Why Are There Young Volcanoes In Southern Utah? Journey Up The Diamond Valley Volcano With Geologist

Explore one of the most accessible and spectacular volcanoes anywhere with geology professor Shawn Willsey. Visit the Diamond Valley volcano and learn how it erupted and why it is there. GPS location: 37.24333, -113.62773
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[@shawnwillsey]

Be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. You can support my educational 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 or here: buymeacoffee.com/shawnwillsey

[@americanwoman6246]

It's not lava flow coming out the bottom, that's where they opened the blast furnace for air and slag and iron removal.

[@americanwoman6246]

That's slag.

[@mikeblubaugh8988]

10yrs ago saw a small volcano flying from Seattle to Dallas@30,000ft .😮 Basin & Range, it all makes sense now. 😊

[@boomerang379]

Back in the early 2000’s I was an over the road long haul trucker. I hauled bulk commodities in a hopper bottom trailer. I’m based out of Mississippi but my delivery location was in southern Idaho near Burley at a dairy. Oftentimes my reload to take me back home was in Filmore Utah at one of the extinct volcanoes there. I’d load crushed and sized lava rock for bbq grills and take it back to Neosho Missouri to be packaged for Walmart to sell. I loved going out west and tried to stay out there as often as I could.

[@brucedohner3825]

This is great, college from my kitchen. Thanks Professor!

[@spicyflyhoneybees1478]

I grew up in Enterprise which is 15 mins away from here. I used to drive past this cindercone all the time and have throughly explored this entire area. I never realized how beautiful the geography was until I moved to Houston.. That area is my home and I go back regularly to climb and snowboard. Pretty cool getting a geologist’s perspective.

[@greenlightreading6975]

I used to watch a lot of Nick Zentner's videos and have been watching Shawn's for some time. All this time I've wanted them to come to my area and talk about the wild and diverse geology here. Thanks!

[@glenwarrengeology]

Are you able to do that yourself?

[@damonbanks259]

I love your "boots on the ground" approach to your passion, Shawn. Such a great way to teach! 😎

[@CricketsMa]

Yes! I lived at the base of the Veyo volcano, NW of your presented location. I have wondered about the cones, and am thrilled to have an explanation! Thank you, Shawn.

[@shawnwillsey]

Hey neighbor. We own property in Brookside that we hope to build on sometime in future. Glad you liked this.

[@CricketsMa]

@@shawnwillsey You have chosen well!

[@jmazoso]

Which one of you lit the faire in the top back in the day?

[@judierickson7166]

The drone view: I just kept saying Oh wow! Thank you so much for the lesson!

[@ncstormchaser8476]

Very nice video! Love these smaller, lessern known volcanoes. Would be really cool if someday you could do a video on the Raton-Clayton volcanic field!

[@janbadertscher1372]

I attended a medical conference in St. George and one of the presenting doctors told about being a teenage prankster growing up in the area. He and his buddies threw old tires soaked in fuel and lots of fireworks into the Diamond Valley crater. Near dawn, they lit the stuff on fire resulting in panicked neighbors who were sure their volcano had just awakened.

[@renicostareni2313]

🔨🇺🇸❤🙋 Good morning to the best american teacher. Amazing, gourgeours dilightful video about vulcane in Saint Clara Utha State# Cind Cone. I saw the beatful sky; beaitiful view of road and some people driving there.But the mountain and dry lava, and color stone are the best in this most useful video from you lovely teacher Sham Wislley. Thank for all you have done for Education around the world. I'm proud of you Shalm. 🔨🇺🇸👏👏

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@RWBHere]

12:08 - I had to chuckle. You know the parks way better than most of us, Shawn! I'm about 5 or 6 thousand miles away from you. Thanks for this video; your enthusiasm is infectious. And educational. 🙂👍

[@evidenceroom]

Geology has always been a love of mine since I was a kid. Thank you for your education.

