Studying geology in Portland as an undergraduate, I didn't appreciate how unusual it was to have widespread basalt formations. It's super common in the area due to some ancient flood basalt. I appreciate it more visually after leaving and getting some perspective from other landscapes.
replyIf you went to PSU, was the geology department still in that damn basement?
replyLol yes. Though i graduated in 2016 so no idea if that's the current location.
replyI've got some lovely basalt formation in my basement crawlspace. Evidently, the builder in the 1940s said "screw it" to excavating any further.
It also causes me grief digging fence posts or even a small hole for a plant.
replyA lot of the Cascade range is basalt, and you don't need to cut down very far to expose it. A result is that most waterways in Oregon have revealed a lot of basalt around them, at least in the mountains.
replyYep, there's a ton of it to be found especially in the Columbia River Gorge. For anyone not hip to Nick Zentner, allow me to introduce you to this national treasure...
replyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQhjkemEyUo
It's rare to have basements where I live in Bend, because it's all lava rock right under our feet, which is really expensive to remove.
replyClimbing on columnar basalt is interesting. Vantage / Frenchmans Coulee (2 hours or so east of Seattle) has a bit of a bad reputation but some of the routes are decent.
replyPilot rock outside of Ashland you can even hike to the top
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replyGreat for untapping.
reply... how is a comment observing the really cool basalt rock formations in the photo being downvoted? Most HN readers are (I'd assume) nerds, are we not allowed to nerd out about geography?
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