Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
SURF, the Sanford Underground Research Facility, is a world-class science lab located 4,850 feet beneath Lead, South Dakota. Deep in the bowels of a former gold mine, it takes advantage of the unique geology to operate some of the most sensitive machines ever made - machines built to listen for dark matter and other cosmic curiosities. I had the very special opportunity to tour the facility and their enhanced geothermal energy experiment (EGS) which is laying the foundations for next-gen geothermal energy development.
The combination of dense, ancient seafloor rock, high altitude, and the right mineralization to allow more than 370 miles of mine tunnels to be dug have created the perfect site for one of the world's most advanced physics research centers. We toured the LUX-Zepplin experiment, a dark matter detector filled with liquid xenon, the Majorana demonstrator, a detector set up to confirm or deny the standard model of particle physics, and the lab where they create the most pure copper metal in human history (probably). SURF is a special and important place, and I am forever indebted to the staff who showed us around (Especially Erin Woodward, Dr. Bill Roggenthal, Marc Hardman, and the team of Majorana and the visitor center!).
SURF, the Sanford Underground Research Facility, is a world-class science lab located 4,850 feet beneath Lead, South Dakota. Deep in the bowels of a former gold mine, it takes advantage of the unique geology to operate some of the most sensitive machines ever made - machines built to listen for dark matter and other cosmic curiosities. I had the very special opportunity to tour the facility and their enhanced geothermal energy experiment (EGS) which is laying the foundations for next-gen geothermal energy development.
The combination of dense, ancient seafloor rock, high altitude, and the right mineralization to allow more than 370 miles of mine tunnels to be dug have created the perfect site for one of the world's most advanced physics research centers. We toured the LUX-Zepplin experiment, a dark matter detector filled with liquid xenon, the Majorana demonstrator, a detector set up to confirm or deny the standard model of particle physics, and the lab where they create the most pure copper metal in human history (probably). SURF is a special and important place, and I am forever indebted to the staff who showed us around (Especially Erin Woodward, Dr. Bill Roggenthal, Marc Hardman, and the team of Majorana and the visitor center!).
![Geology of the Alvord Desert | Oregon Geology - 4K [CC]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xYUxSZgL1p8/mqdefault.jpg "Geology of the Alvord Desert | Oregon Geology - 4K [CC]
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The Alvord Desert is Oregons largest dry lake bed, and it is at the center of a fascinating geologic story. It sits in the shadow of Steens Mountain, one of Oregons highest mountains which towers more than 5,000 feet above the lake bed and creates the rain shadow needed to maintain Alvords desert-like conditions. Steens Mountain was uplifted over the past 10 million years along the Steens Fault, and more than 3,000 meters of total offset has occurred in that time. Alvord Desert filled the graben that that fault system created. Above Alvord Desert in Pike Creek, older volcanic rocks can be seen which reflect an interesting volcanic environment which produced highly-evolved rhyolite lava shortly before the massive outpouring of the Steens Basalts (part of the Columbia River Basalt Group) blanketed Oregon. These older volcanic rocks of the Pike Creek Volcanics also contain some of Oregons few uranium mines. Uranium was concentrated in old fault zones, and the presence of heavy metals shows that the Steens Fault extends very deep into the Earth. This deep structure is also what allows the numerous hot springs (Alvord Hot Springs, Mickey Hot Springs, and Borax Lake) to reach the surface.
This video was filmed by and with camera gear provided by Riley Hooper, who can be found over at Wogos Media.
The data for the Columbia River Basalt dikes is from Morriss et al, 2020 paper The Chief Joseph dike swarm of the Columbia River flood basalts, and the legacy data set of William H. Taubeneck published in Geosphere. https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02173.1")