[@carolyntolliver1146]

You explain this crater activity SO WELL. THANK YOU

[@Shelah-ne7ph]

I am listening and learning.Looking forward to live stream tomorrow.⭐

[@quake_er1149]

Another great video! When I traveled out West. I always wished that I could have been with a geologist to explain what I was seeing and now I have that😍

[@kurtiszobell7799]

This is awesome, especially for those of us that could not make it there for whatever reason.Thank you for doing this. Way cool! 2:18

[@sueellens]

Very cool. I love the drone footage as well. Thanks Shawn.

[@stevew5212]

Great drone shots. Great video Shawn.

[@LisaBelleBC]

I don’t know how you find these things but so glad you do!

[@Mic_Hael_XD]

Thanks!

[@annisner8112]

Thanks again for an interesting and educational video. Makes me wish I could turn back time and study geology, I know, never to late, lol

[@Rachel.4644]

What a lot of snarly sharp fantastic lava! Beautiful scenic country! Wow, in every direction. Droning ! 👌🏼 I love and appreciate your enthusiasm. Thank you! ❤

[@leestokes6761]

St. George native here. I moved in my early 20s to complete my education and ended up visiting once or twice a year. (Less than that since my mother died.) I’m now 68. My heart still lives under the piercing blue sky laid like a blanket over the Kiabab Limestone and Navajo Sandstone of the area. Depending on the map, St. George is shown as part of the Mohave Desert, Basin and Range Province, or Colorado Plateau. Yo may want to address Silver Reef where silver was found in the sandstone. When the Industrial Park was developed on the Northeast part of town, my maternal grandfather moved his soft drink bottling operation and warehouse there when I was about 10. Silver ore was found on the property during development as well as in the Kelwood company plant site across the street. Fun apocryphal story: some local teenagers (before my time) purportedly went to the trouble of rolling some old tires up to the volcano’s cone, then setting them alight. Black smoke coming from a volcanic crater next to a state highway😉

[@Jayne-z5s]

This is stunningly beautiful.

[@maricogan2903]

That was fun! the Diamond Valley cinder cone was astounding. When the line of cars drove by below the cinder cone, they looked like ants. Whoa!!

[@Situtlab]

@@maricogan2903 I drive by every day to work and I’ve climbed it. It’s got a pretty view at the top and there is a day hike just up the road that takes you just north of west Saint George along the cliffs.

[@susanauer6715]

I lived in Dammeron Valley for 10 years and enjoyed the view of the Veyo cinder cone. I now live in Castle Valley up the river from Moab and look out on the LaSal Mountains which are laccoliths.I'd like you to do a presentation on these intrusions of the Colorado Plateau.

[@JanClancey]

Great to rewatch these after your 101 series and learning from Iceland so cool

[@Abigail-d2k]

I also want to add I’ve been fortunate to prospect around the area and WOW!!! Beautiful Smokey quartz and fluorite!!!!

[@cweyer]

Hope you visit the Colorado volcanoes soon! Dotsero is very accessible, and a very interesting visit. Coffee Pot cinder cone nearby is less known, but still interesting. And then of course the various extinct supervolcanoes.

[@cdineaglecollapsecenter4672]

Coffee Pot cinder cone is actually called Willow Peak. I totally agree! I would love it if Shawn made a visit to this area. There are 4 quaternary volcanos in a sort of north-south line in this area: Dotsero, Willow Peak, Triangle Peak and the McCoy volcano. Worth thinking about.

[@brettgingery298]

A great video that ties together many things I had wondered about, thank you

[@RJRobertson-fd8xy]

Live in Dammeron Valley, just a couple of miles north on hwy 18 as well (the Hwy that goes along the Diamond Valley volcano). Love looking at the volcano every time I pass in either direction (as well as all of the spectacular scenery in that drive), and then look out at the Veyo volcano from the windows of my home. Great info from you. Thanks!

[@BarbaraHuck-d8b]

Do you have a video exploring northeast corner of Utah- “Dinosaurland” and the Book Cliffs? Growing up there, I was interested in the paleontology aspect but now I’m interested in the geology as well. Thanks for your spark!

[@shawnwillsey]

My trip to Vernal area didn't plan out so I'll be heading back that way this summer.

[@jeanie8831]

Enjoyed the landscape.. Beautiful!

