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Grittyville, WA

The yellowstone hotspot and pretty much all western U.S. geology is the result of large meteor impact 16-17 million years ago.

Radial fracturing of the ocean seafloor creating the Juan de Fuca plates.

Concentric fracturing of the earth's crust, creating the Basin and range.

Pacific northwest/ Columbia river flood basalts and dike swarms.

Ogallala sediments deposited and washed down off the rocky mountains creating the ogallala aquifer.

Miocene Monterray formation (and oil deposits from silica loving diatoms... silica and nutrients provided by the ash from the impact and subsequent volcanism) and landsliding of the continental shelf off Santa Barbara.

Lastly Utah's Markagunt Megabreccia. This formation is the geologic "splash" of rock that would be expected with a large impact. (A smaller associated impact, forming the Tualatin valley in Oregon, suggest the impactor may have tracked downward at an angle, in a southwesterly direction.)

Interestingly, as large as this impact was, it did not cause a major extinction event. Large extinction events are caused by 400 mile wide impacts and much greater flood basalt volcanism.

Nevertheless, the effects of this impact are seen everywhere in the western united states, and the great plains have been fertilized many times over by the ash from hotspot. Some of the crater outline may be visible in the Steens mountain range in Oregon, but most of the original crater rim is broken, twisted around, and obliterated by melting.

That's your geology lesson for 2021.

12/31/2020 6:22:46 AM

Grittyville, WA

Geologists have been banging their heads in a dark basement searching for a lamp since the nineteenth century.

I found the light switch, I just published it.

I just turned on the light.

12/31/2020 6:28:11 AM

Grittyville, WA

Thanks to my dad who was a geologist. He talked a lot for 15 years or so. I listened to things I didnt understand. Now I know why some of the pieces didnt make sense! No one saw the truth.

12/31/2020 6:46:53 AM

Covington, WA

That’s pretty cool. Where did you publish?

1/5/2021 2:54:52 AM