro.
One of my summer jobs many moons ago was surveying farms for Native artifacts in southern Ontario, Canada. We found projectile points made of many different materials, including obsidian, the nearest source of which was well over 1000 km away in the USA. I would have loved to been able to trace it to the source with some fancy geochemical analysis. Incidentally, the area was a major source of chert, from both the Bois Blanc and Onandaga formations. Apparently some of the Onandaga chert was traded as far away as Alaska. Another interesting source of material we saw was Flint Ridge, Ohio.
@@lotharschiese8559 Perhaps, but I would imagine each buyer would have his or her own style of knapping and would not want the traders finished points. Sort of like selling flour to a world of bakers, all good at baking. If you tried to sell bread to them, it would not be exactly the way they each liked bread to be. So, likewise, a basket of obsidian chunks could be made by the buyer, into exactly the kind of points or blades the buyer needed or preferred. Interesting stuff to ponder. Smiling, George.
@@lotharschiese8559 whole rock would have been more awe inspiring because rocks were literally the people's life and livelihood and they would probably enjoy seeing large unmolested rocks but anyone who's ever carried whole rock around knows that a person could carry 50 preforms or finished points much easier than one whole rock. Plus, everyone could probably flint knap back in the day but not everyone was good at it so it would be convenient to buy something that was already uniform so there was probably good demand for people who knew how to heat treat and quarry and turn the raw rock into something uniform, those rock experts probably made a good living making preforms and since points were pretty similar in any given area over fairly large swaths of time it made it easy for the rock dudes to make shapes that everyone used.
I worked for many years with fused quartz. There are some general properties with liquid silicates that could also lend some understanding with the structures in the vid. The slower it cools, the more dense it becomes. This happens because the molecules are allowed the time to settle into denser molecular structures. The faster they cool, the more voids appear in the material, so that last outer arm that Nick highlighted in the vid, showed the outer surface of that "pre glass" gelatenous structure. Just by simple observation, it is broken and appears almost porous. It cooled the fastest and also had the terrible fortune to be exposed to the atmospheric pressure when it was super heated and molten on the surface. It naturally absorbed any gasses in the area because of its rapid cooling. If you drilled down onto one of those silicate volcano arms, the material would gradually become more dense, along with other chemical differences.
That glassy, vesicular form is found in landscaping rock all around Portland, Oregon. It's extremely sharp, and I've cut my fingers more than once just picking it up!
I visited a Doritos deposit last week, it was quite interesting. It consisted mainly of nachoite, it was quite eroded and had lost its crunch. I' m hoping for better luck on my next hike.
Newberry Caldera was named in honor of an Ohio Dr. John Strong Newberry, who served as geologist and naturalist on three expeditions to the West between 1855 and 1860. He was the first geologist to study the Grand Canyon. Newberry Shield Volcano and Caldera, and Medicine Lake are by far the largest volcanoes in the Cascade Range, each roughly 1,200 square miles in area. Newberry has the most volcanic vents, @400 outside Alaska. Definitely a bucket list place to go to.
About 35 years ago, while excavating for a building, just west of American Falls, Idaho, we struck a 2' thick seam of obsidian that was much less opaque than the glass in this video. It was almost pure black, but not layered. I sure enjoy your videos, Nick!
@@lotharschiese8559 Lothar, the location is about 200 yards west of the Rockland exit, and on the north side of the freeway. There's an International Farm Equipment building on the site. The seam was about 4' below the surface. The Big Southern Butte, about 30 miles north also has lots of large obsidian boulders. The butte is mostly ryholite.
Newberry is Oregon's largest volcano, though nowhere near the highest. Newberry is a shield volcano with basalt flows stretching all the way to Klamath Falls. There are basalt lava caves outside Bend that are open to the public.
