Volcanic Mudflows in the Ellensburg Formation

[@doncook3584]

95% of drivers have no idea what is under foot. Great info presentation. You are a treasure. Thank you

[@jeandorsey7991]

Great stocking stuffer Nick, thank you. Merry Christmas. 🎉

[@willbradley7450]

What a great present Nick, 3 videos for Christmas. This is so visually integrating; talk is one thing, yet pictures give the mind some grist to work with when imagining the topics up for discussion. You are doing a magical service to our geological milieu. Thanks~!

[@marymactavish]

I'm a total science nerd, especially Earth sciences, and especially all kinds of geography, who is to disabled to go crawling around on road cuts myself, or take most geology field classes. But thanks to people like you, I can still do learning and wallow in Earth science, and I really appreciate it.

[@charlesward8196]

One of the phenomena you can see in the debris flows of Illgraben that drains into the Rhône River in the Alps is debris flows that start out with massive boulder fronts, with boulders up to 150 tonnes, and then transition to periodic surging slurries of sand and gravel and clay. A flow may scour a deep channel in the bed and levee deposits during the boulder phase that refills with smaller clasts towards the end of that event, or during the next event that is different in nature due to amount of rainfall, or perhaps the side canyon that is providing the bulk of the water and debris from heavy thunderstorms that are limited in area. The Illgraben drainage dumps into the Rhône and sometimes establishes a large alluvial fan out into the main stream of the the Rhône, forcing the main stream against the opposite bank. Then the fan is re-mobilized and removed by the larger stream, or modified by subsequent flows. As the flows decrease in volume, debris is stranded in the channel as bed deposits, gravel bars and levee deposits. The next flow will re-mobilize and entrain the stranded bed load and carry it further down the drainage until it reaches the Rhône. At 13:57 the cross section of the lahar deposit is a dead ringer for the fan deposits dumped into the Rhône. On of the things that is interesting is that authorities have installed “drop structures” several meters high to reduce the velocity of flows via turbulent friction. As the boulders crash together at the bottom of the drop, in the middle of a MUD FLOW, the impact jets puffs of what appears to be ROCK DUST out of the mud flow. It would not take too many kilometers of violent transport to round the corners off of even the hardest rocks. The Alps are badly sheared “ugly” rocks that amply demonstrate the increased rates of erosion caused by tectonic increases in topographic relief and stream gradients.

[@FrankBarnwell-xi8my]

Happy Christmas. Considering the paper on the car hood,: I'm glad you're not always driving a desk. But maybe a desk you can drive. Gorgeous views. Thanks Mr Zentner!

[@susanranger652]

Every time I go up the Rattlesnake drainage in the Nile, I marvel at the cliffs - apparently, the Ellensburg Formation. Thanks for talking about them!

[@stevew5212]

We all have plans and hope for things for work and hobbies that we want to get done one day. Well Nick. You have been getting to those things done for the last few years. Aint lerning phun

[@windsorlewis3344]

Geology is so cool when seeing it through Nick Zentner’s eyes. 😊

[@homeboyjon4885]

You got such beautiful lighting. What a great day to make a geology video!

[@grammiebythelake5246]

I am totally amazed. I spent a good amount of time during in my childhood at Bumping Lake and Yakima. I do not remember ever hearing about Nile or seeing the formations. Thank You for taking us there.

[@1986BBG]

Merry Christmas Nick

[@pathorgan8643]

Really appreciate this video, much of which covers my backyard region outside of Naches. I have a few questions brewing on methods for determining lahar flow direction when originally deposited. Time to go do some reading….thanks Nick!

[@cmeyers3231]

Thanks Nick I have wondered too where the Thorp lahar originated from too, You sure have my attention.

[@metamorphiczeolite]

What beautiful light you had! Thanks for taking us along.

[@SCW1060]

This is a very interesting formation and story. Thank you Nick and Merry Christmas

[@TexasRoadrunner]

Thanks for the wonderful field trip today.

[@dannymccarty6680]

1:54 “You know the drill by now”, yes we do! You’ve taught us about the German chocolate cake many times ! Your presentation is consistent and makes perfect sense! Online nerd for 4 years in San Antonio! Luvya professor!

[@CompetentSalesUSA]

Nick. Thank you

[@hestheMaster]

It was a really nice sunny day to see these not often talked about by anyone but geologists formations. Merry Christmas to you Nick and family.

