Discover the Origin of a Beautiful Rock Formation 

As a geology student, I find your videos to be some best i've ever seen. Love your enthusiasm Mr. Cook! Its definitely contagious.

Although I could listen to you talk for hours, the shorter time format makes your videos a lot more accessible. I appreciate all the hard work you put in to them and I feel honored to watch them for free

You're like if Bob Ross and Fred Rogers were combined into a geology teacher. Love the pure passion and gentle disposition you have when exploring and explaining nature.

Hi Myron, I'm so glad to have found your channel. I only took one geology class in college, but have never lost interest in these large earth processes that occur over the eons, and the rocks and formations produced. Also, you obviously love what you do, as you are a very pleasant teacher to watch. I hope you'll grace us with many episodes to come!

I've never heard of or see anything like those flat irons before. Really fascinating. Thanks Myron for finding and sharing these unique landscapes. Thanks Elgin for helping out with the drone footage. Absolutely loving this channel. Take care gentlemen.

You are a great teacher: though I left my geology career years ago to pursue other adventures I still love to learn about it as much as I did in college! I still hunt for fossils and I love figuring out stratigraphic sections in natural exposures; I’m so lucky to have found your channel!!

Myron! Thank you so much for making such value-packed and perfectly organized videos that do nothing short of completely hijacking a curious mind. Please keep these kinds of videos coming, I think more people love this stuff than you may realize. Your efforts just might spark the right person to do something truly great with the doors that you open. Thanks!

Myron, I'm really enjoying these pieces of Wyoming geological history. What interesting stuff, that bentonite. I never knew something like that existed. Once again, I never knew that ash could be transformed. Wyoming grows more and more interesting as you share your knowledge. Thank you both for your efforts to bring such knowledge and beauty to the layman. You guys are rock-stars! (Pun intended) 😉

I live along the southern shores of Lake Ontario and am fascinated by rocks and stones. I have rocks in my gardens & stones sprinkled throughout my house that I have picked up from near & far. Some contain fossils. But for the most part, they are marvelously beautiful mysteries to me. I have often been amazed at the amount of knowledge regarding the Universe that geologists have. I am glad to have found your channel and look forward to learning more.

I love that you provide us with (virtual) access to these super unique, remote outcrops. Great job presenting. And yes, Ron Blakey/Deep Time Maps are the absolute best in paleogeography!

I remember hearing about bentonite as a kid. I seem to remember it being in relation to the gumbo mud in north central Montana. You don't even drive on the dirt roads when it rains. Our son tried to ride a bike through some and it took hours to clean the bike! I enjoy your videos. They help to explain a lot about what I see as I drive the roads across Wyoming. I think I have driven every paved road in Wyoming during my travels between Colorado and Montana over the last 50+ years.

Myron, your videos are first class, and thank you for all the prep work, and attention to detail, as well as your presentation and manner of teaching is top notch! I lived in Sheridan Wyoming for a while, in the '80's; and just loved going out on the sage country and enjoying the beauty of Wyoming. I am a geology hobbyist. Again many thanks!

Never been to Wyoming, but I’m enjoying these videos a lot - and the drone footage adds so much to them.

Watching your YT channel Myron as well as Shawn Willsey and Nick Zentner I now more now about geology than ever before. Your presentations are all awesome! This coming from a guy who lives in the Chicago area. Much thanks for sharing your knowledge !

I'm really enjoying your Wyoming geology shows. Thanks for sharing.

Crazy, this is the best explanatory geology / archaeology lesson I have ever heard. If you were a professor I would go back to college just to take your class. Thanks.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to produce, make, and educate us.

Thanks Myron for adding to my continuing education of the geology of the Bighorn Basin. Having lived and worked in Cody, one of our part time employees displaced from the oil patch was a geologist. He always provided a wealth of geological information on our travels around the basin. As a hunter,gather you have stepped into providing the continuing education I have been missing now living in Billings.

I am really enjoying these videos. I’m an English woman who lived in New Mexico for a couple of years in the 80s. I love these amazing landscapes and it’s so good to hear how they evolved.

Fascinating- I have always had a deep curiosity about geology. I’m very glad I found your channel!!

There are beautiful bentonite hills in Cathedral Valley, Capitol Reef. Thanks for the beautiful lecture, Professor. ❤️🙂

I grew up in KY where they produced pink bentonite. So glad to understand how it forms. Great work as usual!

Hi Myron, I have just started watching your videos. I have always thought it would be great to take a field geology class. It's really wonderful to go along with you and have you discuss the geological formations with so much enthusiasm. I can see why you love Wyoming! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Susan

Nice to meet you Elgin. I'm so happy for this channel, thanks for sharing your vast knowledge and expertise with us. Subbed to Wyoming Jeepers.

