Geology Underfoot in Southern Idaho

by Shawn Willsey

Overview

Southern Idaho is a geologic jackpot. Etched in its rugged mountains, incredibly young lava fields, and steep-walled canyons lie compelling evidence of amazing geologic events, including breccia from one of the largest meteorite impacts in the world. Join geology professor and author Shawn Willsey as he uses clear prose, concise illustrations, and dramatic photographs to tell the stories of 23 amazing geologic sites. Learn how Ice Age floods carved the Snake River Canyon, how tree molds and lava tubes formed at Craters of the Moon, why 200 individuals of Idaho's state fossil—the Hagerman Horse—died and were preserved in one place, and where the land surface ruptured during the 1983 Borah Peak earthquake.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780878426782
Publisher:	Geological Society of America
Publication date:	07/15/2017
Series:	Geology Underfoot
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Shawn Willsey, a geology professor at the College of Southern Idaho, also teaches whitewater rafting and rock climbing. Born in Arizona as an Air Force brat, Shawn lived all over the western United States during his childhood. He earned a BS in geology from Weber State University and a MS in geology from Northern Arizona University. Shawn conducts research and leads geologic field trips in a variety of locations throughout the West and in Scotland, Iceland, Hawaii, and Costa Rica. He has lived in Twin Falls since 2004 with his wife, Erika, and three children.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments x

The Geology of Southern Idaho 1

The Basics 2

Southern Idaho through Time 8

Vignettes

1 The Catastrophic Bonneville Flood 15

Celebration Park

2 Stone in the City of Trees 27

Boise Urban Geology

3 Boise's Iconic Mesa 39

Table Rock

4 Idaho's Sandbox 51

Bruneau Dunes State Park

5 The Dammed River 59

Bliss Landslide and Lava Dam

6 Ancient Lakeside Property 67

Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument

7 Thinking Outside the Box 77

Box Canyon

8 Niagara of the West 85

Shoshone Falls and the Snake River Canyon

9 Surreal Sculptures 95

Black Magic Canyon

10 Carved by Ice 105

Redfish Lake and the Sawtooth Range

11 Fossilized Forests 115

Malm Gulch

12 A Shocking Impact 129

Leaton Gulch

13 Shake, Rattle, and Roll! 141

The Borah Peak Earthquake

14 Lunar Lavascape 153

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve

15 The Roof of the Snake River Plain 167

Big Southern Butte

16 Fit for a King 179

Kings Bowl

17 A Tale of Two Granites 187

City of Rocks National Reserve

18 Precious Stone in the Gem State 197

Spencer Opal

19 Yellowstone's Last Gasp in Idaho 205

Henrys Fork Caldera

20 One Tuff Cone 217

North Menan Butte

21 Travertine Terraces 225

Soda Springs Geyser and Formation Cave

22 Trilobites Unite! 237

Spence Gulch

23 Subterranean Splendor 249

Minnetonka Cave

GPS Coordinates of Selected Locations 260

Glossary 264

Sources of More Information 273

Index 281

Geologic Time Scale 292