Why Are There Volcanoes And Obsidian At California's Salton Sea?

[@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

[@AliciaHauri-x2b]

I'm watching your video now sir but I am genuinely wondering how did you get the link you've posted to work?? I ask this because KZbin doesn't allow links posted to work anymore allegedly due to scammers and hackers so Google says! I honestly don't think it's due to that at all and more due to links take people away from KZbin and less people here on KZbin then there's less people watching their ads! Less people watching ads means less money they make! Idk maybe I'm wrong but I seriously don't think so! There are some links that slip through and work like yours does but not very many at all! Even old links have altogether for the most part been disabled as well! If you could please get back to me I'd really appreciate it please and thank you!

[@saffronskies333]

it used to be the best place to go fishing... Corvina fish. ...they make great ceviche...

[@Joe-e4g7q]

@@shawnwillsey I think the same or similar setup is at clear lake volcano in the far northern end of San Andreas fault region. Both are extensional I think. Clear lake I think has a equal or slightly more chance of eruption as Salton Sea. Huge resivour of magma under clear lake.

[@TheDenisedrake]

You often joke about your drawings, but they are VERY helpful. Thank you.

[@MyMemphisable]

I love the cartoon diagrams too! I pause and study them for a few minutes. They're really helpful.

[@marknovak2413]

@@MyMemphisable Geologic mapping itself is an exercise in cartoon-drawing.

[@JNosewicz7569]

I agree! 💯

[@jeebusk]

I don't care about geology, I'm just here for the drawings :)

[@JNosewicz7569]

@@jeebusk set up some merch😉

[@marjieestivill]

Your diagram in this video tells me so much more than just seeing maps of faults. Never knew there are divergent plate boundaries through there…thanks!

[@davidk7324]

Outstanding Shawn. I learned a lot. I appreciate your organization and the cartoons. “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them."

[@sonjo2419]

My feelings exactly. Just not able to express it so well😎

[@lotharschiese8559]

@@sonjo2419 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Eh?

[@Firebuck]

The releasing and restraining bends were really interesting. I've heard that plate tectonics is a pretty recent science (1960s), and this discussion made me wonder how the details were worked out. Imagine being the guy that figured out the mountains over yonder were formed by the same fault movement as the volcano over here. Just a right turn vs. a left turn.

[@lotharschiese8559]

Anywhere I have moved to in my 71 years, I had a burning desire to learn of my local geology and how it came to be!

[@gracedoner4407]

Me, too!

[@outlawbillionairez9780]

Hiking Joshua Tree countless weekends sparked my interest in geology decades ago. Only now, the pieces of the puzzle are revealing themselves. Standing atop San Jacinto Peak, you get a sense of the magnitude of forces at work throughout this area. I always wanted to know the geological story. Thanks for your help. The diagrams are indispensable. Thanks for the time you put into them.👍

[@thecottagerose]

This was very informative. I grew up in El Centro, and experienced several large earthquakes on the Imperial fault. It’s always great to learn more about the Valley geology. Thank you

[@mindysdad3110]

I vividly recall the earthquake swarms there in the early '80's. I was living in Imperial at the time and there was quite a bit of damage to the old downtown buildings. Aside from that; Professor Jay Van Werloff of IVC brought attention to the mini volcanoes (mudpots)of Salton Sea years ago; he was passionate about the local geology and anthropology.

[@RobertCHoweSr]

I was supervisor on a drilling rig at the southern end of Salton Sea in the 80s. On our days off, we would explore the out cropping and come back with chuncks of obsidian larger than 1 cu. ft. On the border, we would find very tall outcroppings in the Anza Borrego with some pretty good garnets. Some private jewelers would pay 50 to 100 bucks a piece for the best ones. The desert Want a wonder filled environment.

[@susancuenin2137]

Lived in the Imperial Valley for several years and we had earthquakes when the weather changed from cool to hot and back again. Pretty amazing area, geologically.

[@RobertCHoweSr]

@@susancuenin2137 Yes miss. And hot is hot. Below sea level. Takes really different and hearty folks not only to live in the desert but to love it as well.

[@Philip-gn8wx]

😉@@mindysdad3110

[@fenixgirl9]

The map you made is very helpful..and then to actually see the physical look of the rocks and terrain really helps geology be understandable.

[@wendygerrish4964]

Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Thank you kindly for supporting these educational videos.

