CWU's Nick Zentner presents 'Ellensburg Blue Agates' - the 7th talk in his ongoing Downtown Geology Lecture Series. Recorded at Hal Holmes Center on May 15, 2013 in Ellensburg, Washington, USA. www.nickzentner.com
My geology training was Northeast US and Canada, I knew very little about the west. Now that I am retired from 40 years of teaching Earth Science and Chemistry in NYS and living in Arizona, I have discovered these lectures and am TOTALLY enjoying and learning so much!!! I had great professors in NYS as well, but the way Nick delivers is so "down to earth" pun intended....
I love this guy. I wish teachers were as passionate as him when I was in school. I love his teaching style. I have a lot of his lectures recorded for my granddaughter, I plan to home school her in a few years and this is all important for a basic grounding in geology. Thank you Nick for making these available.
Man oh man is this guy great. Never seen any similar shows quite like his. He grabs a hold of ya and doesn't let no. When he comes to the end of his lecture I'm left wanting more and i'm sure if he had extra time he could EASILY put in another 45 minutes. His enthusiasm is contagious . Wish I could move to Oregon / Washington., take a trip to Ellsworth see the beautiful sights and the rocks!!!
Man, y'all are so lucky to live in such dramatic geology. I can't imagine having a breathtaking mountain or canyon etc as an everyday backdrop, or have anything more than the southern Appalachians within practical distance. Just below the Piedmont (upstate) in Greenwood, South Carolina all we have is red mud and sand and on a flat plain. When I've been able to see a "real" mountain in real life; I can actually *feel* it. Not sure what "it" is, but I feel something.
Very much appreciated is the sound quality in these series. Many lectures are ruined by the ambient sound of the voice echoing about the room. Thank you CWU for your production value and thanks for availing to us the knowledge and enthusiasm of Nick Zentner and his colleagues.
Nick...I have always been interested in geology. My cousin is a PHD. Has had it for 25 years on now.... Your energy and series have fully sucked me in. Excellent stuff!! Your passion and delivery are bar none
I am absolutely loving these geology videos!! Thank you so much. I love geology and learning new things. Wishing I wasn't so old and could go back to school .. you take care, thank you again..
If you would you ever consider doing a lecture on the goodies found in the central OR region, and how they happened, I would be the happiest rockhound ever!
I have box of theses out in my garage. My daughter gave them to me. Her husband and her , were out hunting one day and found so many that she thought I would enjoy them. I would have NEVER, thought to make them into Jewelry, into it. Thank you for your presentation!
Purple agates in Holley Oregon, by Sweet Home. I was told they are very similar to Ellensburg Blue. Very small search area. Possibly all on private land. Unsure about that.
Nice lecture again! One of the reasons that Teanaway basalts have large vesicles and CRBs do not may be that the former are more closely related to a subduction environment. There is subducted sea water available in their mantle source. This high water content is then inherited by the Teanaway magmas, resulting in large bubbles when water escapes from the magma. Voluminous flood basalts such as CRBs are usually derived by high degree of melting of relatively dry mantle sources, have rather low water content, and thus also contain smaller vesicles.
Hi Nick. I came across your channel recently, by chance. Thank You for sharing your knowledge. Your style is captivating. I have a few samples of blue agate which my wife has made into "gem" trees. According to the rock shop, they came from Namibia and are known here as " Blue Lace" agate. I have many more of your presentations to keep me entertained, fortunately. Regards from S Africa Clive
Fascinating lecture. The thing I love about geology is the interacting processes that evolve a landscape over time. Tens of millions of years of geology, superheated water dissolving and redepositing minerals, weathering, erosion, stream capture, all worked together to put blue gems on the floor of the now dry valley. Really amazing stuff and really well explained.
rob cammer Great that you've been out there looking. To my knowledge, the quality of blue needed for jewelers is only found here in central Washington.
I’m so sad to have caught up, now I need to rewatch and wait for new videos. We need more people like Nick who can synthesize multiple scientific sources of information into an informative and entertaining lecture.
Love the series, been ingesting the video's with interest, thank you for sharing them! I've never had an interest in Geology in the past, I can follow the lecture but what I get to enjoy is the dynamics of Earth's history and a picture of the Earth we know and love forming ;)
I grew up in eastern Washington and never even knew these blue agates existed. Wow, I watched the whole presentation and was truly intrigued, informed and entertained. Really nice video, well done and I appreciate the opportunity to learn about these special minerals and their unique formation & journey to the Ellensburg area.
Dude, the absolute fuckery is this. This stuff is amazing dude. It's educational entertainment on youtube that youtuhbe recommended to me. It's wholesome and lovely, with a great presenter. Congrats on having this sude CQU.
I havent heard about Ellensburg or any of the names of places, I only know of agate gems from the game Baldur's Gate. Yet, I watched your entire video. It's very compelling.
Yup, geeks rule the world. Truly love his work and very very good at it. Totally enjoy watching your talent and understanding. Thanks for sharing your life and teaching with the world, keep going. :)
I love the mini tutorials that you have created. Could you please think about doing something on these holes that have made their appearance the last few years all over the world. also I would enjoy it if you could think about covering the east coast as their are many many geological things that are interesting. Your 2 or 3 minute geology series is amazing and so informative for adults and kids too. It is precious and I consider it one of the things that should be programmed into kid viewing plans by parents and grandparents. Thank you so much.