[@pinkerdroit]

Right on! 😁💛 Merry Christmas and thank you for the video. 🌟

[@StephenMortimer]

I HAVE NOT SEEN THE NACHES GRADE FOR 70 YEARS SO THANKS

[@SteinsReality]

Merry Christmas! TY NICK! Praying for a wonderful new year , health for you and yours and for the rest of this year’s A-Z! Keep em coming!

[@Rickristian]

Thank you for showing these incredible geology treasures omg. I am blown away thanks again. Merry Christmass.

[@williampool3080]

I am loving this exploration.

[@carlenaponce9205]

Thank You for reporting the formations of our Washington State terrain. ♥️🙏 Merry Christmas⛄️❄️

[@Elizabeth-uz1mn]

Great Christmas present from you! Thank you!!

[@jmbreece]

Before I dive into the science of the geology there I have to pause just to take in the beauty of the place! The colors and textures are beautiful beyond description. Thanks, Nick, for driving out there and showing us! Now, bring on the science.

[@jennifermoore2041]

Greatest content EVER!! It's like we're learning together...

[@charlesward8196]

At the 35:00 minute mark, compare that deposit to what you have seen in field camps in the Mohave Desert on alluvial fans near Death Valley. Great variations in clast sizes, cross-bedding, and braided channels sweeping across the fans.

[@raenbow66]

I really enjoyed this as it relates to Gary Smith's talk. Then, seeing the very interesting layers at Thorp and Nile! Whoever guessed geology could be so exciting?! (I laughed at "...I have a hammer..."). This spring...ok, Nick! 👍🏼

[@jasongarcia2140]

Merry Christmas Nick. Just by the way.

[@gabsy6443]

Thank you for the video and Merry Christmas to you and your family 😊

[@StuBobsGhost]

Great video.MerryChristmas!

[@itakephotos1141]

Thank you and Happy Christmas.

[@brianrousseau661]

Wow My Home Town Merry Christmas!!

[@hjumper8238]

More pieces to this enormous puzzle! Thank you, Nick.

[@ndngolfer]

Not only a Tall Strata Volcano, major slope, but also the Volume Nick!

[@cyndikarp3368]

Merry Christmas. Nice treat video.

[@dippyanddakota]

Much better Christmas present than the model airplane I got from my wife. Thanks for everything you do Nick.

[@angelacret]

Another great field trip that exposes some of the beauty and geological past of this location. I am a longtime fan. I can never get tired of the field trips. This episode just seems to be too short ! 😊 As they say, "Time goes by too fast when you are having fun."

[@pfos]

You're on the right track, now we just need to adjust those time distortions built into the foundation of GeoSci. Think real-time catastrophic cyclic events - like tree rings. Just sayin' = ) 💓LOVE your work Mr. Nick, thankU4 working towards integrating the narrative with your grounded and open-minded observations. You're my favorite teacher.

[@johnadams3100]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

[@par0z]

Field trip time with Nick Zentner, Merry Christmas!

[@EShelby2127]

Thank you Nick, for getting me out of the Seattle rain on this trip! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@deborahferguson1163]

Thank you Nick for the explanation of the Elensburg formation! Looking forward to hearing more.!!

[@xwiick]

Thanks for all the hard work on these videos!

[@sandilou2U]

Merry Christmas, Nick! I was so surprised but very grateful to see you had uploaded a video today. I love your vision and have huge respect for your desire to review at older studies and question prior findings.

[@susanranger652]

Jack Powell took our YVC Geology class to the Naches Grade 30+ years ago. Amazing then and still is now!

[@sharonseal9150]

hAnother great field trip - thanks Nick for a flurry of Christmas videos. What a treat! I think I am caught up again and ready for the Thursday noon show.

[@keninboulder76]

Really, really cool

[@fez3606]

I agree. Frothy pumice layer was floating on the lower lahar layer.

[@charlesflorian1758]

Nice video for Christmas Day - Thanks

[@charleswelch249]

Thanks for the video, and I hope you had a wonderful, Merry Christmas with your family and friends.

[@lynnmitzy1643]

Happy Christmas professor Nick ❤ and family

[@uriahheep8470]

Great Christmas video

[@skyecooleyartwork]

Brown upper gravel at Naches grade above pumicious sand and its frothy upper looks to be, at least in part, a debris flow.

