Geology of the Columbia River Gorge

From 2015: Nick Zentner & Tom Foster collaboration featuring stunning Foster photos and Zentner script. Columbia River Gorge geology.

[@chefmike4414]

If this video was 7 hours long (random number) I'd still watch it. It's that good. Thanks.

[@susanfaulkner2304]

I come from New Jersey. I moved to Oregon in '79. Oregon is beautiful. True Oregonians are blessed to be born and raised there.I stand in one spot and can pretty much see a lot of mountains , Mt. Hood, St.Helens, Ranier, 3 sisters.The coastline is invigorating. The falls are refreshing.If a road trip is in your agenda, go to Crater Lake. Once a volcano, it is now a lake of the freshest water that can be found in our country. Never take this beauty for granted folks!❤

[@chefmike4414]

I love how you drive all the way to the top of crater lake and can't see it until you reach the parking lot. What a surprise.

[@opheliadeclines]

Thanks for loving our state. Too many move here to hate on us.

[@deadpanfish]

True Oregonians. You are surely talking about the native peoples and not the ones who came later and forced them off their native land.

[@viewernum72]

I went from Washington to Pennsylvania!

[@opheliadeclines]

@@martintramil8084 people don't want to believe that, but I was put in the segregated nursery. My mother was blonde and they simply believed a blonde could not have a black haired, black eyed baby. Welcome to Oregon! That leaves a mark we don't often admit to.

[@briane173]

It's thrilling enough to drive _over_ a mountain range, but to drive _through_ one is very, very rare. We have quite a geological gift and a wonder here in our back yard.

[@stephen627]

Nat Geo can’t make videos better. Very interesting. I’ll keep watching that’s for sure. With no Ads? Wow!

[@rhwinner]

We used to frequent The falls when it was quite a bit smaller. Yes, we've been going a long time. We just love the area.

[@briangarrow448]

I remember doing a road trip with a high school buddy that summer I graduated. 4th of July holiday and we had his Chevy truck, sleeping bags, a tent and a cooler full of beer. We started at the coast, our homes and headed down I-5 to Vancouver then headed up the river on the Washington side. Climbed Beacon Rock, went to Marymount, stopped in the little towns along the gorge. I remember it was misty and 60 degrees when we were driving through Camas and when we got to Goldendale it was about 85 degrees. It was a great trip. We drove across Eastern Washington and camped then came back on I-90. The state of Washington has some of the best road trip views I’ve ever seen. The vistas, the scenery is incredible. There is so much beauty here. Anyway, thanks for the memories!

[@timothymulholland7905]

From the Oregon side near The Dalles, we counted the cars in the freight trains on the Washington side. They often exceeded 100! My grandfather’s cabin cruiser would take us up river, through the locks, to picnic and collect arrowheads. Beautiful country, mighty river.

[@louiscervantez1639]

I viewed a vid where at its end you read a comment from someone referring to geology buffs as nerds, to which you responded “I think we’re cool”. Nick this is absolutely “COOL” stuff. Thanks for your efforts to educate. I hung out in the gorge once upon a time BEAUTIFUL!

[@robclawson2931]

Thanks Nick,for taking me along on your adventures.

[@guysabol8743]

Back in 1932 President Calvin Coolidge asked Woodrow "Woody"Guthrie to make 10 songs ABOUT the Cascade dam project and he would be paid $200. He not only wrote songs about he He participated in it's building! He dug, wheelbarrowed, etc. The President was so happy, He then invited Woodie to come to Baltimore MD, for an award. Woody ""Thumbed" his way back to the East. Incurring as he did, he wrote the song " This Land is Your Land this land is My Land" And NOW you know the rest. I still at 72 yrs old DO play this fantastic song..peace and huggs!

[@terrieinione]

I just returned from a trip to Portland from N. Pend Oreille county. As I was driving along the Columbia River last Sunday, I was looking at and admiring all the various rock formations through the gorge and thought “I wonder if Nick Zentner has ever studied these”. I was delighted to get home today to this episode. Thank you for all you do. I have such a new appreciation of the history of our amazing world around us because of your videos.

