Geologic Secrets of America's Tallest Single Dune: Bruneau Sand Dunes, Idaho

[@shawnwillsey]

You can support my field videos by clicking on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Like button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8

[@1mmickk]

I have seen the process thousands of times, but never had it explained. Thanks very much Shawn.

[@Don.Kiwitas]

Coober Pedy opals?

[@greenman6141]

Blimey, another wonderful video. I very much like his use of his hand drawn pictures in this and other videos. Always having things on pc screens doesn't necessarily make them better. The hours he must put in to making these videos..... We're very lucky.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind compliment. The drawings are not pretty but hopefully effective.

[@SueFerreira75]

Thank you - love your teaching to help understand the land we live on.

[@djw4325]

Definitely scenic and very awesome. Thanks for taking us along!

[@shawnwillsey]

You bet!

[@NondescriptMammal]

Very interesting presentation for those of us interested but not that knowledgeable about geology, thanks!

[@loslaynes]

I was stationed at Mtn Home AFB and lived in Mountain Home for a few years around 2000. One of my favorite pastimes during the warmer weather (along with going to the north) was to take my three kids out to the dunes where I fished a little had a couple of Red Dog beers and just enjoyed the beauty of that little park.

[@calebowen2006]

Bruv, idk why I struggled so much tk read this but I thought you said you lived there for 2000 years

[@ThatOpalGuy]

@@calebowen2006 (he is an airman...give him a break)

[@LesDexia13]

Back in the 70's the locals referred to us airmen as "floppies" and I personally called the base "Home on what mountain?" 'cause, you know, it's out in the middle of the frickin' desert. I remember one picnic visit to the Dunes and a few trips to the Bruneau Canyon Overlook, the park under Strike Dam, and the Falls Hot Springs / Hot Creek area SE of Bruneau, but I spent most of my spare time driving around Anderson Ranch Reservoir and the Featherville area. Loud music on the radio and a few sips of Strawberry Hill were often involved. Good times...

[@hestheMaster]

As a Midwesterner I was impressed by the sand dunes off lower Lake Michigan in Indiana but this is totally off the chain. You do have some great ice age and post flood sites with their own expansive geology out West! Great video professor!

[@Danmorin]

Great video Shawn! Amazing dune. Always appreciate your accurate and vivid descriptions of the processes. You’re a wordsmith. Is there any chance pyrometamorphic rocks could get a video? I recently stumbled upon them and found out a bit about them in the Northwest Territories recently.

[@TerryBollinger]

Big dune! I did worry a bit about that sandworm lurking in the shadows near the top... :)

[@muzikhed]

Awesome, lots of interesting land-forming detail there. We learn something new every day. Spectacular the sharp ridge on the top of the dune. Thanks Shawn.

[@joelennis6338]

Awesome! Thanks for bringing us with you on these adventures.

[@christophermyers8157]

There is a larger one in Nevada. Sand Mountain is a singing sand dune 20 miles east of Fallon, Nevada along U.S. Route 50. The dune is two miles long and 600 feet high. The sand originates from the ancient Lake Lahontan, that for the most part dried up 9,000 years ago

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for letting me know about this place. It looks like Sand Mountain is braced against rocks in the highlands just to its east so its not a single structured dune like Bruneau. Looks like a cool spot to stop by next time I am in central NV. Thanks.

[@hestheMaster]

@@shawnwillsey Can check out the Nevada historical marker on googie earth , it's next to US 50 on map. Very fascinating place to visit.

[@summerlakephotog8239]

Yup. I’ve been to both and Sand Mountain looks taller. However, I guess it’s braced according to this narrator so doesn’t meet the strict definition.

[@7inrain]

Thanks for this interesting video that connects really well to your video about the Coconino sandstone in the Grand Canyon. Here we see the processes in action that also formed the layers of the Coconino.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes. Great point. A nice connection between the modern and ancient.

[@alsehl3609]

That lake is probably eyeing that dune warily! Thank you for making this video!

