The Fossilized Sequoias and Outstanding Geology of Malm Gulch, Idaho

[@gwynnfarrell1856]

I wasn't aware of this amazing petrified forest. Thank you for explaining the volcanic history and process of fossilization. Fascinating stuff!

[@brettdavis4269]

That is so cool/amazing seeing that line between the limestone and the erosion deposit. I could watch this stuff all day. Thank you for your hard work bringing us these videos.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@GaryCBenson007]

I just bought your book. Love the videos. I stumbled into a rock shop in West Yellowstone in 1970 when I was eight years old. I've been hooked on rocks ever since and nearly became a geologist, but I made a different choice. Never stopped learning about it though. Now I live in Southern Idaho, again. Thank you

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome and thanks. Hope you enjoy the book (there are two books, FYI).

[@stevewhalen6973]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Much appreciated.

[@hunt4redoctober628]

Great text book example of a clear unconformity, really awesome geology. Thanks Shawn for such a brilliant explanation.

[@davidr.walters371]

Awesome still learning now about places I missed I miss my days Rockhound in n kickin' round in Oregon , Ida n Mt wyo. The best days

[@Danika_Nadzan]

Thanks again for the detailed drawing and explanation before showing the actual formations! It really helps me to understand what we're looking at, and sometimes be able to pick out the different types before you point to them.👍🏻👏

[@shawnwillsey]

Great to hear!

[@paulwestenskow7302]

WOW! New stuff out, I am behind in my lectures!

[@shawnwillsey]

Buckle down and catch up. Enjoy.

[@clairerichter2863]

Thanks for taking us on the journeys with you! Stunning formations and having a geologist explain along the way is priceless and very enjoyable!

[@amberandrews6842]

This was a very good presentation, with great explanations. Thank You!! A+

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome. Glad you liked it.

[@marydd4147]

Fantastic! Thank you.

[@muzikhed]

Cool video Shawn. Amazing place. Love your detailed sketch in Part one.....brilliant !

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks a bunch

[@AKUSUXs]

Great video... That area is a challenge to move around due to the elevation.

[@mustangmorris53]

i Wish we had a guy like Shawn here in Connecticut . always a pleasure to watch .

[@jackprier7727]

Thanks for the great diagram, you are always such a clear explainer of the complexity of what is mostly barley-noticeable yet mysterious and curious-

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for watching and learning with me.

[@heidimunk4938]

Shawn!! Long time no see! It's great to see your videos and see you being successful! You helped answer a question about the Teton Dam failure my Brother in Law had. Thanks for making the videos!

[@christinakaur8766]

Super cool! I need to get me arse to Idaho soon-

[@maricogan2903]

thank you. I really enjoy your videos.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

Shawn, you are the boss!

[@lonthrall5613]

Very interesting! Thank you!

[@stevew5212]

A lot of interesting geology going on out there around Challis.

[@marklang5169]

So cool thank you. Want to see that and the Borah scarp near there. Challis Hot Springs is a friendly place to camp.

[@GuitarPrepper]

I really enjoy your videos, especially in southern Idaho. Recently moved from western Washington and absolutely enjoy the information that gets me out to these sites.

[@user-wk1mw9nj3i76]

So cool! I came to this video from the Specimen Ridge video. I’ve been to Specimen Ridge, but this site in Idaho I’ve never heard of before, like many other places in Idaho. I’m enthusiastic to learn about what’s in Idaho, and your other great locations! Just awesome work, Shawn. Go team! From Minneapolis, Minnesota.

[@stevewhalen6973]

So many things have happened to that land . A very intricate many chaptered evolving history so different in many periods than it appears today . Thanks for all you have done to explore and explain this real estate of many different past topographies and in such vivid time sequential detail . You paint a good picture of its past scapes and appearance. Your brilliant assessments are fascinating .

[@jlgarciajr]

My wife and I are really enjoying your travels and geology lessons. You got some books to sign, as our thanks to your excellent youtube channel 👍

[@shawnwillsey]

Great to hear you enjoy these so much. Thanks for the book order. Hope you enjoy those also.

[@KA7EII]

Thank you for the great geology lesson and for showing us what you explained in your drawings. Going to have to get your book!

[@shawnwillsey]

Please do! You can get signed copies (if you like) through me at: shawn-willsey.square.site/

[@alexbradmckay]

Fascinating. Reminds me of the petrified tree at Vantage Washington. I thought this video seemed familiar. Turns out you posted this video a year ago and it was the first video I saw on your channel. Thanks for all these!!