[@markhanish4463]

Very nice discussion on how deflections of the strike slip faults can alternately create areas of extension and resulting basins or compression and resulting mountains. This is one of the areas of the western US that I haven’t had a chance to see first hand and I know little about. After this video, I know a little more. Thank you.

[@hestheMaster]

The geological features of Southern California are rather unique and you took great time in explaning why things are the way they are there Shawn. And I thought this place was a dead zone of activity. It is very much not so. Another YT'er was here exploring and there were huge piles of pure unweathered Obsidian where she was. Was amazing seeing both views of roughly the same kind of geology out in what looks like the middle of nowhere. Thanks again for this cool visit.

[@chengcheng9876]

I hope I saw this video earlier, I have been to saltón sea multiple times, and never knew this interesting geological history. Thanks for the lecture!

[@davidinsocal3032]

Found many pieces of knapped obsidian and arrowheads in the Poway Valley area of San Diego County... Was told by 'experts' that the obsidian came from the desert tribes who traded with coastal tribes. Now I know where they got it! Thanks!

[@lotharschiese8559]

Eggzactimatly!

[@wendygerrish4964]

Oh filling great gaps in my knowledge and understanding . Thank you so much.

[@jayculp7530]

Great video. I can now say I have walked over some of the same geological area as you have. My son lived in San Diego for 8 years and while on a trip to see him and family, we made a road trip to Obsidian Butte at the Salton Sea. I actually mailed about 50lbs of rock and obsidian samples back to North Carolina by the USPS for $38. Was cheaper than a $50 airplane carry on bag. Keep exploring and learning my Friend.

[@Anne5440_]

Did you knap it?

[@jayculp7530]

No, I don't do any knapping. I use rocks in a geology/rock presentation I do for Elementary age school kids on a routine basis. I'm just a RockHound that shares the things that God created.

[@Anne5440_]

@jayculp7530 That is wonderful! By far, a more important use of the rocks.

[@jayculp7530]

I actually did a Presentation yesterday for 15 adult Special Needs students at a local Community College.

[@Anne5440_]

@jayculp7530 As a retired sp Ed teacher I am delighted by this.

[@alisalavine1052]

Great content, Shawn. I learned so much. I'm forever confused by the different types of faults. Hybrid faults are even worse. But your "art" really made it easy to understand. I was born and raised in Southern California. At 22, my young family was uprooted to Kansas and decades later, I'm still in Kansas. It wasn't until about 10 years ago that I even heard the name, Salton Sea. Crazy, right? It's really cool to be able to add some geological history to such a weird place. Thanks, for taking the time to teach this 50something year old in an easily digestible format.

[@mikeladley5149]

I lived in San Diego for 36 yrs, been to the Salton Sea as a kid, but never knew of Obsidian Butte. What a cool place! When I was rockhounding in Oregon, I got some nice specimens in Davis Creek in Northeastern California, along with Sunstones near Plush Or, and Opal in the Virgin Valley near Denio Nv. I'm the guy that lives 18 miles from Taal Volcano Philippines. Miss the rockhounding sites of the Western US. Thanks for the video's and their insight into Mother Nature's impact on the Earth. 👍💖

[@jdcaldwell5088]

The old timers called that area black rock. When the water was up to the rocks. Was Great fishing area for corvina, croaker, sargo fish. Because the water warmer in the winter & spring from heat bubbling up from underneath.

[@shelbykeefe971]

I love the Salton Sea! Lots of history with a storied past! Please do another video on it!

[@catsandcrafts171]

I'm loving these road trips! You are fascinating!

[@Rachel.4644]

So interesting! You are a great teacher. Especially your explanations about the faults. When I last went to that area it was to bird watch. (Tilapia bones, fish were dying all around the shore) Thank you so much!

[@rollsandfloats]

Love your maps and explanations of this fascinating area. Thanks for the education and keep up the great work Shawn!

[@raenbow66]

I think I've watched this a couple times and every time I see/learn something new.❤️👍🏼 I have been there for bird watching, and tilapia are the fish that tolerated the salt concentrations.

[@edwardlulofs444]

Thank you for that nice video. I haven’t been to that particular spot so I watched with interest. Since you are a geologist, you understood the geology there quickly. As I am not a geologist, it has taken me years to understand this wonderful area. Every time I get to drive through or visit that area I learn a little bit more about it.