[@moonshiner5412]

It has been 49 years since I saw the Bruneau Sands Dunes, thanks! I was stationed at Mtn Home AFB from 73 to 75. We camped at the Dunes a couple of times. Took a piece of cardboard and slid down. I seem to remember people catching a small fish in the lake (could be mistaken.) We were in Mtn Home in July 2020 but didn't make it past the Dunes. The dirt in that area has some serious clay in it and you don't want to be out there when it is wet. Thanks again and I appreciate your videos about sites in Idaho.

[@Bdub1952]

I was stationed at Mtn Home at the same time as you..supporting F-111F avionics, then was sent to Thailand. My newlywed wife and I used to slide down those dunes on cardboard as well. Bringing back a lot of fun memories. The lake has a nice population of largemough bass and sunfish. I liked Idaho so much I moved back after the USAF.

[@moonshiner5412]

@@Bdub1952 I was a BB Stacker. I got hurt and became a Tech Controller (Comm) got out in 79. We are in Great Falls now. Mtn Home was our second choice for retirement but bought relative's house here. We were also newlyweds.

[@LesDexia13]

Stationed there 72-74 after return from NKP Thailand. AGE driver & dispatcher. Watching Aardvarks spitting out a trail of diamonds at night was a trip. Did you see the Blackbird that overnighted in August 1973? Saw it again at the Kansas Cosmosphere a few years ago - tail number 961.

[@moonshiner5412]

@@LesDexia13 I didn't get there until October of 73. I seem to remember that it happened again while I was there. Once one of the B52's with nukes had to land. We stored the bombs but SAC sent their own cops to guard them in the bomb dump. I loved the afterburners and how they always shut them off in the same spot in the sky.

[@LesDexia13]

@@moonshiner5412The SR-71 Trip Diversion Log says tail number 972 overnighted on 10 July 1975.

[@curtd7117]

AWESOME WAY COOL!!! Thanks so much for climbing to the top for me!! I am also enjoying your rock identification videos very much!!! It will be very helpful come spring when I get out again. 👍👍

[@SkepticalRaptor]

Those layers were so cool, especially knowing it was the result of the Bonneville flood. I went to Bonneville High School in Ogden, so it’s doubly cool.

[@shawnwillsey]

Very cool. I went to Layton High. The Bonneville Flood continues to amaze me.

[@michaellimbert]

There is a similar silt structure at the bottom of an alcove ~1/4 mile up-river of the Swan Falls dam. However, i don't think it had those cool back and forth laminations. I need to get out to the dunes! Loved the video as always!

[@Anne5440_]

This is a truly interesting video. I had not heard of this dune. I have been to a number of dune areas from the Atlantic Ocean, Great Sand Dunes, and several places in Washington state. This dune has the best knife edge ridge I have seen. For 8 years, we lived in Moses Lake, WA. It would often be so warm at Easter that we began taking a picnic to the sand dunes south of town. The kids would have fun rolling down the dunes into the pot hole lakes. I found it sedimentation you showed from the Bonneville flood really interesting. I soon want to learn more about the glacial floods of the NW. I've been to the shoreline of Glacial Lake Missoula. I learned from you the Bonneville flood went through the Snake River area. I learned about Lake Missoula floods from many trips to Dry Falls. That is one of my favorite coulees. I've recently learned there were floods coming out of the Okanogan in Canada. I have decided it is time to do a more organized study.

[@deborahferguson1163]

Nick Zentner has some videos on this topic.(Central Washington University).

[@Anne5440_]

@Deborah Ferguson yes I have seen them. It has all been hit and miss with me. I believe his spring class at CWU will be on them this year. I hope he shares them. At any rate I will be looking into them more on my own.

[@largewoollybugger]

8 years in Moses Lakes sounds brutal. Sorry you had to go through that!

[@Anne5440_]

@Large Woolly Bugger actually, when I lived there, it was still a nice small town. When I go through there now, I don't even recognize the place. So I just drive past on I 90.

[@ThatOpalGuy]

that little exposure looked like pictures from mars.

[@runninonempty820]

I gotta get out to Idaho! So many cool places.

