Chaotic Rocks in Roadcut? Random Roadcuts #25

[@shawnwillsey]

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. I also appreciate your continual support of these geology education videos. To do so, click on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Download button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8 Or: www.buymeacoffee.com/shawnwillsey

[@RWBHere]

Thanks Shawn.When you moved away in that last shot, it looks as though the wider layer at the level of the bottom of the large bush on the right corresponds with the wider layer on the left which is at shoulder height.The indistinct layers above that layer on both sides seem to roughly correspond too.

[@causewaykayak]

Every road cut is a little treasure house. Ypu never know what you'll get until you get out the vehicle. Yes , this series is popular and for good reason. We all have road cuts and can try our hand at home after learning from Prof. Wilsey's 😊

[@susierider55]

I love your enthusiasm! So easy to learn when the presenter is so engaged. Thank you.

[@stevew5212]

That was a good road cut.

[@rickrasmussen5637]

You have turned boring road trips into an adventure! Now I look at things with curiosity. God Bless and thank you!

[@Danika_Nadzan]

Another great episode! That "fault and fold" toward the end was quite a nice treat, as you said. It is so helpful to have you right there, pointing out and explaining the details that otherwise would go unnoticed...that's a big part of why Random Roadcuts has such a following! Speaking of which, it's wonderful to see your subscribers over 100k and growing!!👍🏻👍🏻👏👏😊

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@raenbow66]

You found some tricky cool geology! This is really fun, Shawn, exploring with you, and your close-up shots are so interesting! It's just full of curious movement. Dang! Thanks so much!❤

[@suedemers8631]

Oh my gosh! What a fascinating geology lesson! I have, in my past work life, worked with geologists and environmental engineering geologists and kinda knew what I was looking at when filling in boring log information for reports. I could not relate to the “fine grain, sandy silt, etc. “ because I didn’t have a visual to look at while typing in the identification of the geological formations! I’m over the moon and grateful for your video. This 72 year old woman finally understands what I was typing over 40 years ago! I have now subscribed to your channel. ❤

[@shawnwillsey]

I am so glad you finally got a visual to go with it! Welcome aboard and enjoy the existing videos.

[@sarahdawn7075]

My favorite place to view road cuts is in the Temblor Range west of California's San Joaquin Valley and immediately east of the San Andreas fault zone where it runs along the east side of the Carrizo Plain. From where I live in Bakersfield you take Hwy 58 west. After passing through the little town of McKittrick, Hwy 58 veers to the NW traveling up and over the Temblors and exiting abruptly onto the Carrizo Plain just north of Soda Lake. The road cuts through the pass reveal rock layers tilted more and more steeply and as you approach the west side of the range the layers are bent up, folded and flipped over on themselves. I'd love to get out and examine them but it's a winding two-lane road with few turn-outs on the road cut side. As it is I have to have someone else be the driver because I get so distracted at every corner we turn! If you ever come see these road cuts, once you exit the pass onto the Carrizo Plain you are just a couple of miles north of the Wallace Creek Offset. That's a dry stream channel that is offset 400 feet where it crosses the San Andreas Fault, so you might as well see that too!

[@georgelaiacona111]

These are always awesome. My favourite road cut is in Mora, NM, hwy 518. A blend of folds, squeezes, dikes (maybe sills) and different colors and forms of rock. I have some photos, but maybe I can make my own video next time I'm passing through that way. These videos always leave plenty of wonder when they are done. Thanks for this.

[@imann6355]

What a great roadcut to stumble upon. Thanks. Years ago my dad would stop when going up into the Rockies from Denver CO. There was a roadcut that went through Colorado’s Dakota Hogback. What he stopped to show us was the dinosaurs footprints and we would hunt to find other fossils like ferns or snails. Roadcuts are so interesting, thanks Shawn.

[@stellaandstone2348]

That was fascinating seeing all the faulting! Great spot to stop and examine the exposed rocks!

[@sandrine.t]

This is so good! Very nice sandstone and mudstone layers, lots of deformation indeed, and the fault/fold exposure at the end of the video is really beautiful! Your Random Roadcuts are definitely one of my top favorites :) Thank you, Shawn! Oh and I said 'slickenlines!' out loud just before you did! ;)

[@barrycassaday6316]

Amazing I always love stopping at road cuts So much history exposed that thousands if not millllions of people just drive by. Thanks!

[@edwardlulofs444]

Having a geologist is always a plus.

[@joannekellam191]

Terrific road cut! Thank you!