[@eodmax85]

Thanks for this investigation. I was stationed at YTC (53rd EOD) and I drove all around Umtanum and Kittitas, Selah, Naches, etc; and I was always curious how those formations could exist in close proximity. It felt like driving through a geologic patchwork, very unlike most other wildlands I've worked and played in.

[@charlesflorian1758]

Beautiful Vistas

[@edwardhanson3664]

There is always something new t o learn

[@edyththurber8516]

Yes. Let's get started.

[@williamp2359]

When you see ancient volcanic mudflows it really helps you comprehend how short the human experience has been in relation to geologic time. Thanks for taking us on a tour.

[@williewilson8244]

That Naches grade IS my back yard and I have some ground you could go beat on as long as you like don’t know how to contact you… I get close to the base of Mt. Clemands

[@StewartSmith-g4f]

Are all the mud flows dipping East?

[@runninonempty820]

It looks a whole lot different than where I'm from, THORP WI. Thanks for another great video!

[@gt1601]

My mother was born in the Nile, around the post office. She's 83. We had reuions for many years up the road from there, camping at the Nile.

[@charlesward8196]

Is that frothy pumice top a pyroclastic flow? I have heard that PC flows frequently have pinkish colors to them. We know that Mt. Pinatubo inter-beds pyroclastic flows with lahars especially when eruptions occur during tropical cyclones. If that pumice flow moved across the “grey sparkly sands” before it was consolidated, it could have mobilized some of the grey and barely mixed it into the bottom of the pumice flow. You need to drag Shawn Willsey up to that “random road cut!”

[@davec9244]

Back yard Geology a new series? thank you good job.

[@sluggotinfantryman]

Seriously the main thing I learned on your channels is the names of everything around here.

[@andyevans2336]

Or, if required, a solid NEE HA! always works for me.

[@briankepner7569]

Can you tell the difference between a hot lahar caused by a heat event versus a coldahar of a massive mountain landslide say due to an overabundance of moisture causing liquefaction and then a lahar event? Admittedly I'm not a geologist but I'm trying to think of a way that you could transport the material in a cold state and still have the same effect meaning a volcano absorbing tons of water from an ice age and as things warm up it collapses but I can be corrected I love your videos cuz you asked so many questions it makes me start thinking about the stuff.

[@ihatedietcola7920]

I miss driving around and hiking all those areas.

[@alanrobbo6980]

This is Amazing, just imagining How much must have been washed away to form the cliffs, Where did it all go ❓

[@ssgtmole8610]

Do any western rock tumblers think the force of being carried in a lahar could round off rocks freshly exploded out of a volcano in the time the lahar was moving?

[@OkkiePepernoot]

Once they're way, way back in the past, lahars are cool!

[@lethaleefox6017]

Was slow getting to this video because I was watching the Itchy Boots stolen bike episode...

[@brandonknopff1260]

Great video! Very familiar with Nile. Quick question. When you come down the east side of 410 from the summit there is a mine shaft heading into the mountain. Any idea what they were looking for?

[@CWS-h5z]

Minute 23:45: it kinda looks like that thin layer is a combination of the layer above and the one below. Could that have been possible - that the two briefly interacted with this thin layer as a result???

[@donnaminar4689]

The varieties of layers in the roadcut near Naches is fascinating. It's a shame you can't figure out the dates.

[@karihamalainen9622]

Why there are larg areas without trees? Too coarse land? Too acid? Forest fire? I see treeline climbing up to hill but thin line.

[@richarddavies7419]

Dry climate east of Cascades- sagebrush and grass, not trees.

[@karihamalainen9622]

@@richarddavies7419 Pine wood do not need much water.

[@leestamm3187]

​​​@@karihamalainen9622 I live in the region. Annual precipitation in that area is about 10 inches (25 centimeters). Summers are hot and dry, with afternoon temperatures often above 100F (38C). Tree growth is restricted to watercourses, sheltered ravines, and north or east facing ridgetops.

[@richarddavies7419]

@@karihamalainen9622 Talking about annual rainfall 25-20 cm. What pine? Depends on species and soil. Examples- limber pine does fine on sandstone ridges; ponderosa pine does not. Elevation affects growth, as well.

[@halmason9252]

Long time Ellensburg native here, I do not see any mention of well logs in your videos. Seems that they would be a prime source of ground strata information. The well log for our property goes down over 300 feet. Other wells in our immediate area go down to over 700 ft. Just an idea.