[@dancooper8551]

Another great video Shawn! I have family in Boise and a few years ago we hiked all around those dunes. Super interesting place. Thanks!

[@HardcoreFourSix]

I visited there a few times back in the early 1980's when I was stationed at MHAFB. It was cool to be on top of a sand dune with snowy mountains in the background. Snow skiers were hiking to the top and skiing down, and fisherman in float tubes were fly fishing in the lake. Great times and good exercise

[@hiker1658]

Looking forward to your upcoming lectures. Thanks for the fascinating video.

[@robertdavenport6705]

Great video of a barren but beautiful landscape , both dynamic and static. The upper St. John ( Wolastoq ) River of New Brunswick and its tributaries are dotted with small hills on the extended ancient floodplain and these have long been a source of construction gravel. In the face of a worked pit , the layers of gravel flow in layers differentiated by the alternating sizes of the individual gravels. In one pit I used to visit there is a small layer of silt so fine as to be talc like. The finer flood deposits in this video reminded me of them. Really liked the sand grains moving across the pages of your illustrations . Great and important work you are doing. Rob Davenport

[@blairk2258]

Great video Shawn! Very instructive how you walked us through it.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@robbirobin9657]

That was jaw droppingly awesome, especially the sound effects, and also, the ripples looked like ancient pages of books stacked in an old library.

[@MountainFisher]

Great video Shawn. I had never given any consideration on how sand dunes build up to 100 meter plus heights. Never knew there was a "single structure" type sand dune either. Never saw the expression saltating sand and had to look it up. I've seen the word saltation, but that has a different meaning and Darwin didn't allow for it, but Stephen J. Gould kind of did.😄

[@shawnwillsey]

From the Latin "saltus" meaning "to leap."

[@germanlabweiler]

Thank you Shawn, you do such a great job of explaining geologic processes. I really enjoy you channel. You Rock!

[@shawnwillsey]

I appreciate that!

[@bribrithemodelguy]

Another fascinating lecture on the diverse geology of Idaho. I used to truck coast to coast, Idaho was one of my favorite places to go. Another thumbs up from one of your science groupies.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for watching and learning with me.

[@SJSantaBarbara]

Yet another interesting place to check out. Greatly appreciate your work!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind donation and support.

[@jamesgardner2046]

Amazing, I really enjoy your geologic segments of Idaho. One day could you explain the sand dunes near Rexburg. Years ago I went through there and the dunes were edging up to a swimming pool. What caused them?

[@hyrumhanson3390]

Hi I live near those dunes. There are three factors for them #1. Glacel erosion in Central Idaho. 2. Mud lake west of those dunes was base level for the melt water and shattered rock grains of the glaciers.(the sand is rough and jagged) 3. The ryolite dome volcano that is juniper butts slows the wind down and deposits the sand.

[@davidk8522]

The last time I visited the Bruneau Dune/lake was in 1974 as a junior on a high school field trip. I don't recall the teacher connecting the feature to the Bonneville flood. I'm long overdue for another visit.

[@philsigman9088]

I haven't been there since the late 70s. There's tons of sand in the hillsides here in Emmett, especially Freezeout hill. The Payette River must have been pretty wild before they built the dam. High up on Freezeout you can see evidence of what appears to be a shoreline. As you drive up out of the valley, to your right you will see terracing that looks to me to be either an old lake shore or the river got that high at some point.

[@oddevents8395]

I really really r e a l l y - appreciate you making these videos!!!

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@Rachel.4644]

Hello! I am impressed: that sand is a workout to walk in, and it's a lot colder than when I visited last spring. Cool explanation about how the large dune formed, plus seeing the sedimentary silt layers from Eagle Cove. (In Texas, I just learned, a cut-off oxbow is called a resaca.) What caused the vertical cuts sectioning the layers? Thank you Shawn!

[@ThatOpalGuy]

i went last october, walked almost the same route, though i came down the front side of the smaller dune and around the lake back to the parking lot. It wore me out, but I am nearly 60 and not nearly in as good a shape as i used to be. still, its awesome, lots of birds, ducks geese, and even saw egrets. just take lots of water

[@sdmike1141]

Thanks for the up close and personal view of a single structure dune!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for watching and for the support. Much appreciated!