[@shawnwillsey]

Full circle. I spliced the two parts together and added intro. Lots of new subs since then so likely new to many. Happy one year anniversary to us.

[@piotrrajmundkoprowski4732]

Thank you sir. Amazing geology I will never see in my place covered in mazovian sand in Poland.

[@3xHermes]

Well done! Thank you!

[@lorenmorelli9249]

Another Vid that gets closer to my own personal experience as I have petrified wood on my property here in California. Some of which is quite large. In fact drilling a water well we encountered a petrified tree almost vertical in it's positioning at 200ft. in depth and drilled through appx. 80ft. of of it.

[@notabitgreen8773]

Great videos. Just ordered your book on Amazon. Look forward to the read.

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome, thank you! Enjoy the book and the geology.

[@raystevens687]

Thanks for showing the different rocks also Thanks for answering my question on collecting of the Petrified wood 🪵 I was thinking about collecting now I won't think about it. It's not worth it there are big fines for that. Please keep up the good work and informing people about the laws of the land.

[@bluesdragon42]

Rock on! 🤠👍

[@Anne5440_]

A very interesting location. This makes me wonder about the climates in the different geologic time periods. When I did my biology work in college I was focused on dendrology (trees). The sequoias there are well preserved. I will grab your book from my side table for today's reading. Thanks from this video.

[@jenniferbeyer6412]

Is the volcanoes part of Yellowstone hotspot? Or a totally unrelated volcanoes. Very cool information. The petrified wood stumps are beautiful and they must have been impressive trees in life.

[@shawnwillsey]

Much older than Yellowstone and caused by different geologic conditions. These stumps lived as trees about 50 million years ago.

[@jenniferbeyer6412]

@@shawnwillsey cool. Just a thought. Very interesting, I love learning about geology. Your explanations are informative. Thank you for the reply.

[@GregInEastTennessee]

That crazy Eocene! 😀 I've heard that the Challis magmas even show up as the Black Hills in the Dakotas. Those petrified trees are really something!

[@sheilatruax6172]

Watch the professor from CWU?

[@GregInEastTennessee]

@@sheilatruax6172 Nick? Sure. I'll be seeing him in a month or two in ID or WA.

[@sheilatruax6172]

@@GregInEastTennessee That's the man!

[@cpr2323]

Hey Shawn! Thanks for these videos! You have a really fantastic way of presenting the information. I have become fascinated with our geological history while feeding my fascination with caves (only videos so far, but I hope to go exploring soon), and your material is really helping me along the path.

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad you like them!

[@loisrossi841]

Thank you.

[@ricksanderson4640]

Shawn, I enjoy your videos. I suspect I would enjoy your classes as well. I have watched Nick Zentner a lot and in this video you show fossilized Redwoods buried in tuff, or conglomerate of volcanic material. I was under the impression that generally fossilized wood will form when that wood is in a wet setting where the water prevents the wood from burning, sealing the wood in basalt - I guess it would be - in pillow formations. That is true for the Ginkgo Tree State park along the Columbia River. I believe that was a wet environment prior to the uplift. How does the fossilized wood form when buried in tuff without burning? Thanks for your work. I am retired and have become almost pathologically interested in geology - if you ask my wife! Haha

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks for watching and learning with me. I would say, in general, that the mode of preservation shown by Nick at Gingko Tree SP is more of an anomaly. More often, the preservation of trees and wood is similar to what I outline here. A similar case and location is Petrified Forest NP in Arizona where Triassic age logs were buried by sediment and ash. The silica in the ash was carried into the wood by groundwater, where it permeated and fossilized the wood in mineral material.

[@ricksanderson4640]

@@shawnwillsey thanks, and I have learned so much from both you and Nick.

[@jzeck2]

Very informative. Your videos do need a bit of stabilization they tend to give a bit of motion sickness

[@rockweiler777]

That is so cool!

[@mojomike3913]

Have you ever heard of the Jureano Stump? Located on Jureano Ridge west of Salmon ID. "Lemhi County has deposits of cobalt ore, monazite, thorite and other comparatively rare metals of present commercial value. An unusual mining claim is that of A. B. Cutler on Mackinaw Creek. It is a huge trunk of a petrified Sequoia tree buried in volcanic debris. The Salmon National Forest contains quantities of petrified trees, but this one is of unusual size, the stump measuring 62 feet in circumstance and standing about 12 feet high. The wood has been replaced by opal and agate of commercial value. Mr. Cutler has given it the name "Jureano Wood." It is estimated to be 25 million years old."

