50 years of excavation unveiled the story of a catastrophic event and its aftermath.
See full article...
See full article...
That complex is still active. It’s now at Yellowstone due to continental drift. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago, with a frequency of one or two eruptions per million years or so. Potentially, we could get another eruption any time (it would give us warning though). Or, it could be 500k to a million years from now. Wikipedia link.Fascinating article, though it took a bit of digging [sic] to find out the eruption was from the Bruneau-Jarbidge volcanic field, for those that are interested.
approximately 1,600 kilometers (900 miles) away
Agree. I was wondering about that.For those wondering the Mc Mullen Creek eruption(which created this ash layer)occurred 12 million years ago. Although the date is implied far down the article, it serves clarity to explicitly name the time context of (pre)historic events nearer the beginning of a report imo.
Thank you. I loved the article, but not having this detail was driving me nuts.For those wondering the Mc Mullen Creek eruption(which created this ash layer)occurred 12 million years ago. Although the date is implied far down the article, it serves clarity to explicitly name the time context of (pre)historic events nearer the beginning of a report imo.
Yes. I haz sads for baby rhinos.I previously had no idea that saber tooth deer existed. And still exist today!
This site is incredibly cool, but also a somewhat morbid reminder that the Earth just...explodes sometimes.
The universe giveth, and the universe taketh away.Yes. I haz sads for baby rhinos.
Remember kids, the universe is a glorious, beautiful place...that's trying all kinds of ways to kill you!
“The one thing that amazes me,” Tucker admitted, “is how many people in Nebraska don’t even know this exists.”
Out of interest, where did you find that this was the McMullen Creek super-eruption? From this article it suggests that eruption was ~9 million years ago, whereas as you say the article implies the eruption here was ~12 million years ago. My own searching found this entry, which also references these Ashford fossil beds. IANA geologist or paleontologist, etc.For those wondering the Mc Mullen Creek eruption(which created this ash layer)occurred 12 million years ago. Although the date is implied far down the article, it serves clarity to explicitly name the time context of (pre)historic events nearer the beginning of a report imo.
The Tuff of McMullen Creek is 8.6-8.8 Ma in age, erupted from the Twin Falls eruptive center (8-10 Ma). If the ash at this site is circa 12 Ma (as stated on the park website) then it would have come from the Bruneau-Jarbidge eruptive center (circa 10-12 Ma). Although both are part of the Yellowstone-Snake River Plain hotspot track, they are much farther west than Yellowstone. I am a geologist and have worked in the Snake River Plain for a few decades, though not on the rhyolites. Here are a couple of useful citations. I believe this volume (and an older 1982 volume) are available on the Idaho Geological Survey website.For those wondering the Mc Mullen Creek eruption(which created this ash layer)occurred 12 million years ago. Although the date is implied far down the article, it serves clarity to explicitly name the time context of (pre)historic events nearer the beginning of a report imo.
I previously had no idea that saber tooth deer existed. And still exist today!
This site is incredibly cool, but also a somewhat morbid reminder that the Earth just...explodes sometimes.
For some, death happened quickly; for others, it was slow and painful.....in the summer of 1971, Michael Voorhies was able to enjoy another delightful day
Twelve million years ago, this area also included a species of musk deer (Longirostromeryx wellsi), also known as saber-toothed deer for the two fangs that protruded from their mouths.
Good outcome here then. Yet how many more sites were lost due to dumb laws allowing private sale of fossils found on private land in the US? How many perfect fossils and their context were lost to science there?Realizing there was still more yet to uncover, Voorhies and others appealed to the larger Nebraska community to help preserve the area. Thanks to hard work and substantial local donations, the Ashfall Fossil Beds park opened to the public in 1991, staffed by two full-time employees.
Among geoscientists, this large structure would normally be called a caldera, which is formed when the magma chamber beneath a volcano collapses, commonly after an explosive eruption with ejection of a lot of gas and ash. In contrast, craters are associated with vents and are usually surrounded by constructive, not collapse, rims. There’s a nice diagram here, but I couldn’t convert it to a postable format on my handheld.It was an eruption so powerful that it obliterated the volcano itself, leaving a crater 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and spewing clouds of ash that the wind carried over long distances.
You might want to check out the Wikipedia Volcanic Explosivity Index item. Good chart/illustration with it.Having witnessed various ‘normal’ eruptions on the six o’clock news, the thought of an event spanning a 900 mile diameter, with pyroclastic flows extending out about a 100 miles is a mind boggling level of destruction.
Herbivores with an attitude!Huh... I didn't know saber-toothed deer were a thing. Or that they still exist today. That's a mean looking deer. Also quite incredible given that they are herbivores.
One of those would make a hell of a vampire.Herbivores with an attitude!
I'd guess they would have used their saber teeth to dig around in the dirt, similar to the tusks on a present-day boar (but upside down). Then again, maybe not. Natural selection has produced many spectacular, if impractical, fitness displays over the eons.Huh... I didn't know saber-toothed deer were a thing. Or that they still exist today. That's a mean looking deer. Also quite incredible given that they are herbivores.
Spinoff of Netflix "Sweet Tooth" ? Bloodtooth?One of those would make a hell of a vampire.
Where is that?If you find yourself in this general area of the US, a similar location worth a visit is The Mammoth Site. Different geological history, but similarly rich fossil concentration.