[@JanetClancey]

Amazing story of the floods hard to imagine how much water flowed in such a short geologic time

[@stevengeorge5605]

Excellent video, Shawn. Thank you!

[@R.E.A.P]

Found your channel the day I moved to Idaho, 1 week ago....this should make my weekends amazing!....thank you.

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome. Welcome to idaho. Enjoy the videos and learning.

[@troy3456789]

I live in Mountain Home, and I am so glad to know a bit more about those dunes. Thank you. I think i could do an all day lecture and walk with you through there and enjoy every bit of it.

[@sdmike1141]

Man…BEST on site reporting on “America’s Tallest Single Dune” ever! I was drawn in initially by the highly clickbait-able(😬) mouthful of a title…then much to my surprise, I learned something new! Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

I've learned that the clickbait titles get more eyes.

[@ODGColornChrome]

Very cool! I grew up in SE idaho and never knew about this.

[@dannyslaughter4845]

Thank you for your time, very informative. I went hang gliding there as a young teenager.

[@hfdole]

Great stuff. Might that be a singing dune like Eureka Dunes at Death Valley which are pretty tall? Also, for those silt layers, how long did it take to form? Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

I don't think Bruneau has the "singing" characteristic due to grain composition, Silt layers probably formed over weeks to months as the flood was waning in energy.

[@michaelnancyamsden7410]

Thank you for this hike which I could never make myself. Very interesting sand movement at the top. Do not concern yourself with wind or road noise. It does not bother me.

[@bobbyadkins885]

Awesome stuff, thank you

[@solodad7999]

Thanks for explaining in much more detail & in a way I can grasp these various geological areas. As a former south Idaho resident I greatly appreciate the volcanic info where I lived in the Twin Falls, Jerome areas. I'd like you to visit the WAH WAH Springs super volcano area on the Utah/ Nevada border for an in depth explanation of this area which is very confusing to me geologically. Also the area around Caliente NV especially down the canyon to Elgin NV. The pyroclastic layers in this area are amazing with over- lapping layers from Wah Wah Springs, Long Valley CA & Mt Lassen eruptions hundreds of feet thick and so many colors and textures of ash. Also the area around Lava Hot Springs is fascinating with the volcanic story and layers of Yellowstone ash and strange mountain formations.

[@jackprier7727]

Thanks for bringing this unique wonder to our attention, great focused explanations. I've driven by this area a few times and never thought it was such a special place and why-

[@NoOne-yt6yf]

Thank you. Very interesting place.

[@cadmanchannel]

Thank you for taking us on a hike in a difficult area. I follow along on Google Earth in your videos when I can, and this one was east to find.

[@SoloRenegade]

I grew up playing on that dune

[@joaniewillow]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge so freely. You are an excellent teacher. Wondering what makes the layers so thin, what causes them to layer or laminate in thin layers.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind words and for watching. The steady settling of fine grained silts and clays in the ponded water produced the laminated layers.

[@swatchgirl2]

That was a great video, very interesting and you explained the processes very well. Even I understood it! Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kathrynchamberlain7776]

A most intrepid endeavor -- well done!

[@sharonseal9150]

That was super interesting - thanks!

[@ListenWell]

Excellent video

[@roboodonnell3224]

Very cool I appreciate your videos.

[@3xHermes]

Great location, story, video! Thx Shawn

[@grandparocky]

Great video!

[@steveholmes4918]

Absolutely fascinating video. Had never heard of this dune before.

[@geoffgeorges]

I like to stop there to camp on my way to Moab from Seattle. One time I remembered to bring a snow sled and it was fun to slide down it. Ski’s would work as well.

[@lorenmorelli9249]

It sure was a nice Day for your Vid! Last time I was on the Bruneau I hit a section of broken road grader blade and had to take a break in the my road trip for a tire change..

[@shawnwillsey]

Bummer.