[@vickitatum540]

I drove by Malm Gulch just a week ago! I said to my companion "hmm... I stopped there once on a previous visit... we were looking for some sort of fossil, I believe..." 😂

[@rampartranger7749]

Some really large petrified Sequoia stumps are in Florissant Colorado

[@Rachel.4644]

Google map, a thoughtful start. It's really neat to see the conglomerate/Siluriun deposition line, and huge quartz blocks. Also the story behind the fossilized sequoia. Good morning coffee with Willsey! 😉☕️❤ (Might fossils be found in the Silurian layers?)

[@shawnwillsey]

Perhaps, I didn't see any fossils on my visit.

[@davidk7324]

Thanks, Shawn. Be careful--when you say something about the footing scared you--I know that was a sketchy spot.

[@hestheMaster]

I bet Roadside Geology of Idaho would be better in explaining the vastness of rock formations over time in this state as well. So get both books! This was a very interesting video on one specific area especially those now exposed fossilized Sequoia trees.

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Interesting. I discovered some small petrified tree stumps here on the edge of Las Vegas, in a completely different type of rock. Some little chunks are extremely well preserved, to where you can actually see the vascular system.

[@thekambIer]

You know it’s going to be good when Shawn Wilsey pulls out the cartoon

[@shawnwillsey]

Ha!

[@ihavecrabs56]

whats the orange and yelow stuff on the rocks? 6:21

[@WolfRoss]

My ex worked at Redwoods Natl. Park and they think that the redwoods go back to time of the dinosaurs. We camped out in the redwoods and it has a very ancient feeling to the woods.

[@robdavidson4945]

What books on basic geology would you suggest? I'll pick up a copy of your book.

[@shawnwillsey]

Awesome. Yes, my two books (Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho and Roadside Geology of Idaho) are great resources for Idaho along with Exploring Idaho Geology by Terry Maley.

[@ncooper8438]

Are any sequoia tree roots exposed, and is the dark outer layer the bark?

[@shawnwillsey]

I did not see any roots exposed in my visits. Not sure about the bark question.

[@Bigandrewm]

Several years ago I got to check out the Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado. What remained was spectacular, but also sad because of the obvious destruction from all the tourists carrying away souvenirs of the fossilized giant trees.

[@mikewatson4644]

I have visited there also. At one time, they were using dynamite to clear away the ground around the stumps. Surprisingly, the stumps were damaged by the explosion. Who would have thought? That area was proposed for a housing development before it was declared a National Monument. Just imagine what people would have done when they found a big rock where they wanted to build a house.

[@patmayer7222]

Land o' Lakes,wi....here !!........for class😮,,,,..wow..petrified 🌵

[@alexthai4957]

Great content but difficult to read thumbnail!

[@shawnwillsey]

Noted!

[@hookeaires6637]

Just curious, was that a rattlesnake at 5:52?

[@carlatamanczyk3891]

Past volcanic activity make up much of Idaho. Nothing unique exists only at Malms Gulch.

[@michaelmontgomery5141]

Wanted to see the petrified Sequoias

[@kipconnors5902]

❤those are cool too

[@williamgrimberg2510]

Shawn, I ve heard that there is a mountain of Thorium in the Lemhi Pass . Is that true ?

[@candui-7]

Were the quartzite boulder deposits debris flows as a result of orogenic uplift due to the collision with Siletzia?

[@shawnwillsey]

I don’t think docking and accretion of Siletzia created compressional stresses this far east and inland.

[@candui-7]

@@shawnwillsey Thank you for my education Sean. I am currently a Santa Barbara resident planning to spend time in Sandpoint in the coming year and looking forward to getting closer to your story. Check The Plant Man/Northern Flowers in Sandooint and Newport for the best bedding plants and hanging baskets in the PNW.

[@ReclinedPhysicist]

Was that fossilized charcoal?

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, that was my interpretation.

[@TheBobservations]

Shawan. I've seen fossilized sequoias outside of Elko, Nevada and just east of Madras, Oregan on my uncle ranch. Having said that, it appears that the western U.S. was covered by sequoias forest during the Eocene and that the landscape was pretty much a high plain which allowed Pacific mositure to transit far inland. Your thoughts.

[@shawnwillsey]

Climate was much more wet and temperate at that time.

[@jonobester5817]

What is that beautiful yellow flower?

[@shawnwillsey]

No idea. Sorry.

[@1ntwndrboy198]

Wasn't it the Yellowstone supervolcano stayed in place and the tectonic plates moving?

