What an exciting adventure! I decided to take a trip to the place I was born in central Oregon. I have always known that central Oregon, also known as the High Desert, was lava territory, but I never knew how volcanic activity actually impacted the formation of this place leaving behind so many different kinds of igneous rocks.
According to the Deschutes National Forest website, it was a chain of volcanoes in eastern Oregon that began erupting about 50 million years ago that started everything. Two formations that came from these eruptions were the Clarno Formation and later the John Day Formation. Today, these volcanic formations are highly eroded, which exposes all sorts of amazing and highly sought after igneous rocks. One such rock is the Thunderegg. From my adventure in the Deschutes National Forest, I discovered that the Thunderegg is Oregon's state rock. I never knew that!
I followed some passionate "rockhounds" as they dug for these rock treasures. Thundereggs get their name from their egg-like shape. What makes them unique is the incredibly beautiful pattern that forms inside. Some have a special flower-like pattern called plumes, which are highly sought after.
Thundereggs can have agate, opal, jasper or a combination of them all inside. I got to meet geologist Lara O'dwyer Brown, who says that no one knows how thundereggs form, but it's possible that a gas bubble forms in the lava, which expands as it cools, leaving a hallow hole. Then over millennia, minerals dissolved in water leak down through the porous stone and fill in the gap layer by layer.
Next time I go back to visit central Oregon, I plan to take my pickaxe and shovel. Hopefully, I will uncover my own uniquely beautiful thunderegg.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/deschutes/recreation/rocks-minerals/?cid=stelprdb5385354
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moekCnFjlX0
According to the Deschutes National Forest website, it was a chain of volcanoes in eastern Oregon that began erupting about 50 million years ago that started everything. Two formations that came from these eruptions were the Clarno Formation and later the John Day Formation. Today, these volcanic formations are highly eroded, which exposes all sorts of amazing and highly sought after igneous rocks. One such rock is the Thunderegg. From my adventure in the Deschutes National Forest, I discovered that the Thunderegg is Oregon's state rock. I never knew that!
I followed some passionate "rockhounds" as they dug for these rock treasures. Thundereggs get their name from their egg-like shape. What makes them unique is the incredibly beautiful pattern that forms inside. Some have a special flower-like pattern called plumes, which are highly sought after.
Thundereggs can have agate, opal, jasper or a combination of them all inside. I got to meet geologist Lara O'dwyer Brown, who says that no one knows how thundereggs form, but it's possible that a gas bubble forms in the lava, which expands as it cools, leaving a hallow hole. Then over millennia, minerals dissolved in water leak down through the porous stone and fill in the gap layer by layer.
Next time I go back to visit central Oregon, I plan to take my pickaxe and shovel. Hopefully, I will uncover my own uniquely beautiful thunderegg.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/deschutes/recreation/rocks-minerals/?cid=stelprdb5385354
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moekCnFjlX0
Wow those are incredibly cool rocks! It's no wonder they are Oregon's state rock, they are really fascinating and have an interesting history. Maybe one day they'll learn the exact way those rocks form, but that theory sounds pretty believable.
ReplyDelete