[@myrachurchman5013]

I'll never get tired of watching your videos Nick. What a beautiful and interesting State you live in.

[@mamasquatch]

The most beautiful place on earth in my humble opinion ❤

[@daytonlights-peterwine468]

Love these collaborations! Thanks, Nick (and Tom, RIP)!

[@kylealexander7024]

I live in roosevelt. I get the joy of seeing this geology every time i step outside. So many people take the views we have for granted. Sometimes i just look at it in aww

[@charlessimons1875]

I drove the interstate trough CRG about 10 yrs ago and and found it's grandeur exhilarating, but had no idea what I was looking at. Thank you Nick for filling in the majestic gaps!

[@orcapnw9610]

Took your class in 2015 and loved it, rewatching these bring back fond memories of Central WA

[@101rotarypower]

Watched all these, yet rewatching is just as good the second time! Thank You!

[@kellywagner3837]

Nick, we lived for many years in the Portland / Vancouver area. We now live in Branson, Mo. Sure, we have some neat limestone, sandstone & dolomite. To the east are some ancient rhyolite "mtns" (1,772 feet, thank you!). There were huge lead, zinc & iron mines. We've got a couple of thousand caves. BUT, we don't have the Columbia Gorge! The beautiful photography almost made me cry.

[@5USgRWFH]

I had not known of the several previous channels of the mighty Columbia, especially the one through Salem. Another eye-opener! Thanks Professor.

[@audreynims4940]

Spectacular presentation and overview! Tom Foster and Nick Zentner sure made a great team. Thank you both. Tom would be proud to see where this life has taken you, Nick.

[@TheAcademician]

🎶 Twenty-two minute Geology... Twenty-two minute Geology... 🎶 Excellent content as always. Thanks, Nick!

[@jaymerjaymer]

lol. I see what you did there! 🎉

[@DoubleADay]

I have always loved catching Nick on the Rocks. Now I found his channel. The Columbia River Gorge has been and always will be my favorite place on earth. No matter how many times I visit, I'm in awe of it's natural beauty and history

[@divindave6117]

The Columbia River is beautiful. I wish there was a river like it near where I live.

[@MegaJohn144]

My earliest memories. Up and down the Columbia from Portland to White Salmon and back. Never really knowing what I was looking at. Incredible video.

[@guitartrainbillkalkman77]

Excellent video. As a railroad photographer (railfan), I have photographed trains on both sides of the Columbia from end to end. Great to learn all of this information.

[@Fusterclucked00]

I moved to Portland a few years ago from the central east coast. I had no idea before moving here just how shockingly beautiful it was here. The geology of this area is incredible and so interesting to me. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this video.

[@GregoryJohnson-be8mw]

One of the best explanations of the features of the Columbia river Gorge, I have ever viewed. Love the graphic explaining why vista house is where it is .Thanks so much for putting it together. I can impress my friends now with my newfound knowledge.

[@gordononly]

Thank you, Professor Nike. You make geology fun!!

[@cindyleehaddock3551]

Great job again! Nick sounds more relaxed with each episode. Still learned something new with this show! Looking forward for more!

[@SCW1060]

I can never get to much geology from you Nick. Thank you

[@richardalytle574]

Nick you're far the best geology prof I've ever seen. Thank you

[@janhelm3115]

Thanks Nick. This is fantastic. I can watch it again and again and more agains.

[@jamesherron9969]

I lived in Kahlotus WA my entire life And Have been told at one point in my life most of this, but I still enjoy your videos, and sometimes you teach me stuff I didn’t know ancient rivers of the Pacific Northwest. Great video Sir Nick along with this one, of course

[@scottlevan9183]

Nick you have unearthed a love for Geology that I never new I had. I find your videos fascinating and I can,t seem to get enough. You do a fantastic job of clearly explaining difficult concepts of geologic history. Keep up the great work.