Yeah, and when you get bored with Washington, please consider moving to Colorado to settle in and take up lecturing. ;- ). Fortunately I've traveled through Washington a few times, so can relate to some of the places you discuss.
Dear Nick, I have enjoyed all your videos and many more than once. As a modest rock and mineral collector, I seem to be drawn more to geology sites than collector sites. It all fascinates me. I am especially attracted to those blues. Some day I hope to add one to my collection but I imagine they are well hunted out as far as public land goes. It does pike my curiosity whether or not you have a modest mineral/rock collection of your own. It just seems natural to me. Anyways, I am finally subscribing. I am in Pierce Co. and hope to make the trek to your side-o-the-mountains and maybe sit in on a lecture if that is still an option. Thank you-Mark
He is so captivating and wish I could move there to finish my grad work even though I ha 5 to 8 gray hairs myself! I miss geology, mineralogy and structural geology. Illinois is so boring and moldy. I had to go 850feet underground to find some cool minerals but they where so tiny and fragile.
Blues of small size but superb color come out of the Walker Valley basalts near Mt.Vernon. There is an in situ source people can work as well as blues in very small amounts in the glacial sediments out as far as the west beaches of Whidbey Island.
I found some right by the road going into Green Canyon on the west side. There are hundreds of acres for you to look. There are several kinds of agates you can find out there. You will go home with red,green,white,and blues agates. One time I was giving up for the day and had the car door open and something 20 yards away something was shining, I went over and there in the ditch was a real nice blue dross on one side which in layers went to cornflower blue. I still have that piece ,most of it anyway. I kept the bluest part and gave the blue dross to my honey at the time, she was with me when we found the speciman. I love Washington Geology.
Thank you so much! Although I have hunted Blues off and on for over 40 years I did not know the specifics on where they come from, how they got here. I found the best one of my life 4 years ago and was thrilled to see it in this video. The two pictures one I was holding it in my hand and the next it was on a white tape measure. I did sell that one for $1,200. In recent years I have heard from a few people that go hunting up First Creek. I did not know until watching this video as to why. Curious though, I did ask how to get there. It sounds like you have to park a long ways from it and hike in. I think I may check it out soon as this video definitely has me intrigued as to that area. Thank you again for the most informative video I have ever seen about the Ellensburg Blue Agate and for making my day by seeing one of my own on this video.
I’ve been looking for similar presentations elsewhere around the Northwest and unfortunately Nick’s entertaining & informative style and synthesis of data is not common. If you’ve watched these videos you have more of a foundation for understanding the dry silo type lectures that are out there, but unfortunately it’s hard to find anyone else synthesizing the data into relatable informative narratives.
These videos are great! Just a guy and a chalkboard. No fancy camera editing. But the speaker is immediately engaging and stops me from clicking to a different video.
CWU Class of 75 here---- (CWSC Then) My sister and I went agate hunting up under the powerlines a couple times. She found a large gem quality Blue agate, the best I've ever seen. She was going to keep it but she took it to a local Jewler who offered her $250 for it. To a poor college student in 1974 this was a fortune so she sold it. It was later made into a pair of wedding rings.
The Ellensburg Blue Agates remind me of the Holly Blue Agates found in the western Cascade range of Oregon. Holly Blue Agates are actually opal not chalcedony. Are the Ellensburg Blue Agates opal or chalcedony? I heard mention of a taste test in the video portion of your stage presentation and was wondering if the individuals were looking to see if the “Agates” were sticky which to me would indicate the presence of opal. Thanks for a great presentation!
Thank you for a great explanation of the formation and source of Ellensburg Blues. I'm in MO, but come thru to visit family, and would love to spend a day (not long enough, but all that is free) on an agate hunt. Are there people, or clubs, I could contact for directions and permission for such a thing? I expect landowners would want a fee?
I find it interesting all the cotton-tops in the audience. Seems like younger generations have a thin interest in substantial knowledge and prefer virtual appreciations.
Nick Zenter that was very informative for me being a begginer to rock hounding. One of these days my family and I want to try looking for a blue or 2. Where can we look that is public access? Thank you for the video we have subscribed. I'll have to make a video of all the different rocks we have found in just one spot down here on the Lewis river.
In reference to him talking about water precipitating layers of quartz in the vesicles of the basalt, how does new water get into the hole when it already has a layer of quartz lining it? Wouldn't that layer seal it off?
Nice... so what may be the matrix for the SE Iowa Geodes around New London? They have a sort of tan/brownish brain external texture & insides sport crystals, oil, etc. Any ideas?
Great informative videos. Seems like all of my favorite twisty roads ( Frenchman’s coullee, sun lakes, whiskey dick highway) have great geological history
I am actually from Minnesota, and I love learning about geology. I would like to learn more about the geology of my area, but learning about other areas is always fun too. I love watching these videos. Nick you make this so interesting and fun!!!! Thank you!