Thanks for walking us through the majesty of nature!

Wow…I’m so glad I found your channel. I’m a Biologist by day BUT a closeted Geologist at heart! I absolutely LOVE your video. I found my “love” for geology as an undergraduate in NJ when a professor had us digging around in the NAVESINK Formation. Thank you for this video. Excellent job and Cheers!

I first visited Wyoming last year and find it fascinating, like many places out west the geology is on display and wonderous!

I fished for paddlefish on the Missouri River north of Lewistown, Mt. and I got a very good introduction to bentonite clay. A most devilish substance.

Myron, Your passion is a great thing to see. Ill bet youre an amazing educator in the classroom. I believe the world needs far more educators as passionate about their craft as you are yours.

Thank you very much, Myron, for these interesting explanations, and to your brother for the video work. Watching landscapes in detail is truly like reading Earth's history. Greetings from Germany.

Great work by you and your brother. I am really enjoying your channel ! Thanks for doing this.

I’ve learned more in the first few minutes about geology from your video than any other geology-related content on RU-vid! Earned my sub! Thanks!👏🏻

I've just discovered Mr Myron & am really enjoying his teachings. Myron is calm & explains things brilliantly especially to a novice like me. Love it

Just discovered your channel - absolutely love your video’s explaining geology! And great drone work by your brother! Looking forward to watching more 😊

Thank you gentlemen for your time and effort to share and further our education. I love the science of geology and the story it writes across time. Myron, your teaching style is smooth and easy. Keep after it, you arel building a great channel.Subscribed!

I'm absolutely loving everything I've seen from this channel since finding it recently. Since you mentioned the camera work by Elgin, I'd like to mention how it actually gives me a juxtaposition feel watching Myron walk around doing his thing with minimal tools and conservative editing, combined with the elegant camera work via drone. Very professional and fun combo there. Also, that is similar to the charm in Myron, how he is able to make such a fun experience while including quite a lot of technical data... and when he pulled out the whiteboard, I WAS SO THERE FOR IT!

Very good show! Interesting and informative.

Myron! First time viewer here. This is quality. What you do is important, educating and entertaining. Very well produced. The video/audio quality, drone shots information and personality are great. I wish all the best for this channel! Let's rip open the algorithm with your content.

I love this channel. You do such a great job. As an environmental geologist, I’ve used tons of bentonite for sealing boreholes, monitoring wells, and extraction wells, so I’m very familiar with its properties. Definitely not something you’d want to be driving on if it gets wet!!!

Love to listen to these geology lessons. Another fantastic informative video to watch. It is also great to see your brother helping you out to make these lessons. 🇦🇺

Absolutely love your videos! I took a geology class in high school & have been fascinated ever since. Your knowledge & expertise coupled with your amazing ability to capture your audience whilst teaching us is simply amazing! I've always wanted to visit WY. Here in the Midwest (IN) we have some cool features stock structures but nothing close to what you have. So I'm so glad I found your channel & look forward to learning more! Looking forward to the next one! Also subbed to Elgins channel & looking forward to their videos as well!

You have gone and done it again. One more great video, thanks a bunch. Along with Nick Zentner you guys put out some material which is just fascinating. Cheers!

Mr. Cook, as an avid amateur paleontologist, I'm thoroughly enjoying your channel and content. Please do an in-depth series of videos on the geological history and Eocene fossils (both marine and plant) of the Green River formation. Thank you for your work and field expeditions. All the best from North Carolina.

Bentonite! Never heard of it before but your example was awesome! Fascinating video!💕

Thanks again Myron! I drove the Burr Trail in my Jeep many years ago on my way to Lake Powell. It was a day or two after a rain and once I hit the clay section I couldn't shift to second gear in 4WD without losing total control on the bentonite. Thank God this was a flat stretch of road. Once at the lake, I drove into it to try and wash the clay off with no success. After a few days in the hot sun (we were on a houseboat), the clay dried out and fell off in chunks as I drove. Took a few miles throw it off the rims and get the tires to balance out. Powerful stuff! Thanks for introducing Elgin too!!

Thank you Myron. My wife and I went to a botanical garden that had an assortment of beautiful plants. But I seemed to be more interested in the rocks strewn around the area. I am humbled by the fact that a pebble that appeared to be encased in cement is actually evidence of possibly a landslide of rocks that were buried in sediment millions of years ago. And more impressive is the fact that that process originated somewhere in the ocean that is now 50 miles away and the sea level about 800 ft lower than where I'm standing.

Great content and educational information, truly appreciate it. Out here in Western New York we use bentonite to seal leaking ponds. It is surprisingly expensive it used to be much cheaper. I think we are paying about a dollar a pound now. I love all of your geology lessons.

