I love driving 242 anytime I go to Eastern Oregon, when it is open that is. Dee Wright Observatory near the summit is a pretty cool stop on the way to Sisters too
@@steveegbert7429 there's a tiny campground nearby the observatory,too. Probably the closest to a giant lava field someone can get without a hike from the road. Just beautiful!
I wish you had mentioned the Dee Wright observatory that overlooks this lava field. It's on route 242 that skirts the southeastern end of the field, and contains an observation hut (built from the lava rock) with viewing ports angled to frame the local mountains, like the Three Sisters. It's a cool stop for a geology nerd, if you don't mind the somewhat hair-raising drive to get there.
I've been to that observatory once, and the drive there on 242 (which is closed in the winter) IS hair raising. But it's worth it. Can't imagine pioneers crossing that!
I was born in Oregon and I live near old hwy. 242 and the Sisters wilderness. Have seen Belknap crater many times and have hiked the South Sister to the top. This whole area is so beautiful!!! Volcanic history here is so interesting💚💙💚
YAY! My home State!! Now, go ~50 miles to the SE, you should check out the Newberry Shield Volcano Complex. That thing is massive, with vents all over the place.
I've been up Paulina Peak twice - had a full-blown panic attack the first time we went up. I am not at all prone to such things, but the motion in the back seat on that gravelly road without a guard rail did me in. 😂 Got to the top eventually and once I recovered I resumed mountain goat with a camera behavior. Will never forget it! Enjoyed boating on East & Paulina lakes, too. :)
Next time you’re up at Polina Peak if you go west off of the main trail, heading up to the peak you will find the Cascadia guides stones. Growing up, I was always told that it was a native American rock formation others think it was aliens lol. Regardless it’s really cool looking and you can even spot it on Google Earth. Both the guides face True north and south. Not a lot of folks know about it.
I've lived my entire life in this area of the cascade mountains. I've noticed Increased odd activity lately in the quartzville area. Several small sink holes have opened that have steam and smell like an animals gut pile. Had that happen about 20 years ago when the bulge on the south sister was growing. But haven't seen anything noted as of late.
Back in 2007 there was some documention of geo-thermal eruptions under Green Peter resevoir, I think USGS said it was fairly normal for the region. I wonder if anything has been noticed in the lakebed since it's been drained this season. Also, if you have locatiions, I'd love to know where for mapping purposes :).
Thanks as always! I have been looking more into the Cascade Range volcanoes lately. For some reason, I never get tired of seeing photos of the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens from other angles! That being said, Belknap Crater is very fascinating.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and creating great content. I live in Oregon and used to do a lot of mountaineering and hiking. I find all of this fascinating. Really enjoyed the Live as well! 👏
I’ve explored this lava field for 30 years. Good rundown on all the vents! The old wagon road segments that are still left are fascinating! They used to plow this road all winter, this is a must-see area in our country! The road was built by the same engineers that constructed the Going To The Sun road, featured at the beginning of The Shining film… I’ve spent many a hot, dusty day finding caves up there, it will always be my personal “briar patch”.
I grew up in Oregon and traveled diamond lake highway, through Cascade to Oakridge and 97 to sisters to scenic byeay to Springfield all are beautiful and have many geo attractions.
Whatever you call it, it’s a great place to visit during summer or fall via McKenzie Pass Highway. There are some great trails through the lava to the north. I climbed Belknap back in 1980 or so and it was fun. Lots of great and recent geologic locations to visit in central Oregon.
It would be wild to have an Oregon volcano erupt. I'm not really wishing for it....but it would be fascinating to see how the disruption would compare to our yearly wildfires.
I stayed at Belknap hotsprings this summer when doing an extended rockhounding trip. (A friend of mine was due to spawn the next month, and she wanted to scratch the rockhound itch before she lost all ability to sleep.) The last day of our stay we got evacuated due to forest fires. Amusing end to a very fun vacation.
I think the history of a volcano would be super interesting. Like Mt St Helen's from as far back as we know up to modern day. Where the lava tubes and Lava Canyon etc is all explained.
I didn't know if you had the chance to see the data on A continued discussion about a cosmic event that wiped out the cities of the plain in the Middle Bronze Age. The evidence suggests an airburst event occurred. Dr. Byers and Dr. Collins continue to discuss in Part 2, the evidence that 22 researchers & scientists unaffiliated with the Tall el-Hammam Excavation Project have provided. Published in Nature Scientific Reports, this paper is making an impact in the scientific community. There's neato papers. The youtube channel TrowelingDown has fascinating details. I really like your knowledge and work. Thanks again.
3:30 you had me at fractional crystallization. It only went from Basalt to Basaltic Andesite (and not something more Silica-rich like Dacite, Rhyolite, etc.), such a let-down 😅
Yes, I would agree that Belknap is a pretty low risk volcano. An eruption could cause some transportation issues, but there aren't many people that live close to Belknap.
Bellknap Crater is a little like the volcanoes of the Reykjanes Peninsula, then, with the principle difference being that Reykjanes is the result of the Mid Atlantic Ridge being pushed up by the Icelandic hotspot, and the volcanoes on it are being stretched by plate movement. But for that, Bellknap and the Reykjanes Peninsula volcanoes might look very similar, as both appear to erupt from monogenetic vents.
There is also Newberry Volcano, depending on who you listen to is either a shield or stratovolcano. I think it depends if Newberry has it own hot spot or not.
Hey curiosity question. Have you ever done a video about sierra blanca peak in New mexico near ruidoso? I bet that has some interesting history. 😊 I grew up in El Paso Texas and we could see that snow covered peak on clear winter days and i always thought it didn't look the same as the rest of the mountain chain to the south.
I would love to know more about Sierra Blanca as well. We used to travel there for vacation when I was a kid and I always thought it was a volcano and soon found out it is. Needless to say I was excited!
@GeologyHub That's what made me think about Sierra Blanca. I saw the lava flow near Carrizozo as a kid and was very impressed! And looking west from the top of trans mountain road that crosses the Franklin mountains in El Paso you can see a mountain that I always thought looked like a volcano when I was young. Turns out it is! Years later I look it up and discover that the Rio Grand valley is a rift valley and there are many volcanoes in the area. It was a wow moment! 👍
It looks like there's a lava flow from the North Sister that meets the Belknap lava field. In between the two there's a cone with a lava flow that also meets the Belknap lava field. Is that cone part of the Belknap or Three Sisters system?
That is the Yapoah lava flow that originated at Three Sisters, Collier Cone area. They put little signs up along the interface of the two flows out in the lava just north of Hwy 242.
Why do most lava flows glow yellowy orange? You've had vids about silvery lava and bluefire lava from the materials that are found in some lavas, but why is bright glowing orange the default color? Or even in non-lava like molten metal and glass?
I believe it, Mt Washington, Mt. Thielsen, and a couple other high cascade peaks started as shield volcanoes, then late in their life grew a stratovolcano on the central vent.