[@jeffpalmer5502]

Wow fascinating video! We drove to Maupin Or. 2 weeks ago to check out all the old wagon trails and the White River dam . Drove East on the Or. side and west on the Wa. side. Not my frst trip but each time I come home with many answers but always many more questions . This video answered many of them. I took 2 semesters of geology at CWSC in 75/76. The walk over to Craigs hill changed how I look at everything forever. Later I lived in Cle Elum. My wife worked at CWU for Dr. Jim Chatters and later was Asst.Director of admissions for the College. We eventually followed career paths that took us away from our beloved Kittitas valley but we return often . Your videos are outstanding! Ive been all over the Teanaway, Colocum , Wenas, Stuarts , Pasayten , Cheesaw, well you get the point. Thank you! Im glad Centrals geology dept. still rocks!🍻

[@user-tk1rk7fi7b]

Hi Nick!!!! I was at doctor's office today...I seen this post up just 15 min ago....I am late again!!! I really try to follow close behind...but I just can't seem to get away long enough to study with you!! I hate that!!! But....I am watching now and my phone is set to do not disturb....let me shut up and listen now.... Thanks for the content!!😅

[@johnplong3644]

I am sharing these this on my Facebook page

[@_Michiel_]

Thank you Nick for uploading this episode. Tom has passed away too soon! The both of you would have made many more great series. This way his legacy lives on. And yours as well, by the way!

[@garypage9515]

There is such an incredible amount of information crammed into this video! Thank you.

[@laurafolsom2048]

Love rewatching these.❤

[@Anne5440_]

Wonderful video. I discovered the gorge in the late 60s. I was amazed but had no idea what questions to ask about it. I'm so glad to learn from this. I've always wished I could remember the wild Columbia. My mother said we crossed it when I was a baby. We would make trips from California to Wapato to see my grandmother. She said it was an amazing river to see. This is a beautiful video.

[@lzeph]

Same. Been across the old river but too young then to remember it. (sigh)

[@Siletzia]

Thank you, Professor Nick for all you do to make this unique part of the world come alive. No matter how much I think I know about the region's geology, there are so many nuggets in your videos that open new book sections or even chapters in my understanding. Always learning something new!

[@lzeph]

Right?!? He covered so much more in one video than I learned about the gorge in a full college semester, including field trips. Not that the course wasn't fun and informative, but wow. So much more to think about and learn!

[@chefmike4414]

Was the word "nuggets" a pun intended? I'd like to think so Lol. Especially if you saw his Liberty Gold Lecture. Which is amazing by the way.

[@tonics7121]

Growing up at Mt Hood, the gorge was my back yard. I remember thinking it was magnificent and iconic. Just love learning more.

[@neebeeshaabookwayg6027]

😊❤... hugs, just saw this, while falling asleep...thank you nick!!!! very kindly!!! Ps-- my climber buddies love this place... wish I could see it, 🤗🥰... also---- GREAT JOB!

[@atomdent]

Thank you, professor Zentner!

[@Rachel.4644]

Salute to you and Tom, photograpy and scope are inspirational! From you, I've only recently learned the natural history of the land I grew up in, so I am newly appreciative. Thank you!! ❤

[@davec9244]

One of the best from the A team thank you ALL stay safe

[@stephanieparker1250]

I used to live at Beacon Rock, before the whole place was turned into state park area. Best years of my life. ❤😊 great video!

[@GB-ew8wc]

Excellent Lecture sir. I have lived here all my life and now have a new retirement hobby to view these local land marks up close with a thirst for knowledge on why our Northwest is so amazing. Thanks for making learning fun.

[@catherineladd5300]

Drove through the Columbia River gorge area 30 years ago and was stunned by it's majestic beauty. Traveled the same route this year and was stunned by the wind farms which are an eyesore to the landscape.

[@lucindasutherland1073]

Really stunning photos. I especially enjoyed the pictures of barges on the river and Crown Point. We visited there last Thanksgiving and as always it was beautiful. I love hearing about how it was formed and the ideas that have been entertained over the generations. Your presentations are so interesting. I love getting to learn more geology without taking tests.

[@anonemus2971]

I enjoy the way you teach. I am glad to have found your channel.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

wonderful recap of the Geologic history of the Gorge. THANKS!

[@oceantree5000]

Thank you for posting! And fingers crossed that you’ll make it down to the Steens country sometime for a video or two. It’s only through your teaching that that magnificent region finally made sense to me. So I thank you for that as well!