[@BlueMountainBandit]

What model of camera are you filming on? I love the crisp up close video quality

[@briankepner7569]

It seems to me if that a fellow horror travels the same route multiple times in different events that it would become erosive picking up material that was already in place and carrying that onwards too. So there you get your big rounded material. I know expert on this but the heavier material and a hard would be at the bottom and they soft light stuff would be on the top and that's how you would tell if a Lahore was intact or if a subsequent heart took the top of the older off and carried it on to make a new deposit. Love to be corrected if I'm wrong

[@Rickristian]

This site certainly needs to be protected to make sure its geology features are not disturbed and kept as is for further studies and world heritage site.

[@bryansavage5056]

Could the frothy pumice deposit be a ash flow deposit instead of a lahar

[@pmgn8444]

Interesting video Nick! So there is a secret road between Kittitas Valley and 410!

[@DavidFollis-j6z]

Umptanum to N Wenas to Naches is an beautiful drive. maps.app.goo.gl/tjKvwkxwPbTJhgtRA?g_st=ic

[@grandparocky]

With our new understanding of chemistry evidence we may be able to tie them together!

[@kidmohair8151]

Hiii---YAH! to you Prof Zentner. (watch out for twisting ankles on unsure footing. and look both ways)

[@skyecooleyartwork]

Lahars followed older canyons with long profiles established by fluvial processes. Anyone recreated those now deformed, dissected stream profiles using elevations of preserved lahar deposits?

[@sluggotinfantryman]

I didn't know Ellensburg was a formation. Blue 49 blue 49. Hut hut. Hay!

[@jmflournoy386]

Or the pumice top flow dissolved the gray and sank into it, Two different flows, dates? can we use bioluminescence to date flows?

[@Drums4now]

Try coordinating your HaYAH! with the hammer strike.🤣 Martial arts 101.🙃

[@Poppageno]

Couldn't the roiling action inside the lahar produce rounded stones?

[@KSparks80]

Lahar flows coming down off of a volcano will usually follow old creek and river beds. (the low spots) where it can pick up the rounded rocks. Not sure if a lahar flow has the time or distance needed to form any "newer" rocks into round cobbles.

[@Poppageno]

@@KSparks80 I'm just an armchair geologist, K, I imagine hot material rolling down a 14k volcano and traveling tens of miles would be enough to round off some corners. IDK. Most of the bigger rocks in the second exposure, Natches, while large, none have sharp corners. These lahars are very voluminous, seemingly spreading out in an apron not just following a narrow valley. Or?

[@KSparks80]

@@Poppageno I've got the same "armchair degree" as you. (Bark-O-Lounger University here. Couldn't afford La-Z-Boy U! lol) Can definitely see a lahar breaking up larger rocks/knocking off corners/general rounding. I just think of the really smooth/rounded "river cobble" rocks that were in there as taking much less energy and a LOT more time to form. May have missed class that day, too! Edit: I searched for "Can a lahar flow make round rocks". AI didn't seem to think so. (To trust AI or not? lol) It also said the Ellensburg Formation contained lots of rocks/gravels from an ancient Yakima River. Maybe that's where they came from? Picked up by a lahar? Dunno!

[@glennwallace9203]

re Thorp and the Hwy 10 geology - this intersects with one of your prior talks about the east-tilted layer cake from Teanaway and towards Ellensburg. How does all this intersect (so to speak)? kzbin.info/www/bejne/oGmld6mBpMaVgJI

[@lesliepropheter5040]

Seems like Ellensburg is built on old lake beds? Pretty weak material, only some basalts? How would your town react from large earthquakes

[@danvan5768]

Random: can we have an episode about Bijou?

[@reginebellefontaine4936]

Lahars seem difficult to learn about, they can pick up various rocks from wherever they go through and mix everything. So you are left with puzzle pieces, and ask yourself : where did this come from ? Answer in February 2025...

[@Rickristian]

Looks like basalt stones mixed with glacier tills.

[@sluggotinfantryman]

The state geologist of CA told me 80% or more of gold in CA is still in the ground. Gospel. 100 giants, he was there. My latest book find at Goodwill was the Northwest minerals county by county. By the way the drive up the road at Mount Baker was best video of scenery I have seen. Hikeart Channel kills them. BUT no vocabulary.

[@dontask8979]

Days or weeks, months of light(ish) accumulation followed my a larger eruption covering the lighter deposits. Kind of like the last cement truck had all the big rocks. It's one pour, but not.