2025 Thomas Condon Lecture - Where did the lava flow and how do we know? A geological mystery and treasure hunt
From Ernest Colantonio
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Thursday, October 29, 2025
Zentner has been awarded the 2023 Geological Society of America Public Service Award, the 2024 Neale Medal from the Geological Association of Canada, and the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Institute of Professional Geologists, among other accolades. He earned his B.S. in geology in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his M.S. in geology in 1989 from Idaho State University.
Title: Where did the lava flow and how do we know? A geological mystery and treasure hunt
Speaker: Nick Zentner, Lecturer in Geology at Central Washington University and star of the PBS show, “Nick on the Rocks
Talk summary:
How have geological forces in the Pacific Northwest operated over the course of millions of years to create the landscapes we see today? And how do we know what happened to form our mountains, coastlines and other features? Nick Zentner, lecturer in geology at Central Washington University and star of the PBS show, “Nick on the Rocks,” loves to explore this kind of mystery. In this lecture, he will ask the seemingly simple question, did the lava that erupted from the Yellowstone hotspot 16 million years ago, known to geologists as flood basalt, make its way across the Cascade Range and to the Washington and Oregon coasts? Could that lava cross a mountain range? Zentner will present his perspective on the question, and take the audience on a scientific treasure hunt to find evidence for his answer.
Speaker bio:
During the pandemic in 2020, Nick Zentner, senior geology lecturer at Central Washington University, taped his iPhone to a wooden step ladder and started filming videos about local geology and posted them on YouTube in order to connect with people and to try something new. Little did he know that his following would grow to be international in scope, and those initial YouTube videos would morph into his very own PBS-TV show on Washington geology, “Nick on the Rocks,” broadcast regularly throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 2021, the show won two Emmy awards from the Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences.How have geological forces in the Pacific Northwest operated over the course of millions of years to create the landscapes we see today? And how do we know what happened to form our mountains, coastlines and other features? Nick Zentner, lecturer in geology at Central Washington University and star of the PBS show, “Nick on the Rocks,” loves to explore this kind of mystery. In this lecture, he will ask the seemingly simple question, did the lava that erupted from the Yellowstone hotspot 16 million years ago, known to geologists as flood basalt, make its way across the Cascade Range and to the Washington and Oregon coasts? Could that lava cross a mountain range? Zentner will present his perspective on the question, and take the audience on a scientific treasure hunt to find evidence for his answer.
Speaker bio:Zentner has been awarded the 2023 Geological Society of America Public Service Award, the 2024 Neale Medal from the Geological Association of Canada, and the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Institute of Professional Geologists, among other accolades. He earned his B.S. in geology in 1986 from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and his M.S. in geology in 1989 from Idaho State University.
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