[@dmitryadamenko6518]

Oh hell yeah

[@diannadoyle8046]

Love watching your videos! You always teach me something new. I used to live in Bingen and Murdock when I was a kid. Feels like a trip home when I watch them! Many thanks, Professor!

[@bjdefilippo447]

Thanks so much for this, Prof. Zentner. I've been feeling homesick, and getting to visit some of my favorite places through this show made it a bit better today. Driving through the gorge and stopping at waterfalls is one of the things I miss most. We're truly blessed to have such beauty all around us, and privileged to have you as a tour guide to explain how they came to look the way they do.

[@bits_for_bytes]

I’d love to hear your perspective on the John Day fossil beds

[@davidcrosby8552]

I've have loved your lectures for some time. Thanks for this video! I grew up near the Columbia River Gorge and have known about the floods and slides but you taught me something new and mysterious in this video and others. The great floods of LAVA that poured through the area and over large parts of the state. Would have been truly massive. I personally heard the Mt. St. Helens 1980 eruption from 40 miles away but that was just a mere firecracker compared to the scale of those ancient eruptions.

[@lzeph]

Not absolutely certain about this, but I think the fissure flows wouldn't have made nearly as much noise. They were pretty much non-explosive, more oozing than booming.

[@lazaruslazuli6130]

You 'rock', Nick. I always enjoy your presentations.

[@kmacksb]

This was very educational, thank you. I was taught in high school in Bellevue, WA, back in the mid-70s, the story that the glacial floods created the Gorge, but it honestly never sat well with me. At last I learn the real explanation! Thanks again.

[@lzeph]

They were still teaching it in the late '80s IN COLLEGE. Same here: Am thrilled to learn the real explanation.

[@darrenmarrable2530]

You are awe-inspiring Nick, thankyou from Australia.

[@johnnash5118]

There’s a Molalla River quarry mining river cobbles 50’ below grade; in a yard of purchased cobbles, I can easily find blonde quartzite, the tell-tale Columbia River signature 30 miles South of its present course; but there reportedly are other courses up to 30 more miles further South? It would be interesting to snoop through quarried cobbles @Salem.

[@jenniferlevine5406]

It seems every mile has a different story to tell! Fascinating video. Thanks so much for your efforts and for bringing us along on these wonderful adventures through time.

[@dpcnreactions7062]

The thing fascinates me is the course the river takes when it leaves Columbia lake. It goes a long way north then enters a series of long lakes that slowly u turn south to Castlegar BC where it becomes a somewhat normal river again until it enters another long lake near Kettle Falls Washington and then at Grand Coulee it turns north again before it turns west and then south west to the pacific I have seen quite a bit of this river as I spent a lot of time in the Columbia valley of BC. Here, the river runs through many marshy areas. I have also travelled along parts of the southbound course by road and by BC ferry from Revelstoke.. That area is very beautiful. Finally, back in 2007 after visiting Mount St Helens, I followed the river from Portland, over to the Oragon side then east to Kennewick where I turned north towards Spokane. Each section that I have seen of that river has a unique character.

[@McFunnyBone]

I worked at Lake Roosevelt National Recreational Area. Lived in Kettle Falls. Loved when they lowered the lake enough to go walk around the old foundations of the towns that got submerged.

[@erikpeterson25]

Have driven through the Gorge many years ago but did not stop....went on up to Yakima and then back over Steven's Pass to Washington ...Vancouver Island...Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula...this geologic history is awesome GREAT JOB AND THANK YOU 👍

[@julescaru8591]

Wow ! Sir thank you for sharing your passion for this wonderful landscape, I’ve watched many of your videos on this amazing place, never fails to impress! All the best Jules 👍

[@okiejammer2736]

Wowww. Speechless. Such profound history and BEAUTY ... and formed by such dramatic power over unimaginable eons of time. Shaking my head. Thank you, Nick.

[@earthandtime5817]

It was great to meet you at GSA. Hope our paths cross again sometime soon. Love this episode. Well done.

[@mikehartman5326]

So much info packed into 22 minutes.

[@clarencegreen3071]

It amazes me that the history of such a place can be pieced together where, as a physicist, I see only some funny-shaped hills and piles of rock.