Love you to come to Australia to talk about our geology Myron. Just found your site here. Loving it.

Huge geology fan here! I so appreciate your thorough explanations in your measured way. I find myself often agape at your revelations. Great stuff! Thank you for your efforts. You should lead tours!

Thank you so much for the video sir, i was eagerly waiting for the next topic you would pick and you didn't disappoint us as usual. I really appreciate your work ,more power to you. 🙏

I knew the inland sea existed but wasn’t aware of how deep it would have been. I rock hound between SD and AZ and are about to go full time! Thanks for the videos. The geology lessons are hard to come by.🤘🏻🤘🏻

I've been looking for a channel like this for years... especially after moving back to CO. You do an excellent job and fill a largely empty part of my brain that craves this information. Thank you!

Another great episode.

Another great video! WOW! you are a great presenter and communicator thank you again.

I used to know a little bit about bentonite, now I know more. One thing I'm curious about is the fact that the bentonite deposits on your side of the basin are much more pure and economically viable than those on my side (Cody). Based on your inland sea map, I'm guessing that the western side of the basin was beachfront property at the time and the deposits on the eastern side were filtered/dissolved by sea water. That would seem to explain why our side appears to be calcium based and your side sodium based. Am I barking up the right tree? Thanks for another great video!

My question is what caused the uplift that created the 45deg bed tilt? and when was it? I am more familiar with the Colorado Plateau region and I was always amazed me how stable that region has been for hundreds of millions of years. I most places in Southern Utah, you can follow the rock layers and they remain fairly horizontal, create breathtaking landscapes.

That really blew my mind, man i cannot get enough of these videos. how interesting. i had no idea this stuff even existed

Keep it up Myron. I appreciate your enthusiasm.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I really enjoy the content and conversation. Keep up the great work

Thanks guys. Very educational. I am in Australia and love seeing your beautiful US landscapes with the bonus of learning how they came about. Easy to understand even for the non geologically gifted. :-)

I ordered some bentonite years ago, fun to play around with. I'm happy to find your channel, loved learning the processes behind bentonite!

Loved this!!! Last week road vacation I used Montmorillionite as my "mineral" for a guessing game, mainly because it's one of the only mineral names I know. Thanks Myron!!!

As soon as you added water to that material I instantly knew it was bentonite! I used to work for a utility company installing underground power, gas, sewer and water lines with a directional drill and we used thousands of pounds of it every year to lubricate the drill and the utility we would pull back underground through our drill hole. It's an amazing substance and is environmentally friendly opposed to using an oil based lubricant!

This is absolutely fascinating. As an amateur rock/ mineral enthusiast, i can't remember the last time i was so captivated by a geologist speaking. Actually, i think it was a baker city mining video that was probably a vhs tape, (Shout out to Brian!) Anywho, you definitely deserve a like and a sub! Can't wait to see what else is on your channel!

You do nice vids. Even as a CPG already for almost 20 years, I enjoy your presentation. Just the right length, and well explained. Great for getting little nuggets of things I haven't had to think about in years. That's one thing about geology, you're always learning, and when you get into the career of it, you tend to get a little bit pigeonholed into one particular thing and not really come out of it. Well done.

thank you for making this video in particular! my geology field camp got stuck in bentonite clay and had to strand two of our vehicles there overnight. the demonstration of its absorbency would've been nice to consider before going to the field hahaha

I really enjoy your approach explaining the processes of how formations came to be. I wonder if you've ever been to Death Valley. I have been exploring that area since I went there with my explorer post when I was 14 in 1973. Lots there to ponder.

Yay! More geology. Thx Myron. Well done.

This was a very exciting video to watch. I couldn't help but get enthusiastic about each topic because the story on how the flat irons came to be is absolutely riveting. Now, If I had teachers like you, I'd have gone to school until they forced me to leave; that's how much fun it is to *learn something new every day of the year.* That it my philosophy and I live by it always. Watching you get so excited about geology made me excited to see each new thing you were about to show us. My dad of 90 years old, who I lost in 2020, was a self-made man, an amateur geologist. He had your passion for the work, but he had four kids to feed when my mom left, so he went into business instead. He remained as dedicated to science as he could be while taking care of us. Thank you Mr. Cook for captivating my imagination and intellect. I have subscribed to all your videos!

I love your simplistic form of teaching that even a child can understand what you are talking about with geology. It can make my job easier as a homeschool teacher. If I can get my grandson's attention with these videos and then taking adventures in the field maybe he'll be a geologist when he grows up.

I certainly learned a lot about bentonite. I did not know about its expansion quality. My friend used it as a means to stop leaks in ponds for raising fish. Brilliant! I wonder if I can use it to stop water from coming into my basement. Thanks for the info, great video!

