Lava vs Water in the Snake River Plain of Southern Idaho
June 1st (Tuesday), 6 p.m., Via Zoom (online) – Open to Public. Presentation: “Lava vs Water in the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho”, Presented by Shawn Willsey, College of Southern Idaho
Over the past 5 million years, basaltic lava and water have fought over the same tracts of land in the central and eastern Snake River Plain of Idaho. Where these two primordial entities dueled, the conflict ranged from the violently explosive to the passive, producing a host of fascinating landscapes and other interesting geologic features in southern Idaho. This robust volcanic system, driven by passage of the Yellowstone hot spot and aided by Basin and Range extension, directly interacted with groundwater stored in one of the largest fractured rock aquifers in North America along with surface water of the Snake River system. Join College of Southern Idaho geology professor and author Shawn Willsey as he explains the amazing geologic stories and landscapes of several locations in southern Idaho where lava and water have mingled, and in doing so, changed the landscape.