[@zephyrandboreas]

Very interesting as always. I am very intrigued by the process that created the ripples as you were ascending the sand dune. And how the silt beds lamination was formed. Is it seasonal changes in the water flow, i.e wet and dry cycles that allowed formation of the mud layers?

[@loisrossi841]

Thank you.

[@stephenhudson8739]

That looks like it might be a star dune

[@chettdavidson1812]

Thank you...

[@DavidleViseur]

As a part 5 perhaps, it’d be interesting to know what layers used to be on top of today’s top layer - all the stuff that eroded since…great videos!

[@alexbradmckay]

Awesome video. Thanks

[@suecox8355]

Very interesting.

[@veruschkajanesterling2838]

I love your videos

[@outsider2222]

Thanks for your videos

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind contribution. Glad you enjoy learning geology with me.

[@outsider2222]

@@shawnwillsey actually a retired geophysicist, but I love the geology refresher

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@Udink]

2:05 Who else was hoping the diagram was drawn in the sand? :)

[@hunt4redoctober628]

So is the small lake at the foot of the large dune a residual element of an ancient 'ox bow' lake, after the snake river cut through the original meander? Another fascinating video Shawn.

[@shawnwillsey]

No, the impoundment of the Snake River and creation of nearby CJ Strike Reservoir locally raised the water table so this low area was inundated by groundwater to form the lake.

[@hunt4redoctober628]

@@shawnwillsey Oh OK, understood. Thanks

[@danielirvin4420]

This shows up really well on Google maps terrain layer...

[@richheimreal]

Very cool!

[@jchan5000]

...Amazing...

[@terezasnyder]

Thanks! Almost feels like I'm there! Cough…cough…

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind and generous donation.

[@Idahoguy10157]

The lake at the dune is due to the nearby reservoir raising the water-table

[@all3ykat79]

In Tauranga NZ there are black sands, they call iron sands. Made of magnetite and iron. Also above Paraparaumu Wellington NZ we have fossil dunes, as in BIG earthquake and uplift stranded some dunes 100m above the sea.

[@leslie3832]

Amazing Shawn! Another fascinating video! ❤️Question?? if I have a day to explore a tiny bit of the left over Yellowstone Hotspot south of Boise, where should I go? Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi there and thanks for watching. What specific area are you thinking of? Directly south of Boise?

[@leslie3832]

@@shawnwillsey hi Shawn. I was just wondering how to see a “Yellowhotspot” location. But I see on a map that there are not a lot of roads in the area south of Boise. But I did find a good reference in your Oregon Roadside Guide to Bruneau Canyon Overlook and the Grasmere Rim of the “possible” caldera with lots of Ryolite on the way. I think that would be an interesting day trip. Have you been there?

[@leslie3832]

Highway 51 south. Pp90-93 in your Roadside Guide

[@shawnwillsey]

@@leslie3832 Yes, I wrote the road log in Roadside Geology of Idaho for ID highway 51 which runs from Mtn Home to Nevada. You'll see some great buff lake beds from Lake Idaho along with plenty of rhyolite and basalt. It's a great choice and an area of the state most folks never see. Another good option is along ID highway 78 and taking Reynolds Creek Road up into the Owyhee Mountains.

[@leslie3832]

@@shawnwillsey yay! Lake Idaho too. Buff colored. Great.

[@boblathrop9983]

This location is in the level III eco region, Snake River Plain and within the level IV eco region, Unwooded Alkaline Foothills: Physiography- Unglaciated. Rolling foothills, hills, benches, alluvial fans and scattered badlands. Perennial streams are rare. Surficial Geology- Quaternary sandy, alkaline lacustrine sediments and alluvium. Bedrock, Quaternary sedimentary rocks and Tertiary basalt. Soil orders- Aridisols (Haplocalcids, Haplocambids, Calciargids, Paleargids), Entisols (Torriorthents), Mollisols (Durixerolls). Soil series- Chilcott, Haw, Power, Lolalita, Payette, Quincy, Cashmere, Mazuma, Shoofly, Bram. What does all this mean? More videos please.