[@elizabethfierro8104]

Love getting to see these things instead of just reading about it.. I really love hearing the excitement of discovery in your own voice.

[@jeffs72]

The folding remind me of some outcrops along Highway 62 south of Morongo Valley where you did a random road cut a few months ago, the examples there are very distinct and are fun to look at while I'm driving past 😁

[@BryanSparks-v1g]

Love these episodes!

[@davidk7324]

Thanks Shawn. Utah and Idaho are true geologic gems. The close-ups of your watch got me to thinkin'. A subtle line of Willsey Random Road Cuts watches with slickenline faces, acid bottles, rock hammers, sketch books, hiking sticks, water bottles, sunglasses, boonie hats, et al. Holiday and birthday gifts for the discerning amateur geologist.

[@shawnwillsey]

Love this idea.

[@devarskinnee8760]

Solid premium!!!

[@solodad7999]

Thanks for being in my backyard & examining cuts I drive past regularly & explaining them to.

[@charliedoyle7824]

The Sevier Orogeny crime scene is still intact over 50 million years later, for us all to see. That is definitely a cool roadcut.

[@janetcollins1129]

very interesting...love the detail and close up mini excavating on the plane :)

[@shaunpapworth4269]

With every video I watch from you I learn more and more thank you so much Shawn

[@lennyburdick3192]

One of the best random road cuts ever!

[@xmj6830]

Next time with friends, I'll be able to show off a little bit with so much knowledge! 😄 Thanks professor

[@cindy8426]

Beautiful road cut! Thanks so much!!!

[@hestheMaster]

It might be just layers of sandstone deposited many eons ago and uplifted here, but the erosion, faulting, folding and variety in compositions tells of an amazing history all in one place. Very excellent roadcut professor.

[@geolyn]

That was amazing! I love tectonics but struggle to make 3D sense of it. Your explanation of that road cut was very satisfying and helped me understand things a bit better. Thanks!

[@iain3411]

One of the better road cuts. Better ones can happen also. Very cool find.

[@dennisstorie4604]

I'm a over the road truck driver I appreciate video like this that explains the geology that I am looking at going down the road. I see interesting things drive up 84 from Utah into Idaho off to the east.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@johnkling3537]

Another fantastic random road cut

[@revvyhevvy]

Very cool, Prof Willsey! Thanks for sharing!

[@susiesue3141]

I love the pink rock. Beautiful! ☺️ Great video! Lots of great info! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@wasatch0]

I'm enjoying the road cut geology lessons. Mentioned in Basin & Range by John McPhee.

[@robertfarrimond3369]

Interesting road cut. Reminds me of the "Virginian Ridge Formation", North Central WA. (Cretaceous)

[@clydebennish2106]

I may be old, but not too old to learn... you never fail to educate. I feel very sorry now for hurried travelers like truck drivers or people on planes or trains who dont have the will or time to take in what these formations are telling us. Ill never again look at roadcuts the same aloof way. Thanks - im gaining a college education via cellphone... where is my diploma? :)

[@LizWCraftAdd1ct]

Love these rocks almost as much as antelope Island x

[@lilysceeliljeaniemoonlight]

Luv the slicken lines and faults you found!

[@xwiick]

Thanks for all the hard work on these videos!

[@muzikhed]

Like this series. I try to investigate road cuts when I can though a lot of really cool road cuts don't have places nearby to pull over and stop. Wish the road builders would think about us.

[@billmalvey4746]

My structural prof, George Davis, used to love to do these random road cut type things and just turn us lose and see we thought. Very fortunate to have studied under him

[@cjjiver1767]

So interesting. Thanks so much for your super clear explanations and kn owledge.

[@earthexpanded]

Very interesting roadcut. I see several additional details. Namely, cross-sections of circular ringed features galore (with a smaller "nucleus" region" and a outer ring). [6:52] is very distinct at the top center, but also there is one directly below that subtly and another down and to the left from there, and many just everywhere. And then at [9:06] one is visible wedged between the sloped fault line and another similar feature running horizontal, seen again at [9:40]. This though is just part of a larger structure that looks like a right triangle with rounded corners that forms a more actually wedge-like shape between the faults. This strongly suggests that these features are actually relevant to the process at play. For example, at [3:46] there are rows of these circular features one after another across several layers but between the same general boundary layers, and again at [11:40] along the bottom half where the circular features even are different compositions from their surroundings. And then there's the fault at [12:49]. The left side distinctly continues beyond the fault around where the plant is in the upper left, seen more closely at [13:17]. The flows of the left section below the plant with the rougher surface extends beyond the fault as a later material that arcs back to the left but has a very similar surface roughness strongly suggestive of a relationship across the fault, which then suggests the lighter color relates to some type of mixing with the fault's material. Is this "allowable" in present understanding of how these features formed? The evidence appears very pronounced. There are many other details about this that are quite intriguing as well. Thanks for sharing.