[@Gail8280]

I shared this video with my son. I used to live at Salton Sea so I perked up when I saw the title. He thought it was so interesting he took his 11-year-old daughter out on a weekend trip from San Diego to see area. Thanks so much for the great info!

[@constanceschemmel7973]

I watch you and Myron Cook as much as I can, especially since you each look at geology in a different way and it helps round out my education. I love learning about why there are outcroppings, how they evolved, the underlying and obvious. Welll, just everything. Thank you. And your sketches help a Great deal.

[@gunningopher]

I've been playing my whole life and working as a land surveyor off and on in the Imperial Valley for 30+ years. This was such a great description of what is going on in that area and was at a perfect level for a land surveyor to understand why our geodetic control is so challenging there. I'm going to share it with our younger surveyors. I kind of knew most of this stuff but you really put it all together just the right way.

[@shawnwillsey]

Thanks so much.

[@davefellhoelter1343]

as third gen Ca our family Gave our Salton Sea property to the County, I noted How Clean this area IS! no Trash! I frequent an area just Noth near the summit Loaded WITH TRASH! very sad to see after growing up in our local deserts.

[@michaelryan4108]

Wow! This video is loaded good information! A great combination of field trip exposure and classroom lecture is showcased. Thanks for the effort!

[@rogerharris8081]

Very well explained and demonstrated. You have wonderful teaching skills.

[@marshamunger6004]

Watching in February 2024. Now livin in Redlands CA, in San Bernardino County. Thanks for the info. Great work.

[@judierickson7166]

Thank you for another fascinating video. Your teaching style makes it easy to understand.

[@saddlelac]

Really enjoy these educational videos. You project well and are easy to understand and follow. Very appreciated. Thank you.

[@edkastlie8602]

the developing "divergent plate boundary" discussion with its volcanism was eye-opening to me... never heard that before. thanks.

[@CraigInNC]

Professor, thank you so much! I am getting more interested in earth sciences, with quakes, volcanoes, tectonics and your channel has helped me much.

[@ladywisewolf3942]

I've lived in Southern California all my life ( I'm now a senior) and have always been fascinated with it's topography. Thank you for connecting a lot of dots for me I never knew about. The California desert is one of the few places in the world where you can climb to the top of a hill or mountain, look out, and actually still see how the ancient land was formed. The vastness of it and the powerful forces that created it is quite overwhelming.

[@R4BBIT777]

Born and raised in the valley. Never knew we had volcanos 🤯 Damn video games

[@damonbanks259]

Finally I understand how normal and reverse faults develop from transform faults! Thank you!

[@metamorphiczeolite]

Thanks for this video! Another good one. Net time you are down there, consider hiking spectacular Painted Canyon, just about 60 miles north of Salton Buttes, northeast of the north shore of the Salton Sea. Visible offsets on faults in young sediments (Pleistocene, Pliocene) and old metamorphic rocks (Proterozoic), flash flood deposits, slot canyons, seasonal wild flowers, and more. Outcrops there illustrate most of a geology 101 course!

[@YewtBoot]

Another fun episode. Gotta get there sometime soon. I'm one of those who are enthralled with obsidian. Fun stuff!

[@gregindavis]

Another great explanation Shawn, Thank You, You can't live in California without appreciating the varying Geology that surrounds you!

[@jillcrowe2626]

I really enjoyed learning about the Salton Sea. My grandmother used to live in Niland at a mobile home park and spa. Driving through the Anza Borrego park was fascinating and to see the Salton Sea was so intriguing. With your explanation I now understand how all of this came to be. Lately our earthquakes have been coming from that area. I live in Escondido, California. I love the landscape of the desert and learning about it.

[@jenniferlevine5406]

Great video and an incredible place. Thanks for the view through a geologists eye! Fascinating!

[@oscarmedina1303]

Thanks Shawn. Definitely on my "must visit' list.

[@Jayne-z5s]

This video is beautiful with the light patterns on the rock

[@everettnichols9062]

I've wondered about this area for years. Thank you very much!!!

[@muzikhed]

Great video. Such a complex and interesting tectonic setting. Nice diagram and explanation. Love that Pumice and Obsidian mix.

[@GentlyUsedOreos]

Grew up in the San Bernardino mountains, & have had quite a few questions answered in this video that I have had swirling in my head for years! Grew up in Lytle Creek to be exact. ❤

[@brucelytle1144]

I wish I knew more of where that name came from!

