The Volcano which Flooded Oregon with Lava; The Columbia River Flood Basalts

In the recent geologic history of Oregon, there was a lengthy period of time where the state regularly was flooded by lava instead of water. These so called “flood basalts“ represented the largest effusive eruptions of the last 20 million years and were equivalent in magnitude to 1,000 simultaneous eruptions of Kilauea. These formations shaped much of the modern look in the state including many of its magnificent canyons. This video will discuss these series of eruptions termed the Columbia River flood basalts, which permanently changed much of the landscape in the United States northwest around 16 million years ago. If you would like to support this channel, consider becoming a patron at Another way to support this channel is to make an order via our gemstone and geology related etsy store at .