3 Questions with a Rock-it Scientist

By Loni Rahm

Nationally recognized geologist and Central Washington University professor Nick Zentner will give a FREE presentation at the Ruby Theatre on June 18, at 7 p.m.

I read through his impressive bio and watched some of the fascinating videos posted on his website. And still, I felt there was a piece of information that might be missing.

So I sent him 3 questions, and was both amused and amazed by his responses. Which only reinforces to me how education, science and entertainment can successfully intertwine when given the proper conduit.

Q & A with Rock-It Scientist, Nick Zentner:

LCN – 1) Please give us a couple of examples of information that the community might be surprised to learn about the Lake Chelan Valley:
  • The biggest surprise about Lake Chelan Geology:  if folks have heard that ice carved the valley to make Lake Chelan…that’s true, BUT….instead of a mountain glacier coming out of the Cascades and digging the trench for Lake Chelan….it was a much thicker Ice Sheet from Canada that flowed south and entered the Chelan area both from the west AND the east.
  • The swirly bedrock that is visible in road cuts around the lower end of Lake Chelan is a rare rock called migmatite – a mix of metamorphic and igneous rocks that formed when the rock was deeper than 5 miles below the surface with high temperatures and pressures evident in the rock today.
LCN – 2) What motivates you?
  • I like taking complicated scientific reports (old and new) and repackaging them for a general audience.  People seem to enjoy the lectures and videos that we film in the field.  I simplify the geology, but am careful not to ‘dumb it down’.  The audience is bright and curious.  I like telling stories using carefully collected scientific data.
LCN – 3) You are “Nick on the Rocks”.  So….Margaritas….blended or on the rocks? (testing for a sense of humor)
  • The bedrock in the North Cascades is now viewed as originally Mexican crust….so margaritas are in order!

More about Nick Zentner

Zentner may be familiar to you as PBS’s Nick On The Rocks, talking excitedly about the geology of the great state of Washington. He is an enthusiastic teacher, and thrives on making geology fun.

In his Chelan appearance, he will tell us about the formation of the lake (“The Battle of the Ice Sheets”) and mountains, about the hidden erratics in the Lake Chelan Valley, and answer questions about the unique place where we live. Don’t know about erratics? Better be there to find out what they are!

In 2015, Zentner received the national James Shea Award, a prestigious award recognizing exceptional delivery of Earth Science content to the general public.

This event is brought to you by the Lake Chelan Historical Society.