[@patrickkillilea5225]

Awesome! We live to the West just over the Mountains. This is Super interesting.. we are in a Granite Batholith here. Totally different geology.

[@sharonlobo7930]

Wonderful visuals, clear explanations. Great stuff all, thank you!

[@ellenorbovay5226]

Wow, thats very interesting. I never knew any of that, we own some land on the Volcan mountains, which I've heard were incorrectly named because people thought they were volcanoes at one time. Maybe they weren't incorrectly named after all?

[@mkelly4617]

My daughter and I used to go to the Salton sea. Beautiful place but spooky. I didn't know about the obsidian butte or we would have gone there. I find your videos very interesting even if I can't understand half of what you are talking about.

[@hopegreer3357]

Thank you so much for the diagrams (cartoons). They help me so much more than any map of the area!! I'd love for a more detailed description of the Salton Sea. Great video!!

[@johnlord8337]

With many of the recent topics (or arguments) of how many sections of CA, OR, and WA were detached and shoved up from Central America from the Baja down to the NW super shoulder of South America. Steen Mountain zircons (of central WA) are said to be from Central America, which means the whole geological strip had to come north, and continue to push this Mexican land up to the WA/Canada border region. There is further comments that the Siletzia region of Mt Olympus WA is not an offshore accreted geological island, but was also translocated (at a later time than Steen) from the Central American nations with their so many volcanoes. This brings up the subject if the Salton Sea area was also a prior Central American region (with volcano and tectonic/volcanic veins of obsidian) ... and this geology detached and moved up into its current location.

[@rickplan]

Wish I had seen this before my recent road trip through this area. Very informative.

[@michaelatkin9649]

Did the salton sea connect to the Bonneville lake hundreds or thousands of years ago? Wondering if it got its salt from it as it dried up like the great salt lake

[@user-wk1mw9nj3i76]

A great video in an amazing location! Your diagrams, artfully held in place by cool rocks, 😊 made the complexities much more understandable. Never apologize for your hand-drawing ever again! There’s so much to learn about the Salton Sea area, and I hope you’ll make that extra video about it. Living in Minnesota, I hadn’t heard much about that area. Now I want to know a lot more. Thank you SO MUCH!!!

[@TheElkezoe]

Best drawing of plate boundaries I have ever seen.. I understood it! Thanks so much!

[@faithrada]

Cracking open and seeing that bright shiney obsidian was just lovely.

[@craighoover1495]

Thank you Shawn, I wish I had more geology background on the visits that I have made to the Salton Sea in the past. What drew me to it was the biology history of it and in particular the beaches composed of fish bones! Quite a sight to see and when the wind was right, to smell. I guess that the Colorado River deposits account for all of the rich farmland in the Imperial Valley.

[@slhurtt]

Great explanation of this geological area. I live about 30 miles away and was curious of this very thing. Thanks for your insights.

[@karlbarros2849]

Thanks for the nostalgia, the salton sea was my playground as a youth. The bone and shell sands demonstrate how ancient crinoid sands could build up creating limestone. Much like were I live now near the old limestone kiln near Chino Valley Az. Floating rocks how cool, no wonder I became a rockhound. Winter a good choice for the Salton Stink.

[@imcampanella]

Just went there yesterday, one of the coolest places at the Salton Sea, was super curious about it and appreciate the clear information

[@pauldietz1325]

I've read (Economic Geology (1967) 62 (3): 316-330) that one geothermal well there produced 2 to 3 tons/month of siliceous scale that was 20% copper and 6% silver. The ore minerals present included bornite, digenite, chalcopyrite, chalcocite, stromeyerite (AgCuS), and native silver. This could be considered a model for the formation of ore bodies.

[@exoplanet11]

Wow, so informative! I'm a lifelong California hiker, scientist and amateur geology enthusiast, and I learned a TON from this video. Thanks!

[@shawnwillsey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Jayne-z5s]

Excellent description and diagrams, really easy to understand thank you so much, I too am learning so much. Watching you climb over the rocks brings it all alive.😊

[@subzonepen]

So interesting! Especially having lived in the area as a kid. Very glad I found your channel!

[@MSpraguePaleo]

Excellent video! My Sed/Strat class in grad school visited the Salton Sea, but we didn't make it down to Obsidian Butte (since it's igneous, it wasn't a priority haha). My friend and I visited the butte later to collect obsidian/pumice and check out the nearby mud pots. I've been wanting to take another trip down there sometime to get more familiar with the geology, and this guide will be EXTREMELY helpful!