Hilary and I spent 6 weeks in Gunnison Basin, CO/Curecanti NRA teaching (me) and cooking (her) for a university geoarchaeology field camp in 2009. The goal was to collect samples of quartzite from the various formations in the area for chemical fingerprinting with laser ICPMS. Microcrystalline quartz was used there, like obsidian elsewhere, for projectile points by hunters 2000+ years ago. Museum collections can be compared to field samples via ICPMS to better constrain source areas in the West. Projectile points, flakes, and debitage is everywhere in Gunnison Basin, flung randomly out there among the sagebrush. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a projectile point. Turns out 6 different sources of quartzite exist in the basin - Cambrian, Ordovician, Jurassic, etc. We sampled hundreds of pounds of white, pink, red, black, and gray quartzite (and plenty of stuff that wasn't). Can't say it was a well run operation, or that the leaders were sober, but NSF funded it, and it sure was fun. Six weeks, six showers. Snow, rain, more snow, sun.
Those pieces of obsidian topped with the airy lava remind me of one of my first efforts to make soft peanut brittle. At a point near the end of the process, you throw in some baking soda and stir like crazy. I didn't stir it well enough and when it cooled and hardened it was layered like this glass. Thank you for the peek at this region and the memory of my youth.
In my home country, New Zealand, there is as far as I know only one volcanic edifice that contains obsidian. Owing to its value for providing very good cutting tools, there was a good trade in it for the local indigenous people, the Maoris. The volcano is an off shore island called Tūhua. The local tribe did well out of trading obsidian for other valuable items that were not locally available, primarily Jade sourced about 1000Km away, from which more durable tools were made.
From what I've read, Newberry's origins are the same as Yellowstone's. The mantle plume that first broke through the crust by Steens Mountain has stayed stationary as the North American plate rotates over it. But there is a trail of vulcanism all the way from Steens Mountain to Newberry as if a large quantity of magma broke free from the plume and stayed with the crust as it moved, occasionally breaking through the crust. This would explain why Newberry has different geology than the Cascade subduction arc volcanoes. Caveat ... I've never taken a geology course but I read a LOT.
I believe Newberry is is own volcanic entity and hot spot though. It moved from the southeastern corner of Oregon northwest to where Newberry caldera is today. Yellowstone Hotspot has moved in a northeastern track on the map.
Newberry is a Subduction related volcano, Yellowstone on the other hand forms over a hotspot which moves when the crust above shifts due to convection. Newberry has no movement
Would really LOVE for Nick to Connect with the Local Experts for future episodes, leading to Learning and Teaching more on Oregons features!!! Think how many small mysteries and interesting details must consolidate back into the PNW story! Please strongly consider it.
Been there several times, a fabulous place. Great way to learn some geology too-- read the excellent signage and then see and touch the material. Definitely not a place for flip flops, it's really sharp and was widely traded as material for arrows and knives before steel came along.
What surprised me about Newberry when I visited was how young it is. I could smell sulphur in places. Obviously, it could easily reawaken. Was there for just an afternoon. It deserves a longer visit. Maybe some day.
Love your geology lectures on RU-vid! I’ve been to the Newberry Volcano several times and the whole area is so amazing! There are hot springs around the edge of the lower lakes and the obsidian forrest is cool too with holes where trees were. All of central Oregon has so many volcanic sites. I have to admit I did take a small piece of obsidian ( very small) for my rock collection. I had a rock hound for a dad and starting at age 5 he took me with him on his rock hounding day trips. I’ve loved geology and rocks and gemstones ever since.
If you want to collect obsidian, the glass buttes are nearby and have a bunch of different varieties of obsidian including silver sheen, rainbow, and mahogany. If obsidian is theoretically rhyolite, that would maybe explain the mahogany obsidian.
Nick! Check out the visitors center at the Newberry volcano! They have an amazing amount of information available. Including references to geological papers! Love it! Keep up the great work! We love you
To me, this video is the essence of science. You begin observing what catches your eye, then become amazed by the wonder of nature. This is followed by dozens of questions and "wish I knew" thoughts. Soon you're gathering information from signs, and sharing with others getting them as excited as you are about something unusual or fascinating. "How did this happen?" Hmmm, let's try to explain it and get some more facts and information. You think things through and remain bewildered but have been bitten by the quest for explanations and answers. Nobody knows everything about everything, so you admit the subject needs more research and contemplation. Most likely some hypotheses follow and you're off to solutions. Nick, you have such a wonderful way of showing us science. You are so human and so interesting in your presentations. Thank you for taking us along on this vacation tour of fascination. Your efforts are genuinely appreciated.