[@noonenowhere6920]

I love the geology of the 4 corners. So many volcanoes around here. I've been particularly interested in the rift around the San Juan basin. From Chimney Rock in Colorado down to mount Taylor New Mexico. Then back towards Shiprock. Tons of little volcanoes all along the way. Including the Valles caldera supervolcano.

[@oldtop4682]

Ever wonder why so many roads in SW Utah have a reddish tint? There's a cinder cone up in Apple Valley that has been producing gravel for decades. Lots of volcanic activity around Hurricane (and thank you for pronouncing it right btw). Kolob Canyon has at least one cinder cone, and I think a couple 3 total. If you head north from where you shot this till you get to Beryl Junction - hook a left onto 56 toward Caliente, NV. Some great geology out that way - plus, the drive is beautiful on its own!

[@ericfielding2540]

Yes, the cinder cones are great sources of road material. It is already in small pieces without having to grind it up.

[@Meggligee]

I love Snow Canyon State Park and the cinder cones that surround it! Thanks for highlighting one of my favorite spots in Utah with a scientific tour!

[@earthandtime5817]

Really enjoyed the tour and your explanation of the cinder zones there. Found the role plays in the asymmetry fascinating. Thank you.

[@Roxanntamr]

Another very easy to access cinder cone is Lava Butte near Bend, Oregon. You can drive to the top. Spectacular views of many volcanic features in all directions with helpful displays in the old fire lookout to tell you what they all are. Then, to the west, close-up views of the Three Sisters Cascade volcanoes. Lava Butte is quite similar to the one in this video, with an asymmetrical top, a lava flow that exited from its base, and a trail you can walk all the way around the rim of the crater.

[@oscarmedina1303]

Thanks for the fantastic explanation and aerial view. Much appreciated.

[@sirius334251]

I visited Sunset Crater National Monument in Arizona back in the 90s. Wish I knew more about what I was looking at back then! Love the channel.

[@CamillePope]

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

[@benjamesh5139]

Thank you for the great volcano tour. My wife & I love your presentations. This appears to be near the Wah Wah caldera that was discovered by the Univ of Utah that produced 13,000' of ash.

[@headlessspaceman5681]

Thanks for this! Very informative and accessible geology hikes!

[@kymkauffman5000]

Thank you! Love the drone video. I learned a couple new terms today.

[@LizWCraftAdd1ct]

Thanks Shawn, always something new to learn.

[@HH.......]

Thank you Shawn 😊 I am thoroughly enjoying your geology lessons ❤😊

[@eric31shaggs]

Thanks for this video. Going to visit St George soon and researching cool places to visit. I think my kids will like this hike.

[@kevindorland738]

Thank you Professor. As always deeply interesting.

[@cdineaglecollapsecenter4672]

Thanks for this one! My local cinder cones are also in an extensional setting, but on the east side of the Colorado Plateau.

[@jmuehlbauer42]

Thank you so much for the wonderful video. Makes me wish I were a geologist. So very interesting!!

[@ericcox6764]

There are lava tubes in Snow Canyon State Park that you can hike through. I was there one evening, but didn't have a flashlight so I didn't go exploring. I'm staying in the area this winter, so I'll get back up there soon and check them out. Excellent video and thanks for helping us get smarter!

[@schrodingersCatnip-r9m]

Great stuff, so interesting. Thankyou

[@JasonKahn]

I can't help but notice that town built in the middle of two lava flows.

[@choppering]

Another exiting video....thank you.

[@drmichaelshea]

So many interesting things that I never knew existed in my home state!

[@shawnwillsey]

Might be my favorite state of all due to geology and recreation.

[@drmichaelshea]

@@shawnwillsey Same here. I started life in La Sal near Moab, and I still remember the red cliffs west of the Moab fault from my toddlerhood more than 70 years ago, and Delicate Arch was my mother’s favorite place in the whole world. I have a great love for the red rock country and never cease to be astonished by the landscape there. I’ve lived in all four quadrants of the country in my 74 years, and I can attest that nowhere has more to offer to the would-be geologist. I love it when you explore that territory. I’m surprised there are so many things I didn’t know about. Thank you for all your work. It is much appreciated.