[@hansschleichert7852]

Fascinating how much one can read out of a few rocks on the side of the road 😃

[@Bri_Bri_the_Wise_Guy]

what makes this series enjoyable is applying the knowledge I've learned from your teachings. thanks professor

[@shawnwillsey]

Love this.

[@marcialoofboro306]

That was great, very interesting.

[@LisaBelleBC]

Oh how I do love the Radom Roadcuts! Thanks again!

[@paulsternberg8139]

Hi Shawn. Like many, I've subscribed and followed you since I discovered your videos exploring the recent Icelandic eruptions. I've always been fascinated by the sciences trying to understand our precious planet, and I continue to be amazed at the beauty to be found in the most seemingly mundane things -- like a roadcut along any of thousands of roads. That is true here in Australia as well. Anyway, I'd like to thank you for sharing these videos and explaining the geologic complexities to us. That formation is gorgeous, and I'm envious I can't experience the tactility of those surfaces and the richness of colors. Your enthusiasm is appreciated. Paul

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for this.

[@3xHermes]

Thanks for the road cut! 👍

[@sneville44]

I miss the road cut excursions I had while an undergraduate geology student at UC Riverside. We’d arrive in the geology department’s Chevrolet Suburban(s) pile out with our rock hammers and hand lenses and start chipping away at the rocks. After a bit the Professor would gather the group and begin what we termed the “arm waving” part of the tour integrating what we were seeing in the cut to the regional geology. My favorite Professors: Lewis H. Cohen, Paul T. Robinson, Peter Sadler, Mike Murphy, Doug Morton and Peter Schiffman.

[@sjmazzoli]

thank you

[@sjmazzoli]

Shawn….so those rock layers were laid down horizontally then while under great heat and pressure deep underground were deformed by faults?… The folds were made while the rock layers were hard or plastic? I find it amazing how much can be learned from rocks Thanks for the efforts explaining these processes

[@christinedaly2694]

Very good information on yr road cut thank you😊

[@lilysceeliljeaniemoonlight]

We dont mind your Shadowy friend following. Good Job!

[@hopegreer3357]

Thank you!! The folds were very beautiful!!

[@sueellens]

A great deal going on in this roadcut! Thank you.

[@johncooper4637]

Just sent you my own random road cut photos taken in 2006.

[@valeriemiddleton675]

Thanks Shawn from Kuna Idaho.

[@johnnash5118]

Shawn, Great class; how far down was the brittle-ductile transition zone (BDTZ) that enabled the folding without crushing or breaking this exposure? What mechanism forced it down to that depth through the rigid zone without crushing or breaking, and exhumed from below the BDTZ to the Holocene surface? Did water content and dehydration play a big part in the deformation? It’s cool that I can use this Utah-based class to interpret similar formations 800 miles West on some Oregon Coast beaches with Franciscan Assemblage formations, just a few miles South of Siletzia.

[@coryamoroso8864]

that was a good one.

[@patrickkillilea5225]

VIDEO GREAT!!!

[@jackgreen9722]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind donation and support.

[@KnucklebarkRanch]

Awesome

[@dawnzed2891]

I think your coords are one number off in the latitude degrees. I show 40.92536, -111.59230 for this roadcut

[@susiesue3141]

Are you serious? 😮

[@sammynorge]

At the end of the vid - to the right near bottom as you panned right - thick blueish layer, just to it's left and a bit above, another thick bluish layer, then, on the left side of the fault that bluish layer becomes apparent several feet from the fault. Don't know if that may be an indication of the connection between the two sides. Yeah, I really like Random Road Cuts. Like your 101 series as well. Thanks for doing this!!!

[@bottomup12]

I always wonder what the crew/s who created the road cut thought when they revealed the structures. Great video!

[@coltonwallace5605]

If you find your self going down i-15, I found a crazy 180 degree fold in the rock layers here.. 37°39'51"N 113°03'06"W. i'd love to see your analysis.

[@garyb6219]

Is it near Cedar City? Can you give the Plus code? I'm having trouble locating it. Thanks

[@davidkaplan2745]

Looks like Moenkopi Formation.

[@shawnwillsey]

Broadly similar yes. This is actually the Preuss Formation (Jurassic).

