Random Roadcuts #3: US-189 near Kemmerer, Wyoming

In this new series, geology professor Shawn Willsey investigates a random roadcut, makes observations, and formulates basic interpretations. This interactive series aims to assist you, the viewer, in deciphering rocks and landscapes. Here in Episode #3, we visit an interesting roadcut along US 189, just north of Kemmerer, Wyoming.
GPS Location: 41.835593, -110.53079
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Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
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Twin Falls, ID 83303
Transcript

[@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

[@jimmillward3505]

im loving the road cuts series. it's like geological CSI. its a great idea. im learning so much from you. thank you

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad to hear it!

[@DJBoise]

What I like about this series is that we all drive by these cuts.

[@geoffgeoff143]

You have to stop and walk the cut. Amazing what you can find when you do. Takes me ages to drive A to B.

[@jonerlandson1956]

I love knowing where I'm at....

[@jonerlandson1956]

i'll bet myself that ancient man knew and understood that all things in the universe came from stone.... gobekli tepe... is yesterday speaking with us....

[@jonerlandson1956]

the population of the earth... was an inevitability...

[@jonerlandson1956]

history is my father... the earth is my mother... and the origin of species is division... my philosophy... maybe unappreciated but there it is....

[@fairwayfrank]

The Roadcut series is wonderful. Thanks for your time and effort in doing these. Looking forward to the next one.

[@IndridCool54]

Love road cuts. I have gone through a couple copies of a book titled Roadside Geology of Arizona by the late geologist Halka Chronic who happened to be a native of Tucson Arizona like me. She not only explained the general geology, but road cuts were a special look into things. Love this series! Really enjoy all of your content. 👍🏼

[@favoriteblueshirt]

Essential book series for driving around, you can cover a lot of ground with those books.

[@davidk7324]

I was in this remarkable area ~3 weeks ago. The area between Central Idaho to Central Wyoming is my favorite place to wander and explore. Thanks Shawn.

[@johnmoyer9259]

Agreed!

[@charliedoyle7824]

Your roadcut lessons are great because they give an amateur like me an idea of how to analyze rocks with no prior knowledge. I look forward to more Random Roadcuts!

[@Panicagq2]

These are super fun and teach good 'geological thinking'...thank you! ETA: I live in Western Oregon, so roadcuts are often my only visible exposures betwixt all the greenery 😅

[@randypowell3180]

You should look at the road cuts on I-80 in Wyoming between mile markers 121 and 122. Interesting stuff there in the form of folds and intrusions.

[@CuriosityAdventures]

Absolutely brilliant! This series is fascinating and really helps me in looking at and interpreting what I'm seeing in outcrops and roadcuts. More, please!

[@bottomup12]

Hearing the vehicles come by is almost like the ocean waves of the inland sea. Fascinating to imagine a sea and swamp in Wyoming.

[@burpleson]

This is one of your best! More roadcuts, please.

[@byronleatham1183]

Hey I really enjoy your video and I'm learning a lot from you. But you're not in Southwest Wyoming, you're in Northwest wyoming.

[@shawnwillsey]

Kemmerer is in NW Wyoming? The state is basically a rectangle and if you divide into four quadrants, Kemmerer is in the SW quadrant in my mind. Not a big deal though.

[@aryu-bts613]

Loving the Random Road Cuts, fun idea! I've seen so many great ones that the imagination gets going to "How did this end up here, what is it, how did it get these cool characteristics etc...?" Especially when you see the specific small scale details that tell what happened on a giant scale.

[@shirleyandrews1152]

Thank you for taking me on your trip. I’ve always collected rock but don’t know much about them. I call them my memory rocks cuz I can look at them now & remember the experience. I’m 82 & not very mobile anymore so I look forward to your program. cheers😻

[@leslie3832]

I like your name “memory rocks” because I, too, have saved rocks from great trips. The rocks do serve as a memory of that trip.

[@kenmunozatmmrrailroad6853]

'Love these Shawn. I think everyone can relate to road cuts; we've all seen 'em and often wondered. Keep it up- they're great👍🏽

[@GB-ew8wc]

I am not a geologist but a very interested retiree and travel frequently thru equally fascinating NW road cuts. I am buying a rock hammer. Thanks for another great video professor.

[@vicbertfartingclack4559]

Me too ! Retired enthusiast and loving this series !

[@angelalewis4213]

I have always found road cuts to be beautiful and it is so cool to get to see them in depth. We all drive past them but most of us don’t have the knowledge or time to analyze them. Thank you for this fun series!