As a child in the early 1950's we traveled through that area. At the base of the mountain were three or more what appeared to be flows of pure obsidian in chunks from small pieces to the size of large bolders. The flows appeared to run right up the side of the mountain. The flows were much taller than my parents. Returning years later, almost all of the obsidian was gone. Taken a few pieces at a time i suppose by people traveling through the area. The lake near there is pronounced by long time Oregonians as Palina, not Paulina.
Thank you Nick - amazing conversation. Grew up in northeastern CA. Two major obsidian outflows exist near me: Medicine Lake, and Mt. Konocti. I have obsidian artifacts that were from sources far distant than the Fall River valley I grew up in. I believe the texture transition is the escaping of trapped gasses intensifies the closer you get the the flow's surface. Notice how you often see pumice deposition near these glass flows? - Pumice is very high silica but frothed up from trapped gasses. I know that Medicine Lake glass was traded with the coastal tribes for shells (the most valuable being abalone shells) based on discussions with NorCal archeologist friends. Your questions about how the glass was formed also triggered my recollection of my high school chem where we made sulfer glass by quenching molten sulfer into water.... hmmm Again, thank you for any amazing, vacation break with the rest of us. Take care.
I love the sound of that lava. I can definitely tell it is glass. You inspire me to want to visit there so I can touch and listen to that in person. I visited Lassen peak a few weeks ago and loved how the sound of the lava changed, the higher to the summit we got.
Heh, heh, first time in Oregon Sept 14th, made it to the Big Obsidian Flow the next day Sept 15th, 2023 in honor of Nick because I had seen this video maybe a year ago. At the top I ran into a couple, mentioned Nick and they exclaimed they were Zenterians, the guy even saying - I think - that he had seen him in one of his speaks. Anyway, a good trip, rare opportunity for an east coaster.
What a difference nearly 50-years make. When We first visited the Newberry area in 1975 There were no trails into the flow that we ever found. We could explore the around the edge of the flow, but excursions into the flow were dangerous. A fall could result in serious injuries. We first approached Newberry from the east after visiting some First Person sites out into the mostly roadless area. People inhabited the area for what now appears to be up to 21,000 years ago, so some most likely witnessed the geological event that formed the obsidian flow and other volcanism in the area including the cataclysmic explosion of Mt. Mazama that formed Crater lake. There are other Obsidian sites around the area and one of the major ones is Glass Butte NE of Newberry. We have many different types and colors of Obsidian collected from around the area, Rainbow being my favorite. The Black is really Green. The Lava Tubes are also a feature of the area. After seeing all these trails into the flow, I will have to return soon. Nick _Thanks for the post.
Lived in Oregon for 35 years or so, and I've never visited the Newberry Caldera or the obsidian flow. I'm gonna do it before winter sets in, because of this video!
The coincidence is unreal... Last night, I freshly cracked my new, Roadside Geology of Oregon and when I came across the section on the Newberry Volcano it inspired much online exploration. Today, I/we get a brief tour from our favorite Professor, all-the-while offering thought provoking musings. Thanx for bringing us along, Professor! 🤩😁😍
Quite an impressive place in that it is all stacked on top of the surrounding landscape and not buried like older flows are. Another impressive flow in Oregon is Belkin (sp?) west of Sisters, Or. Would love to see you do a video on that field too. And I think much of your popularity is that you comfortably admit when you do not have the answers to questions about geology specifics. Too many professionals are afraid to admit when they do not know.
I would imagine the variation has to do with how quickly the lava cooled glass is an amorphous solid that didn't get to fully crystalize how exactly it needs to proceed I'm not sure. There is a lab which works with crating artificial lava and that plays The Newberry volcano due to being further to the east might possibly be related to the volcanic fields of Eastern Oregon you mentioned which according to a recentish paper (2019) the authors link volcanism in Oregon to a hole in the subducted Juan de Fuca plate below the North American Continent that they identify within a tomographic model of the Pacific Northwest developed using earthquake seismic data. The authors suggest based on those observations that this volcanism hole is tear in the Juan de Fuca plate where part of the plate is getting dragged down deeper into the mantle allowing/pushing up hotter mantle rock to rise from below. If this model is the case then this volcano is likely connected to the "death" of the Juan de Fuca plate Hopefully this paper is helpful for you and any other viewers. The paper in question is open access so it should be available to everyone. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019GL083437 Good luck in your quest for more knowledge glad to see you are still kicking despite this whole pandemic stuff. :)!