[@davidkaplan2745]

@@shawnwillsey : Thanks, excellent roadcut BTW.

[@charliewatts6895]

Hi Shawn really interesting. Through your videos I feel I'm really starting to learn about geology. One of things I'm wondering about is the larger story. It would seem that water receded and then came back again, perhaps a beach area, or could this have been a river delta? There seems to be different energy states due to the variation of the sandstone grain sizes. Fascinating.

[@PaulM-d7k]

I love this road, it's one of my favorite quick motorcycle rides. Geology in Utah is insane... This was not a happy place to live in the past...things got really nasty...

[@mbvoelker8448]

Of course it can't be confirmed without fossils, but if this were the Appalachians I'd think we were looking at an estuarine environment with the sand/mud layering. Especially that section with the little lenses..

[@markofdistinction6094]

So, we have interlaced layers of sandstone and mud-stone. Would the conclusion be that this was laid down as a river delta ?

[@mbvoelker8448]

I was thinking an estuary.

[@johnrhansonsr]

I cannot imagine standing at the other end of this valley watching this all go on. I don't think that would have been enjoyable at all.

[@tree4408]

Can you talk in some detail of changing environment changes with changing structure.

[@charliewatts6895]

That would interesting for sure.

[@thelegion_within]

how do you find these roadcuts? just driving around?

[@BlutoFPV]

Shawn, I hear you talk about the slicken lines in the rock faulting in a lot of your videos. I have seen this before not knowing what it was. Now that I have an explanation, I wonder, does the rock change somewhat during that pressure and movement? Where it is exposed it looks to me like a more resistant thin layer on the rock. I watch a mine exploring channel, and they point out the smooth fault walls in their videos quite often. In the mines, the walls seem more resistant to moisture and crumbling.

[@jayculp7530]

Where do you find the time to do all that you do. Between on Campus Teaching, Student Field Trips, International Traveling, Rock Climbing, Family Life and Road Cut exploration, do you ever stop and rest? Sending you welcome from North Carolina.

[@shawnwillsey]

Ha. I like to stay busy and it’s all self inflicted.

[@jayculp7530]

The study of Geology has no end. And continues to change everyday right in front of our eyes 👀. This is an amazing planet we live on indeed.

[@dlstanf2]

QUESTION??? WHAT IS A GAS-COMPRESSED ROCK... saw that as a possible explanation of the Honga-Tongan volcanic eruption

[@kevinroserose9275]

So, Shawn is it possible that the two beds you are looking at at about 12:13 are completely upside down? Both the light and dark one appear to be graded with the coarse side being up.

[@oldgeezerproductions]

Where would geology be without road-cuts?? What would a geology class field trip be without road cuts?? When I see this sort of things, I think of how deep geologic deep time is. Each of those thin layers took years to form, the entire formation took tens of thousands of years to form and then, long after the original deposition, the slow movement along faults took even more tens to hundreds of thousands of years. Then the whole jumble had to rise and be eroded to expose what had happened, for those who can read this history. Our little lives, ever so thinly sandwiched between two great eternities aren't even the blink of the eye of deep time.

[@davec9244]

How do you tell up from down, which way was it pushed up or down. It all started flat and then moved some up some down so confused thank you

[@grandparocky]

What kind of deposits AKA where did the sands come from?

[@A-K_Rambler]

Coffee stipend for the Mrs.

[@shawnwillsey]

Many thanks. She likes her java.

[@wtpauley]

Where, roughly or best guess, did all of that sand, that makes the sand stone, come from? Ancestral Rocky or Appalachian mountains?

[@Dragrath1]

That is a good question the answer probably would require chemical analysis to look for what if any is the best fit as a rock source at least in terms of the environment. I suspect much of it would have been remobilized sand from the dry interior of Pangaea. Other possible sources that were likely at play out west is probably be, erosion of earlier uplifted mountains, arc volcanoes as well as potentially sand deposition from the interior seaway.

[@geoffgeoff143]

Rock bands

[@okboomer6201]

Volcanic ash?

[@edwardlulofs444]

The microscope in the lab can probably tell sandstone versus ash. Every big geology department has a mineralogist. But with over 3000 minerals identified, it’s a very detailed job.

[@shawnwillsey]

No. I don’t think so.

[@jonerlandson1956]

i believe in non-conformity...

[@steveb3553]

Thanks!

[@MyMemphisable]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thank you for your donation

[@lorenbauman1654]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Much appreciated. Thanks for your kind support.

[@dennisstorie4604]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind support.

[@johnk3618]

Thanks!

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!