[@briane173]

I always think about the dudes in their skip-loaders and haulers and blades cutting through this stuff and neither knowing nor caring what it's made of, they're just doing their jobs making a road cut. And leaving behind a geological treasure trove for all us geo-nerds.

[@Laserblade]

Thanks for scrambling across the scree Professor, Loving the road cut series! Even though I had no idea what the geology was telling me, ever since childhood my attention has been drawn to any cut where the strata is exposed. Now, thanks to you I can better read the story on display. As a teacher, your skills serve your classroom students well, but I dare say the audience for your videos here dwarf your reach in class. All the videos will remain as a reference for the future curious intellects. I thank you for your time Sir, and look forward anything you post!

[@randypickett5242]

What GREAT concept! I’ve marveled at many roadcuts, but I never understood the story the rocks were telling me. You need to carry this series across the country, marking locations that people could visit and see first hand the geology of roadcuts. I realize you have just started and are a “one-man-show” but I believe this channel would be wonderful with the addition of a cameraman, and some good graphics to explain the timeline of deposits. Thanks for posting this on KZbin.

[@shawnwillsey]

Solid suggestion but this is not my day job so I'll likely keep things simple for now unless we can get some funds to hire a crew.

[@visnuexe]

Checking out roadside cuts has been quite rewarding! Thank you for refreshing a memory of my visit to the area! It's like seeking an old friend looking at those fossiliferous sandstones.

[@georgehubbard6876]

Education needs more teachers like you. In abundance. Good stuff

[@davidkaplan2745]

Fossil Butte is well worth a visit. They have wonderful fish and plant fossils there. They also have a cool "Trail of Time" on the road in, where they try to present deep time as distance along the road. Thanks, Shawn, for another random roadcut.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, I did visit their fossil exhibits. Very awesome.

[@AKUSUXs]

Since your first road cut episode, I find myself looking at them with more interest.

[@justjen12345]

How cool, I was raised by a geologist. Had the best father in the world. You make me happy. Thanks

[@susiesue3141]

I am so late seeing this one. I love Wyoming! I hear words I've never heard before. Thank you for sharing!

[@elizabethfierro8104]

Another winning road cut. Keep them coming-I learn so much, and have so much fun every time.

[@susanWilder2175]

Thank you for your wonderful road cut series. My dad was born in Kemmemer in early 1900’s. His dad was a miner. They moved from Wyoming to summit county utah when he was a 2 year old where his dad continued to work mines. My dad went all over the Wyoming and Utah areas in later years, mostly for fishing. So fun to hear about the geology of his birthplace. Also explains why he had a few fossils he had kept for years (illegal now but not then). Thanks again. You’re so fun to watch.

[@gailgreen5012]

Found you when Iceland volcano hit Grindavik. Now a huge fan. These Random road cuts are really fascinating. THANK YOU!!

[@GrandmasterBBC]

Yes please continue these types of videos. I have always been intrigued when I drive through road cut areas in and around Idaho. Amazing to see what people drive by all day and have no clue what they are seeing. I would love to see a video on the road cuts around Lucky Peak reservoir on Highway 21 just outside of Boise.

[@shawnwillsey]

Can do. Thanks for watching.

[@LouinVB]

Very cool road cut and video! I'm one of those rock and mineral collectors, a rockhound, that pulls over at road cuts thank you for the stop!

[@daphnewilson7966]

One of my favorites is a BIG one they made to put through Freeway 40 from upper Kingman Arizona to lower. But can't mention that without giving a shout-out to the old Rte 66 cut (I think it's AZ 10? over Sitgreaves Pass to Oatman. But that would be a 10-hour miniseries all by itself. Sure hope to get back there... Maybe I'll know more when I look at it again, thanks Dr. Wilsey!

[@LisaBelleBC]

I have been excitedly waiting for another random road cut video and you didn’t disappoint! Your videos are the best because you actually get outside and show us stuff we may never have the opportunity to see. Thank you for your time, expertise, and excitement! I so enjoy your commentaries! Keep up the great work! I hope to make it to Idaho for one of your trips!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for your kind comments. Hope you make it out to idaho sometime.

[@natalieperkowski7810]

I'm so happy I stumbled upon you because I love geology. My son and I like to look at rocks and try to identify them. I watch Your videos at bedtime not because they're boring it put me to sleep LOL but because I am so focused on what you're talking about that I can just relax. Please keep this awesome content coming

[@jennasyseng]

Thank you for another great roadcut video! I really appreciate your excitement when you see something interesting. Your enthusiasm is one of the things that makes your channel great.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks so much. I appreciate it.