I'm headed south in Wyoming on Highway 310, and I noticed some material on the roadside that looked exactly like the ash layer, that you had described in this video. I noticed the road that I had just passed so I flipped a u-turn, and with off-road just to be amazed when I gazed upon the exact location of this video. It's amazing but I'm not surprised. My mind truly Marvels at the landscape I pass by during my travels. Everyday I wonder what you would say about certain things that I see. But this one has no mystery to me. I'm about to step out and see it firsthand. Look how much joy you bring to people, that's why your loved by many. Thank you for your gift to us. And God bless

I've done a lot of archaeology for bentonite mining in WY, there are usually sites nearby. Nice to see your field work!

Thans for yet another wonderful video Byron !!!!

That was really well done. Building one simple observation onto the next, with just enough detail and science to fill out a very informative picture. Thank you.

Great video, learned a lot. I really appreciate that you take the time to explain geological features in such detail.

I love learning things I feel like I have learned before but at a lesser degree. You explain things beautifully

For the first time today I stumbled across your channel, after viewing I know that I am headed down a rabbit hole where I am going to be both educated and entertained. Thanks in advance for both.

Wow! Fascinating stuff! Great drone shots by Elgin as well. Who would have thought; a Volcano in Idaho? Man with all of the topics you are covering you could use a whole team and have a huge production. Specialists like Minerologists showing the chemical chains, and looking at it through the microscope to see the layers, film of it exploding rocks apart, computer artists to animate it together, sounds like a PBS kinda thing. lol One or two man operation, this is wonderful, so thanks so much. I actually had no idea that was a big floodplain. I wonder what is currently underwater that might be dry land some day. I currently live on what would have been the edge of lake Tight. Fascinating to think of! Thanks for such a well done program here!

I became a geologist whenever I go fishing on the river thanks to your channel. Appreciate all the incredible insight. This river was formed by glacial melt waters that cut and scoured its way through the bedrock. It isn't some awe inspiring feature but it's gorgeous, fascinating and local. The ponds near us are actually kettle ponds and I had no idea what those were until the last couple years. Now whenever I tell people how those ponds were formed they're usually pretty surprised. No one thinks about the glaciers, or part of them at least, that were once in their very own backyard.

WOW I LEARNED SO MUCH... YOUR A FANTASTIC TEACHER MYRON 👏 THANKYOU... 👍

I really enjoy your work and have always been fascinated by the rocks, I was invited to join my local college geology student group for their annual trip to big bend national park years ago, it was so much fun and got to see so many natural wonders! Thank you for the explanations and the gorgeous scenery drone footage...

Dear Mr. Cook, I just finished watching this and the gigantic landslide on my TV (where I'm unable to leave a comment. So here I am on my computer to tell you how much my son and I enjoy your geology programs. I never knew before what the flatirons were or that they were bentonite (I use a little myself on my face). And the gigantic slide. It's so HUGE that without your descriptions I never would have grasped it. The amazing things that have happened before we all even existed! We thank you and your brother, Elgin, for sharing this information with us in such an interesting format, we love the beautiful maps and descriptive whiteboard details. The lovely hikes and drone films really give us a feel for where it happened. My family crossed the southern part of the west when in 1959 but in the back seat through most of it as I was nine years old. We will be checking out Wyoming Jeepers this evening. Happy Halloween!😃

Love your videos, Myron. You are a natural speaker and teacher.......... plus you have a lot of knowledge to impart to us lay-people! Thanks!

Excellent video! So glad I stumbled across your channel. Keep it up!

Your a great teacher Myron! Thanks!

I am from Scotland and have visited Wyoming a couple of times and saw many amazing and beautiful things. Your videos are fascinating. Thank you.

Wounderful piece. Love those beautiful painted cliffs behind you guys too!

This is the second of your videos that I have watched. You and your brother do a tremendous job! And the subject is fascinating! Can't wait for more videos!! Thanks!

Thank you for sharing your discovery with us and allowing us to be a part of it. Magnificent

Awesome stuff! Really great content, keep it up!

Thank you for making such incredible geology content, it's extremely informative and interesting!

This channel is a true gem. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in such an effective and informative manner.

Absolutely love your informative videos! Please don't stop!

I will definitely use this information during my geothermal classes! Ty

I had never heard of that before. That's really incredible. Thank you for showing stuff that other people don't. 😀

Very, very interesting. Hello Elgin ! I watch your Wyoming Jeepers religiously ! Had no idea Myron and you are brothers ! Myron, your videos are the best in explaining Wyoming geology so that a non-geologist like myself can understand better, keep up the great work !

Myron I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos . Way better than anything on TV. Please keep your content coming.

Myron, this is a wonderful telling! Thank you.

so joyful to watch you n your brother together.