[@jennasyseng]

Great explanations of the geologic processes that have happened and continue to happen in this region. I live near this area and I really appreciate the detail you went into. Thank you for making your way down to Southern California and doing some exploring around here!

[@OhPoorMeOhPoorYou]

you're so good at explaining things and using visuals concisely!!! there is zero reason i need to know any of this either, i just really really really love geology esp of the west coast

[@turnerg]

Loved the video, have you ever done or thought about doing a video on the Hauser Geode Beds just east of the Salton Sea? I frequent that area and have always wondered about the overall geology.

[@Lavonne9870]

That would be cool. I'm interested in this!

[@xfirehurican]

BRAVO ZULU! Excellent commentary and such useful information. Cheers from JT.

[@d2sfavs]

excellent video shawn thank you for sharing

[@DaveBartholomew-uf6sm]

This is so interesting to me. I spend some time around the Salton Sea during the winter. Thanks.

[@felipericketts]

Beautiful place early in the morning. Thanks for the descriptions. I like to understand what I see better. 🙂

[@lizwaters4066]

Thanks for posting this very interesting and informative video.

[@marjowag8806]

Enjoyed the very informative video & helpful diagrams!

[@jonsword2590]

Enjoyed the video and liked the way everything was explained.

[@TomBrucker-GoldenYears]

Very well presented and illustrated. You are teacher who enjoys his work and makes it interesting for your students/viewers. Keep going, and thank you for your time and energy !!! ⚒️

[@mazilpado]

Thank you so much, Professor!! It was a great outside classroom experience, and I learned so much with all your nice explanations and very helpful diagrams and drawnings! Make me want to learn more and more about Geology!

[@Edward-tz7xz]

Excellent commentary. Thank you.

[@richardchiriboga4424]

Thank you for expanding my knowledge!!!!

[@jumpingship3001]

Been here for the beauty but you answered so many questions i had. Thanks from San Diego.

[@garyb6219]

Did you get to the Niland geyser mudpot? It would be great to hear your take on that.

[@DisHammerhand]

I live right next to the Transverse range. Thank you for your explanation of why they are there.

[@kcbill54]

Excellent discussion of plate tectonics and strike and slip faults….it’s a the Salton Sea is nothing like it was 60 years ago.

[@oscarmedina1303]

Fantastic episode Shawn. Just a short drive from my place. Definitely on my "must visit" bucket list. Thank you!

[@jscottmaclean226]

One of your better ones Shawn, LOVE IT!!

[@rv6amark]

Great video with wonderful hand-drawn graphics!

[@srudine]

Great summary. Love those rhyolites. Thanks for highlighting the spherulites in the obsidian. Keep up the great work. Rock on!

[@robertdiehl1281]

There is a massive amount of geologic history surrounding the Coachella Valley. Excellent video and enjoyable to learn from.

[@crazybill49]

Wow! That was a great explanation of the area. You put it into a whole new perspective for me.

[@ahilker1]

I wish I had more college professors like you back in my day. I would have learned/retained much more. Thanks!

[@PC-kd7dj]

The existence of volcanos near the Salton Sea was a surprise to me. Having only seen maps showing the San Andreas Fault as a nearly straight line extending most of the length of California, I was unaware of large right or left bends in the fault which have resulted in these volcanoes or nearby east-west mountain ranges, respectively. Your drawings and explanations were very clear in showing how each type of bend causes divergent or compressive zones which produced these geologic formations. Thanks for the field trip!

[@maricogan2903]

I really enjoy Prof. Willsey's posts. I love geology. You guys are ALL early risers. I would have to study Astrology so I can sleep late and be awake all night.

[@cliffordelliott4441]

This was very informative and interesting. We used to duck and goose hunt around the lower parts of the Salton Sea and saw lots of obsidian and pumis and even hunted around some of the "mud pots" that were bubbling up hot watery silt. Never really gave much thought to the volcanic properties of the area there.

[@andreweppink4498]

Good work Sir. Learned a lot from you. Thx.

[@susiesue3141]

I love these videos! Thanks for sharing! 😊

[@3xHermes]

Great job explaining the Plate Boundaries and their implications! Thx!

[@HermannCortez]

great video. I will add Obsidian Butte to my USA roadtrip list