[@bernices8019]

Keep doing these roadcut series. Much more interesting than just looking at rocks on a table. And now I am checking out roadcuts as I drive.

[@curtd7117]

I wish I had a quarter for every time I drove by that place. You rock 🪨 Doc!! Thanks so much!!

[@barrycaldwell3620]

Liking these videos a lot. An insight into the thought processes involved in interpreting a landscape utilising the knowledge and understanding from geological fundamentals.

[@MaxPixUT]

That was fun! I love Kemmerer; the fossil record there is so amazing!

[@kevinberrien745]

This was a good one and I had put together the deep time narrative in my mind about halfway through. Passing road cuts will not be the same after watching your series.

[@JanetClancey]

I am loving these random road cuts… thanks Shawn

[@shawnwillsey]

More to come!

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks! , A goldmine of many uniquely interesting geological epochs

[@larrywynn9092]

This type of video is 100x better than somebody just standing there showing you slides.

[@RandomMoves923]

Since the highest mountain was covered by a mixture of fresh and marine water, marine clams mixed in. Thanks for your tours prof.

[@lynnemarieallan5013]

YIPPE SKIPPY MORE RANNDOM ROADCUTS. We were just in the same area and did our own little geology random road utility and saw much of the same so thank you again learned so much..

[@hestheMaster]

Well visiting a roadcut that hasn't been to in over 16 years (on line) gives one a far more details in a video made today. If one had the book Roadside Geology of Wyoming you could read about it but this IS better. A geologist explaining what you are seeing closeup. Excellent finds in a eroded anticline, a different layer after layer of history in the rocks. The oysters are an extinct marine bivalve species . Great explanation at the end of what you discovered professor. Indeed this is another great Random Roadcut!

[@joshwrathall8817]

I drove by this one a week ago! This is pretty neat. Thanks for taking the time to educate and share.

[@bobterry2952]

I would like to thank you for these little nuggets of wisdom they're very enjoyable. You're working in the areas that I travel in a fair bit I've started geology most of my life but never really seriously, just enough for mineral identification and looking for a specific minerals thanks again these are really fun keep up the good work bye.

[@robertbenson9797]

Very interesting video. I’m in for more! Glad that you didn’t run into a prairie rattler under one of those shelves. Look before you reach.

[@timbergel8147]

This is a really great series, I'm learning a lot from your train of thought! Thanks very much

[@milt6208]

Shawn I'm from Las Vegas and I have been through as you have thousands of road cuts and please continue these kinds of programs. There is one cut you might be familiar with. It's in Kingman Arizona on Interstate 40. They plowed right through a volcanic mountain in the center of town. Its is very awsome.

[@Danika_Nadzan]

I agree with the other comments...another great episode!👍🏻👏 I enjoyed figuring out the clues as you went along, showing the shells in the sandstone, the cross bedding, and the coal. I knew about the inland sea of the Cretaceous, but it's so cool to see such clear evidence right on a roadside in Wyoming! And you must be part mountain goat...I got vertigo just looking down that slope you were climbing down!😮

[@d2sfavs]

wow what a great video incredible the power to move rocks thank you

[@johnagazim4199]

Thanks Shawn, great concept. Look forward to your lecture on the Heart Mountain Detachment.

[@dancooper8551]

These are excellent. Roadside geology in real time.⛏️

[@cessnadriver7580]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm especially enjoying these road cut episodes. The formation of the earth and how its geology has changed, and continues to change, over time is amazing. Every rock has a story to tell. Thanks for bringing their story to life.

[@micheleblundell7115]

I love this series. I'm always looking forward to the next episode.

[@GregHine]

Random Readout #3: Excellent. Another "home run". You're really helping us'in out here in KZbin land visualize / conceptualize what came together to create the rocks & coal. It makes it all very relevant. Thank you! Keep 'em coming!

[@runninonempty820]

I was just watching a video on the inland sea that separated the continent of North America in two. They were saying that the coastline fluctuated greatly over the time it existed.

[@brianvaughn2096]

You are the best, very inspiring.

[@richardwarren449]

Thanks for this episode. I have pedaled my bike past this road cut at least twice on Tour de Wyoming rides and have recognized the sequence but could not investigate it in my bike shoes!

[@georgeday4742]

I drive commercial vehicles and have literally driven by that very spot numerous times. Shawn, you have inspired me to seek a new career in my elder years. When I'm done driving I will at least become a rockhound if not pursue a degree in geology

[@patriciajrs46]

Good for you.