I never thought I would ever hear you say "I don't know....". One of my favorite places to explore when we could get there was the lava beds at Kalama falls. (the upper falls by Merrill lake) It flowed around the trees then the trees eventually decentigrated. You can clearly see the mold of the bark in the lava. Some trees were standing and some fell. One of the tubes slopes down to the bottom on a standing one. It is so cool. There is little streams that run underneath it. You can see them with a flashlight. I don't know if it was the same flow but it seems to continue to below the power canal. There is more tubes down there. You have to be careful not to fall in them because they are so random. I usually take a stick and find my way with it. I swear some of the tubes at the upper bed are 20ft deep. Its like being in another world. My dad found obsidien up by Cispus randomly scattered across the forest. What causes that? I love living in the land of volcanoes. I love that water springs randomly from cracks in the ground here and that everything, including the ground I walk on, is alive. I call it Eden. Maybe I don't know much, but I do know amazing when I see it. I have seen the Colorado National Monument up close and personal. The water lines on the high mountains and washes it left. Comparing the two, it makes me wonder which one is older land. Is there something like is there buried deep under here? Or has this land never been washed by water the way Colorado was? I have so many questions. I wonder if under the lava flows somewhere there is also dinasours? What put the oceans of Colorado up so high with no soil? What drained them? Was it the volcanoes here? Is Spiral Butte an old volcano? Thousands of questions. I can only speculate as I have zero education about these things, but I have seen them and I am quite observent. Its all amazing to me.
As a former Washingtonian I have followed you for some time. I'm retired now and travel the country and would love to show you a special place I found in Arizona in 2018.
Hi Prof Nick Zentner : In my few years of knapping arrowheads, I've discovered a dried red dirt substance that was brought through in voids that could only have been introduced from a squishy slow flow that traversed over a different type of cooler soil. I just said "Huhhh !!!" and kept on knapping . But it knapped easiest of all the types of minerals and rocks and glass in the past . But it was nice to see the reaction on the face of folks when I gave them an arrowhead !!! Hi from south Louisiana.
Nick you need to make your way over to Glass Bute Or West of Burns. Many different varieties of obsidian including mahogany rainbow green and banded. The obsidian there is of a much higher quality and you can collect there. I think it was more prized by the Indians.
I don't know about more prized, but much older, better known and more frequently traded. I would love to take Prof. Nick on a Glass Buttes tour, I'm sure I'd learn so much.
Greeting's sir! Thanks for sharing your vacation time with us... You are a gentleman and a scholar but that goes without saying to anyone familiar with what a great man you are. This history is fascinating but also a look into future possibilities all the current activity around Yellowstone, Mt. Saint Helens nothing says these things can't happen again changing the face of this marble into new wonderland to investigate and record for coming generations... Much Love Nick! Stay Well! Keep sharing! We Love to learn from you Your style is unique and sense of humor priceless!
thanks Nick ! East and Palina lake high mountain lake are very good fishing spots, The Obsidian had been robbed by rock hounds for years ,got some when I was a kid 50 years ago ,still out in the garden don't tell any one
Glad you made it to Newberry Nick. It’s an amazing place, isn’t it? Now that you’re hooked , maybe you’ll come to Oregon and look around more. Thank you, Laurene and Bob in Blodgett
So fascinating!! Love these types of videos as I love learning something new. Been on this earth lots of years and can’t believe the places and things I never know about. Thank you!!!
There is obsidian at Cochetopa Dome, near Gunnison Colorado. I could see that being traded over the mountains and into the Midwest. That's a beautiful spot.
Visited Newberry the day after Thanksgiving and it was blanketed in snow. I was all by myself. The park was closed, but I was able to get my drones out over the lava rock and the fire watch tower. It truly is stunning and amazing. Thanks for the education on the history and formations Nick! Next time you're back in Oregon give me a holler - would love to team up!