[@ericoverstreet8025]

Another reason for asymmetry in a Cinder Cone is when a partial collapse happens on the rim wall. This can happen early in the cone development leading to continued asymmetry.

[@janetcollins1129]

gotta go... can feel the enthusiasm about landforms ..thanx :)

[@stefanschneider3681]

Beautiful and impressive!

[@jforce91]

you can see the assymetry in the reykjanes (and auckland) cinder cones and shields too- where past wind direction has governed the tephra deposition :) oh and during eruptions, the "agglutinates" are the structures that form rootless shields/lava flows, as partially molten tephra accumulates on itself.

[@stevengeorge5605]

Another great video-thanks, Shawn! 😀👍

[@SharonDennis-u1w]

SHAWN there was a video recently saying that tourist Bureau in Iceland is very concerned because people won’t come because of issues with the blue lagoon. Please, please tell your Icelandic friends -I am coming to Iceland in September because I’m a photographer and I love to travel, and I love meeting people with different cultures. I can find another swimming hole!!!!🏊🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🏊🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🏊🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🏊🏊‍♀️🏊‍♂️🏊

[@VivianGH1]

Thank you!! Very interesting!!

[@stephensteele3553]

I've been right there before. Cool to learn more.

[@acfanter]

Love the drone shot!!

[@vegasbright]

Love these videos! I would love to see more on the markagunt plateau and the area east of cedar city.

[@WilliamBay]

This is incredible. I was photographing in St George and Snow Canyon a few years ago, and when I left I took highway 18 near sunset. I photographed this one, and the Santa Clara one with Signal Peak and the mountain range glowing pink in the sunset afterglow. I was really taken by this little section of highway. Loved the lesson. Let me know if you’d like to join me on a Baja trip sometime. I live in San Diego and shoot down there a lot. I’m always curious about the geology of Baja. It’s so unique and raw. I’d love a geologists take on how everything was formed.

[@shawnwillsey]

I did my graduate research in Baja. Near Loreto.

[@WilliamBay]

@@shawnwillsey That's so cool! One of my favorite places in Baja is just north of Loreto, a place called Bahia Concepcion. I've been doing photo and surf trips in Baja for 25 years. Every trip reveals something new and fascinating to me.

[@janeneustach1816]

I grew up in St. George and 2 places come to mind: dinosaur tracks south of St. George, and Utah Hill which is west of this volcano and has a ton of fossils. They took us there in elementary school. Very cool place.

[@d2sfavs]

another most excellent video thank you for sharing

[@cynthialeadavidson8847]

Thank You!

[@premix3663]

Dont forget about veyo cinder cone just a few miles down the road, pretty sure its much bigger

[@shawnwillsey]

Yep. I know that one well as I have climbed at nearby Prophesy Wall.

[@youtube_username_]

That pile of cinders to the left of the beginning of the trail at 1:09 looks interesting and separate, from this point of view. Briefly visible on the bottom of the drone footage at 16:44.

[@KimU15]

I've been wanting to hike up that volcano for a couple years now but every time I see how narrow the pathway looks in some spots I think, "NOPE!" Lol. I do enjoy learning more about these volcanoes though. Always a fun drive through here.

[@lanalorenzen]

I live right near the front yard of these (my niece lives in Ivins) and I travel extensively through the state and national parks.

[@fenixgirl9]

like the eruption in iceland. at least the part that didnt hit the town. that was very interesting to watch, day or night views.

[@TjClay7858]

Thanks again prof! Cant get enough of these you do. Does this mean you finally got a drone??!! 😎👍

[@shawnwillsey]

Ha! I was using a departmental one from a colleague but not have one for myself.

[@petem6846]

Great video Shawn! Appreciate you mentioning there were volcanoes near Hurricane, UT. I've driven US-12 and near the top of the summit, there is a scenic pulloff at which I think I've seen volcanic bombs. If those are really volcanic bombs, it would be great to hear how they got there!

[@non-influential]

Although extension occurs across the Basin and Range, is there a tendency for volcanoes to cluster more near the margins of the province? If so, any idea why that would be?

[@shawnwillsey]

Extension along the margins of the Basin and Range is more rampant, resulting in more earthquakes and volcanoes. You see this here in SW Utah as well as Eastern Sierra near Bishop, among other places.