[@shawnwillsey]

Wow! So very awesome. Geology can be a great career or hobby. Let me know if I can help answer any questions.

[@gigistrus490]

I am eagerly watching all your videos. Thanks

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@holly50575]

Love Random Roadcuts!!!!!!!

[@Bri_Bri_the_Wise_Guy]

you have me watching road cuts now, mostly glacial sediments where I'm at but sand stones to the south. I'll cast my vote to love this road cut series. You be careful on that loose stuff.

[@briane173]

Fascinating. So easy to forget that there was a huge inland sea over this area at one time; soon as you said that the whole thing made perfect sense and gave me some idea of the time frame we're talking about. I was asking myself "Wow is this _coal_ embedded here? _Here!?"_ And then you said it and picked some up and I was like no way. Coz I picture swamps as more of an east-coastal thing along a tidal basin, like Florida or almost anywhere along the eastern seaboard. Makes sense, coz that was the scene in this area at one time.

[@shawnwillsey]

Yep. Earth is always changing and dynamic.

[@markjauregui8138]

Nice video this is my backyard... 👍🏻👍🏻 I have found many things in this general area. Serpentine is my latetest discovery, as well as leaf imprints, petrified wood, tempesky, orange calcite and much more. The area is extremely interesting to explore... The hill to the East of Kemmerer is named oyster ridge. One of the worlds largest open pit coal mines in the world is just outside of Diamondville, or Kemmerer.

[@janicebott4498]

My parents and grandparents are all from Kemmerer. I still have cousins there. I spent many summers in Kemmerer, Diamondville and Frontier. Was just coming here to say the same about Oyster Ridge!

[@patshaler116]

Love these. Please interpret when you can. I wen to Roadside Geology and it epxlained how and when the sandstone bent and the ubiquitous oysters. Also, Kemerer as the coal capital. You and Nick Zentner are the best!

[@equanimityforever7324]

Really like this, feels like real life. 😊

[@repeatdefender6032]

I've always been fascinated by road cuts and trail cuts, there's always some cool stuff going on in there wherever you are. Great series!

[@bobwinters6665]

Oysters do very well in brackish water. So a marine environment bordering a freshwater swamp would be an ideal setting for your layer cake; coal, sandstone, coal, sandstone. Great detective work!

[@dianespears6057]

Yippee! Roadcut! Thank you.

[@jonadams8841]

Bituminous coal appears to be all over SW Wyoming. This past July, I grabbed a couple chunks of low-grade stuff in a summiting road cut on US30 maybe 10 mi west of Kemmerer.

[@robertfarrimond3369]

Thanks Shawn! very cool road cut!

[@timpate6259]

Thanks! Investigating another fun roadcut!

[@shawnwillsey]

Much appreciated. Glad you liked it.

[@pnkbiankii]

So interesting, so useful! Thx.

[@footballct14]

This is great! It’s so much fun to practice my geology skills alongside you. Please keep doing this series.

[@mikekilian5403]

very nice and informative. thank you!

[@KentNorthcote]

Love the roadcuts!

[@hardrockjeep]

Great stuff. Synoptic geology.

[@valoriel4464]

Great series. Thx Prof ✌🏻

[@John-ir2zf]

I become confused when the idea of "economic" geology is mentioned. To understand "economic" geology, one must understand "structural" geology as well. Ive always felt like it's impossible to separate the disciplines when each one depends on knowledge of the other for complete understanding. I do sincerely like the road cuts series you're doing. It allows me to test my knowledge against a geology professor by figuring out what you are examining before you state what it is you're seeing. Thank you for your efforts to spread knowledge about our earth's history, processes and inner workings !

[@sdmike1141]

Thanks! Random Roadcuts is clearly a hit!! Careful Coach, we don’t want to lose you to steep slopes, loose gravel, and…traffic!😳

[@3xHermes]

Great roadcut, great video!

[@rickdavies3944]

Enjoying your videos. I would love too see you explore the CT Boundary.