Wish I could go here!!!! Thank you for showing us around!!! Your videos are so fascinating but to hear you just as excited about what you're seeing confirms this is SPECIAL!!!👍
I am sorry I am so late in the comment section. I do pay attention to your lectures and appreciate your candor. I am from Eastern Oregon and lived in Bend for some time. From what I understand the Pinon Pine growing atop of Paulina Peak or Point as we called it are the oldest trees in Oregon if not the oldest trees in North America. The Tree rings would tell the story of the 1300 year old obsidian flow. What time of year and the weather conditions. The view from there is outstanding as you can see from Mt. Adams to Mt Shasta and most amazing to me was the view of Fort Rock to the East. Another more ancient volcanic structure.
I must confess that, despite the warning signs, a soccer ball sized chunk of obsidian from there currently sits outside my front door in here WA state. Observant visitors occasionally inquire about it. Perhaps some day I'll go back and climb all those steps to repatriate it.
Brothers Lineament. There's something going on for sure. Rustler Peak is another feature on the west side of the crest down in Jackson County. Shield volcano. I spent 9 years as a Co pilot on DC-7s airtankers out of Redmond to the North. Wife and I have been all over the Volcano lands of central Oregon. Miss her very much.
This is great! A window in to the inner workings of a hard working geologist. I completely understand this type of thinking... i like the in depth thought process of figuring things out. Knowledge is fun! Rocks are fun! Knowledge about rocks is super fun!😁
The glassy stuff, obsidian, formed by rapid cooling, and the viscous stuff is like a froth, that cooled rapidly also. I wonder if that rapid cooling was because it was darn cold and snowing up there at the time of eruption? 🤔
Thanks for visiting my home town, I love your videos and I enjoy learning more about the natural world- esp when you're visiting my own back yard. Hope you have a great vacation here. Enjoy!
I didn't have the volume turned on and I could have sworn you were in Lassen Natl Park. Then I looked at the sign at the beginning. Shocking, looks identical.
I’m originally from Huntington Oregon, moved to Glenns Ferry Idaho later Pocatello Idaho now eastern Missouri! Been interested in volcanology and looked a a few. I liked looking for arrowheads especially flint but did not know they were associated with volcano’s! Learn something every day! My sister lived in Sister’s Oregon! If you find out more it would be interesting! Been following you and your discovery in geology for a year now! Fascinating! Lot of relatives Oregon, Washington! Thank you for the education you have brought me! Ya been to Yellowstone so many times! Crater of the moon! Glenns Ferry and next town Kings Hill has some fantastic geology! Fused sand mixed with cantaloupe and watermelon lava! I seen a place the lava barbecue rock and now understand how that was formed from you! Very interesting 🧐 I’m on the edge waiting for your next Utube vlogs👏
Such a strikingly stark and rugged landscape. And that lake was just perfect, so clear. Thanks Nick, this is just a pleasure to watch. I think you are getting better at just being there and observing. Thanks for showing us this little piece of Oregon.
I had lived on a couple different ranches as a kid in central Oregon and if you look down while walking around you may see an arrow head ,they are all over and the potato diggers and cattle both turn up tons and also on trails
Such a gorgeous site! Thanks for sharing this with us. We here in NC are so jealous of this obsidian flow. We have some rhyolite here in our little Uwharrie Mountains (a very old volcanic chain) but no obsidian as far as I know.
Wooohooo, Nick in Oregon! Of course you need to come to the Newberry Volcano, it's so good! Thanks for taking us along on another adventure. Hope to run into you some time in the field, cheers!
Interesting geology from a scenic point of view is one of the reasons I moved to Bend 38 years ago. During that time I've spent hundreds of hours looking at it from above while flying my ultralight and thousands of hours exploring on and under the ground in lava tubes. If a more beautiful place exists, I'm not aware of it.
One of favorite stops. It’s so incredible to see the edge of the flow and to stand where you hiked and look out to the lakes that were formed afterwards. it flowed to just S of Bend! It was a huge circumference from what I remember as that’s just one edge of it!
Thanks for the fascinating glimpse into Oregon geology. We often think of you as we travel across our prairie land in Manitoba......We are always in awe of the glaciated landscape, soil and finally the Canadian Shield environment at our eastern border. All the best!
Native American in that area witnessing Obsidian coming out of the ground in such quantity: "Aw, fuck yes! No way, lol!" We just have flint in midwest.
