etoutthere
The Idaho A Stretch GETTING OUT TO SEE IDAHO’S REMARKABLE GEOLOGY by Matt Furber
creekside spa in the mountains is a perfect place to soak in the wild geology of the Idaho sandbox. The water from the Frenchman’s Bend hot springs out Warm Springs Road west of Ketchum leaves the earth at 125 degrees Fahrenheit. While spring runoff can wash out such favorites— for a time—geological wonders have a way of enduring. When spring flows drop, enterprising bathers can rediscover the source of their pleasure—water superheated by the earth’s molten core. Hot spring relaxation promotes a good attitude for contemplating complex geology. Hard as it is to conceptualize, the source of all that heat is the friction of tectonic plates colliding beneath Idaho. This colossal collision is also the cause of Idaho’s massive batholith lobes dominating central Idaho— rocks made from lava that cooled slowly underground. While soaking, one might also ponder the theory that many geologists subscribe to: that Idaho was once the coast of a supercontinent. There are fossils to prove it. Go For A Drive
“You can learn a lot just driving around Idaho,” said Bill Bonnichsen, a career Idaho 76
sunvalleymag.com | SUMMER 2017
geologist, now in retirement. By way of example, Bonnichsen deftly explains the dynamics of basalt spatters at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, and the older, denser, rhyolitic lava flows, which are the foundation of the spectacular Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls. Perhaps a surprise to many, these falls, just an hour from the Wood River Valley, are taller than the iconic Niagra Falls in New York. “A lot of geology today happens indoors, but there are still chances to explore. I try to encourage young ladies and men to get out there and look at things,” said Bonnichsen. Kirkham Hot Springs
HOT SPRINGS : CAROL WALLER
Walking path at Craters of the Moon National Monument