[@sterlingeventide8859]

@shawnwillsey I have been through those road cuts on my way to Kemmerer in 2021. You are right that the seas ebbed and flowed throughout the Upper Cretaceous, and there were freshwater lakes there in the Cretaceous and Eocene. That should be the Cretaceous Frontier Sandstone Formation also known as the Oyster Ridge Formation. I believe those could be the species (genus) Pycnodonte from 140-0.781 MY, or (genus) Ostrea (sp) Soleniscus 259-86.3 MY (I could be wrong). There are some conflicting studies. Their times seem to overlap with one another so it may be possible to find those two geneses together in the same formation. I am no expert, just a nerd. But I may be able to tell by looking at them close up to see if their morphology is all the same or not. But since you have seen them up close Google does have some very good images of these oysters from which you can compare for yourself. A little Northwest of Kemmerer, there are huge fossil beds of the Green River Formation that contain flora and fauna of the Eocene Epoch of 55-50 MY. I have collected fish fossils there at commercially run quarries. I have yet to stop and play in those ancient oyster beds. There should also be several plant species, and other marine life embedded there too. I'm not a professional, just have a passion for rocks and fossils, hence the NERD moniker. For your reading enjoyment I have included scientific references by the USGS, et al. I have read these, but maybe you can better glean the information you need from these studies more than I. Enjoy!😁 pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0108f/report.pdf ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/OysterRidgeRefs_9727.html www.mindat.org/search.php?search=ostrea+soleniscus en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pycnodonte en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrea en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_River_Formation en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_Formation pubs.geoscienceworld.org/aapgbull/article-abstract/36/10/1962/33759/Frontier-Formation-Southwest-Powder-River-Basin www.wsgs.wyo.gov/docs/wsgs-web-basin-stratigraphy.pdf ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/OysterRidgeRefs_9727.html

[@shawnwillsey]

Wow. Great research here. Thanks. Glad my interpretations were in the ballpark.

[@jackprier7727]

Awesome! Way more exciting than anticipated, -thx for bringing us into your excited findings, this is some active stuff-

[@patshaler116]

Like the Iceland and the current magma activity. Going back there next June.

[@whitby910]

Excellent, thanks.

[@dominicestebanrice7460]

Professor, that was excellent; what a creative channel idea! I come from the North of England and the Peak District National Park and its surrounding region has that sandstone-coal layering with additional 'gritstone' layers (essentially black, massive grained sandstone, right?) and limestone layers too. I'm not an expert but understand the area was an estuary of a massive river system that drained erosional deposits from what is today northern Europe & Scandinavia and that periodically was above sea level and then submerged in a shallow sea. And the coal laid down literally was the fuel for the first industrial revolution. The repeatability & predictive ability of good science is amazing! FWIW, I think you've started a big, active YT community here!

[@davec9244]

Coal? nice thank you stay safe ALL

[@davidanderson7389]

Road cuts make interesting formations accessible to everyone.

[@geoffgeoff143]

Fantastic. Keep it up.

[@flintridgedesigninc.1351]

Awesome job on #3. I suggest using a small spray water bottle to hit the formations to help highlight the details on-camera. I'm looking forward to the next Random Roadcut!!!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for the tip!

[@paulbugnacki7107]

Nice stop! That was a rich site.

[@johnw328]

Image driving along the i70 in Colorado listening to your narrative of the geology of what you're seeing like in the GPS based app GuideAlong. I'd buy it. Reply if you would too.

[@Sonex1542]

Rarely do i binge on a KZbinr. But ive really enjoyed your videos. Youre knowledgeable, detailed, pace the video well, these are just some great videos on geology. Thanks for the work youve put into these videos and your time.

[@shawnwillsey]

Wow thanks for the kind comments. Glad you enjoy these. It’s a fun outlet for me to share my passion.

[@shawnwillsey]

Wow. Thanks for the kind comments. Glad you enjoy these.

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@briane173]

BTW, you were right about the oysters. That entire ridge is known as Oyster Ridge. And it appears after some cursory research that that area near Kennemer was at one time the shoreline of a large Eocene lake -- one of three in the area -- and may account for the swampy nature of the coal beds. Doesn't account for the oysters, if that was a fresh-water lake -- but I don't know, is or was there such a thing as fresh-water oysters?

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for the info! Glad I was fairly accurate here. The Eocene lake is much younger than these rocks and are nicely displayed at Fossil Butte National Monument which is nearby.

[@Rachel.4644]

Cool Title! Well look at that, such interesting features and from the highway it looked a bit blah. 😂 This is fantastic. Fossils! Oooh, a layer of bituminous coal. This is fun sharing your excitement. And thanks for the summary, too. Some identification is possible because of previous "classes" but the summary is beyond my imagination (so far). 👌🏼😁

[@daleeason9687]

Just wonderful and exciting. At 18:11 and 18:52 there are two fist size rose colored river pebbles perhaps. At least they look so much different that all of those flat sandstone slabs. There may be an ancient river bed nearby (maybe?)

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, I did notice some river cobbles. The Hams Fork River runs through this valley.