[@lzeph]

SO glad to have found your channel. Didn't expect that this video would bring back so many memories from the hundreds of trips I'd taken up the gorge over the years (including several field trips for the geology classes I took in college). Moved to just north of Olympia nearly ten years ago, and haven't been back. I miss it. Thanks so much! Looking forward to binge-watching your older videos and keeping up with the new ones. Woo hoo!

[@churchofthedrillers9276]

Thanks for the short production

[@johnlasher7426]

Great story telling Nick about an extraordinary history. Thanks John Lasher

[@zwsplac]

Great video, heading over there for a visit the latter half of this week. Can't wait.

[@yosam5184]

Enjoyed this history lesson for the many places I've driven in this area.

[@jackieeastom8758]

Another great lecture! Thank you for all your hard work👍

[@michaelmckeag960]

Thanks for this engaging capsule geologic history of the Columbia River Gorge. This is one I will be sharing with visitors. We have the privilege of living in the Gorge. Our house is dug into Dalles Formation welded tuff, overlooked to the east by a cliff of same. Our view west is across the Mosier syncline through the Bingen Gap. Our well passes through the Dalles Formation into Pomona basalt. Your video is not only a great introduction, but can serve as a touchstone to return to in the course of exploring Gorge geology in more detail.

[@spacejunkcomet5671]

Excellent production.

[@coffeeismygod]

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing this video. Very informative, with beautiful camera work.

[@Donna_G]

I'm a fairly new subscriber to this channel. I've been watching new videos; but, I've also been watching older videos, including this one. I keep learning new things. It's so interesting. It's the rocks. When I was little, I was always bringing home rocks. Mostly, because I thought they looked interesting. Sometimes, I would forget to take them out of my pockets. I can't even remember the number of times my mom pulled rocks out of my pockets when she was getting ready to run the washer. We used to have a shop here called the Agate and Bead shop. I used to take my children to that shop just to see the rocks. I miss that shop.

[@kayleenserene9577]

Whow!!!’ You figured out visual.s. 4:58 You’re. Such a good teacher. Thank you. OKC OK HERE. 🥀🕊️🥀

[@douglassimpson8006]

You and Myron Cook have taken a topic many laymen may ignore and you have made it interesting. Your enthusiasm and storytelling grips my imagination. In have visited the gorge but remained oblivious to its geology and fixated on its stunning beauty. You have allowed me to see another facet of the remarkable part of the country.

[@mralexdenny]

Loved it -- As a long time PNW-er i can appreciate the geological make up-- thanks--

[@O2MEND]

Great video Nick. Thanks.

[@briankepner7569]

Excellent presentation as always! Raising a cup of coffee in your direction sir

[@floortap]

I always liked geology but could never really get into it until I found your videos. Thanks for the time you put into them.

[@michaels.chupka9411]

your videos are wonderful. it makes me jealous my alma mater has not done something similar for Pennsylvania.

[@donfingers3320]

Hello Nick, thanks for the upload.

[@big1dog23]

Thanks, Nick

[@DFWKen]

Good one, Mr Zentner. Wish I could travel up there to see it all first hand (with the knowledge that you have give me).

[@briankepner7569]

Thank you for this synopsis of a lot of your videos. Echoes of epiphanies. Thank you sir for your work

[@rerun3283]

Perfect! I was there last weekend and was wondering about all this stuff.

[@travisgardner9504]

Love your videos Nick! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@bonblue4993]

Thanks, Nick, for this video. I learned a lot about one of my favorite areas.

[@dishnpj3565]

Thanks for such a wonderfully concise video!

[@merlista]

Beautiful video, thanks - answered all of my outstanding questions...

[@stephanieparker1250]

21:24 I remember as a kid, when I saw that red/orange roadside cuts of pillow lava, I knew we were about to Hood River!

[@thinwolf4516]

Love your classes. Thank you for year after year of videos that I have gobbled up. I hope you keep presenting them. I don't know everything yet

[@derrickcarone3373]

I cycle🚴🏽‍♂️the gorge all week on my KONA bikes, this gave me a better perspective of what I’m looking at thx 🙌🏼👍🤙🏼