[@jeffbybee5207]

This is true but the eocene volcanic was 45 to 51 milion years ago but the yellowstone hot spot passed by about 6 or 10 milion years ago iirc but any way much younger

[@thomasauslander3757]

ขอบคุณอาจารย์จากประเทศไทย

[@RobertGotschall-y2f]

Just trying to imagine what the weather was like when those trees were growing 50 million years ago.

[@johnshields6852]

It's crazy how most of us cram onto the coastline, where there's so much land, it's beautiful, but we have to get those jobs to pay those pesky bills. 🇺🇸

[@Riverguide33]

👍

[@kipconnors5902]

❤the sequoias I’m talking about are probably 70 feet in circumference!!! They’re GIANT!!!❤❤

[@lauram9478]

❤❤

[@ronharrison8978]

I didn't see evidence of prospecting where you were, but I suspect the contact zone between the limestone and the conglomerates has already been checked for gold.

[@tysonsmudfossiladventures3468]

Okie Dokie.

[@SkepticalRaptor]

I love your videos, but I’d like to make a small critique of your content. You appear to be using the microphone from your GoPro (or whatever you use). It’s a good microphone, but depending on how your using your camera, your voice bounces annoyingly from left to right speaker. I think your channel is at the oint where you should up your video quality by using a separate microphone which records separately. You can then match up the microphone recording into your video in post (whatever you use, but it’s easy with iMovie or Final Cut Pro). I bet it’s easy with Premiere, if that’s what you use. Just a suggestion to move your quality up a step. Actually it’s a huge step.

[@shawnwillsey]

I’m not the most tech savvy guy around but willing to take suggestions.

[@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

[@danduzenski3597]

I wish science would invest in a very detailed animation of the formation of the west coast of the United States. Hollywood spends billions on meaningless entertainment. Let’s spend moneys on educational information. Zentner is doing his best to getting all the millions of years in a row. Not as easy as lining up ducks. So many overlapping details. The numbers are overwhelming at times. 16:55

[@ronboff3461]

excellent presentation, thank you......could you please "pan" more slowly please.....i cant see what your pointing out and it makes me dizzy🤪

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, panning slowly is an ongoing self improvement issue. Thanks for your patience.

[@jerubaal3333]

There can be another explanation. It rather should be another one becouse those alyers are dozens. It would be a complex sequnce of miracles indeed. I prefer Mt St Helens explanation.

[@howardfreeland5595]

I am a geologist and am disgusted with a carpenter's hammer at the title. Real geologists use (only) Estwing geologist's picks. There are soft rock and hard rock tools or different sizes. No shortage of good examples.

[@shawnwillsey]

I’m sorry you feel that way. My awesome wife made the intro slide and used the closest thing she could find using the software she had. I hope you can overlook this minor detail and focus on the good things I am trying to share and convey with these videos. If not, maybe this isn’t the right channel for you.

[@GaryCBenson007]

I just looked at the opening slide. Looked like a geo-pick to me

[@howardfreeland5595]

@@GaryCBenson007 Are you a geologist? I am and it is not!

[@GaryCBenson007]

@@howardfreeland5595 I'm not a geologist, but I am a carpenter and that is definitely NOT a carpenter's hammer. No claw on the end. You may have expertise in some things but you don't have expertise in all things.

[@howardfreeland5595]

@@GaryCBenson007 Carpenter's hammers have either a curved claw or a straight claw. I have a straight claw carpenter's hammer since I was doing helpers work while in college in 1963. That is what it looks like to me. Not by any stretch of the imagination is it a geologist pick by Estwing.

[@cann5565]

Perfect way to start my commute, thank you 👌

[@shawnwillsey]

You bet. Drive safely.

[@BradleyBuiltWoodcraft]

Shawn, I appreciate your teaching style, makes me want to take the course. I got obsessed with geology and rock hounding in middle school but then I discovered the opposite sex and it all went by the wayside 😢😂

[@richardmorrison2686]

There is a great bunch of fossilized redwoods west of Colorado Springs , Colorado , in a place called Florissant Nice presentation

[@PhilEbel]

So are these back-arc activities?

[@shawnwillsey]

Yes, back arc extension is one of the models for the Eocene magmatism here.

[@PhilEbel]

@@shawnwillsey Thanks. Getting old but remember what I was taught, U of U .graduate. Keep up the good work. Enjoy your field trips.

[@PhilEbel]

Read Mark Twain's " Innocents Abroad". Enlightening. A retired geologist.

[@notabitgreen8773]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Much appreciated.