[@curtiscroulet8715]

One thing of interest to me is the change of vegetation as you go north on Hwy 18. St. George/Santa Clara is about at the northern and altitudinal limit of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). As you go north, they disappear somewhere between St. George and the cinder cones.

[@curtiscroulet8715]

Going north on Hwy 18 in GE, it appears to me that creosote drops out roughly around Ledges Pkwy, just below 3800 ft elev. I don't see a name for the community in GE. It's a transition area from Mojave Desert vegetation into Great Basin Desert vegetation.

[@ericfielding2540]

great explanation!

[@23skiddsy6]

I'm a local - great to learn more! I know Pine Valley Mountain is a laccolith (maybe the world's largest?), I tend to think of it as a very very big zit that never popped. 😂 Washington County is cool because we also are three ecoregions meeting (Mojave Desert, Great Basin, Colorado Plateau), probably because its a meeting of geologic regions.

[@Raptorman0909]

The scene near the end as the camera pans to the NE and overlooking the town of Diamond Valley reminds me a bit of the town impacted by "The Andromeda Strain" -- Piedmont, New Mexico.

[@janettalbott748]

I recently started watching these videos and am enjoying them. Many years ago on a summer school fiield trip in Millard county, we visited the volcano there. The mouth was below ground and had snow in it. It was refreshing to feel the cool air on that hot day. Have you ever gone to Parowan Gap? it's an interesting place.

[@Quiv1s]

Gorgeous, my favourite type of volcano! Salutations from the Chaîne des Puys in France 😊

[@Sgt.Spychurch]

Beautiful

[@davidk7324]

Spectacular.

[@dennisyardn1ten238]

Sunset Crater near Flagstaff is pretty cool and accessible. Also cinder craters near Mono Lake.

[@queenmab1999]

This is awesome!! I really wanna go look around in Utah!!! Even a gas cone would be cool to see or smell? lolol

[@AWildBard]

Wow, I didn’t know about these volcanoes.

[@Lando62]

Good job! Thanks. I gotta look and see if you've done one about Sullivan's Knoll, the big cone by Hurricane.

[@Katie-sx5kf]

For a couple of other beautiful and accessible cinder cones, check out Sunset Crater, a national monument, just north of Flagstaff, AZ and Capulin Volcano in the Clayton-Raton volcanic field in north east New Mexico.

[@Jayne-z5s]

What lovely names; Diamond Valley and Snow Canyon.

[@bravendyer9529]

Thanks Shawn , what a great tip ! Camping 🏕️ they’re next time through Saint George . Awesome 👏 cons ! Doesn’t Death Valley have some beautiful cons ? Camped there long time ago . ❤🎉

[@rogerdudra178]

Greetings from the BIG SKY. Both you and Nick Zentner have taught me a lot about contemporary geology. Thanks.

[@buzzkeeto60]

Ah, you mean Ned Zinger...LOL

[@shawnwillsey]

I'll be on his livestream on Feb 4 at 10am MST.

[@mattcauthers1758]

Wow that\s really interesting! I’ve been through northern AZ and Southern UT and always wondered the age of those features. I was at the San Francisco volcanic field near the town of flagstaff and learned that it last erupted about 1100 years ago

[@shawnwillsey]

Indeed. I lived in Flagstaff for 3 years while at NAU for grad school. Lots of volcanoes nearby including this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qV7dY2Cad6uieqs

[@timgarlick3426]

Hi Shawn, Thank you for sharing the video! My family and I are new to the area, and because of your video, we were inspired to hike the volcano just last week-it was an amazing experience for us, thank you! I have a question for you. We’re really interested in learning more about the rocks and minerals on our property, and I was wondering if you have any recommendations for rock or mineral testing kits. I’m not too familiar with the proper terminology, so I appreciate your patience as I learn! Thanks so much for your help!

[@RobertGotschall-y2f]

Had property near Cedar Breaks, always wondered about all the volcanos.

[@RobertGotschall-y2f]

I lived in Brian Head and wondered what was with the cinder cones. Thanks.