[@lmgaab]

Hey Shawn, another great presentation live in the field. Can you tell me what wind screen you use on the microphone for your recordings in the field and maybe what microphone model you are using now. thanks. your devoted fans, Shirley and Larry from Chico, CA.

[@shawnwillsey]

Hi Shirley and Larry. Thanks for your loyal viewership and support. I use a GoPro Hero 8 with a windmuff housing like this: www.amazon.com/Windslayer-Reduction-Protective-Windscreen-Recording/dp/B083FV6W25

[@jimcurtis569]

Wow. Although, we have some big dunes here around the Great Lakes. Is this bigger than say, Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan? Or are ours classified differently?

[@jimcurtis569]

Oh, after reviewing the video I believe you'd classify our dunes as standing against the inland structures.

[@okeefer2000]

Is that the sand dunes from Napoleon Dynamite? Uncle Rico "Your grandma took a spill at the sand dunes today. Broke her coccyx".

[@loslaynes]

No. I believe the dunes in NP are in eastern Idaho

[@shawnwillsey]

Probably the St Anthony Dunes near Rexburg, ID.

[@grandparocky]

I would really like you to show the big hole in the dunes and explain how that hole continues to exists in that structure. Looking down from Google earth will show where the hole is in that structure!

[@Don.Kiwitas]

Interesting, many times I let sand trickle through my fingers on the beach, my own childhood sandbox or the sand and gravel pit I used to leap off, but this is the first time I've seen the wind pluck the sand greedily from a hand - a good illustration of a tax collector at work, or your wallet contents on a black friday sales event.

[@mixolydian2010]

Fantastic, thanks for these videos. Are there any geology tours in your area that you know of. All the best.

[@shawnwillsey]

I may offer some geology field trips in southern Idaho this fall. Stay tuned.

[@mixolydian2010]

@@shawnwillsey that's great Shawn and thanks for the inspiring videos. All the best.

[@daveisnothere]

Those ripples would have taken some time to form, especially that far off the main flow of the Snake River during the flood. Just more evidence to support my theory about the Bonneville Flood wasn't quite as extraordinary as we have been led to believe. I'd still like to see if those could be dated.

[@clydecessna737]

Thanks for the video. Why does the little lake not fill up with sand and largely disappear?

[@shawnwillsey]

Irrigation in area keeps water table high and lake full.

[@stevej7139]

I always thought the largest dune was one locals call Oldsmobile hill and it's near Mexico between El Centro and Yuma, Back in the early 80s we rode 250R 3 wheelers in a area south of the Buttercup rest area and a few miles south and a little west was this huge dune that only high end 3 wheelers could make it to the top of, it looks to be much larger than the one here but I guess because it's attached to a lot more dunes is the only reason this has a size title.

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

The tallest dune in America is Star Dune at the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. It's 750 feet tall, but it doesn't stand alone.

[@shawnwillsey]

Right. This is the tallest single-structured dune in N America.

[@markfissinger6310]

Nice. Tku. I'm wondering how the smaller dune on the opposite side of the lake form?

[@randallgd]

Had the same thought?

[@shawnwillsey]

There are several smaller dunes surrounding the larger, main one. Sand is transported across the basin floor of Eagle Cove by the wind. Where it catches on vegetation or some other obstacle, it begins building a dune.

[@randallgd]

@@shawnwillsey Very interesting thank you!

[@mikefischbein3230]

I was staring at the thumbnail image thinking "what dude? There's only sand."

[@Josh1888USU]

Hey wasn't that where Napoleon Dynamites grandmother broke her coccyx? Or perhaps it was dunes near St. Anthony.

[@Don.Kiwitas]

Shawn, maybe a few words on angle of repose.

[@9greatdanes981]

When you come to Phoenix I’m going to need a list of the items you need, you better bring a truck🎉 we are going on a geology race

[@justaguy6100]

You know, with the watch cap and glasses, you bear a resemblance to Sam Rockwell. You even sound a bit like him.

[@europaeuropa3673]

Never knew the largest dune was in Idaho.