The Craters of the Moon National Monument is in the state of Idaho. It contains over 600 square miles of lava fields, making it the largest volcanic area in the lower 48 US States. It lies less than 300 miles from Yellowstone National Park, which is a highly active volcanic area. The super volcano, which is Yellowstone, erupts on roughly 600,000 year cycles. This volcanism is due to a hot spot in the earth’s crust, which brings hot molten rock very near to the surface. The North American tectonic plate is slowly sliding over this hotspot. It used to be under southern Idaho and Craters of the Moon. This area has been volcanic for many eons, but the lava flows that you see are quite recent in geologic terms. They are from 2000-15000 years old. The area is considered dormant, but not inactive.
The lava beds of Idaho were a hell on earth for early settlers on the Oregon Trail. It was impossible to traverse in a wagon. Many who ventured into this rocky and rugged area perished and were never heard from again. Those hearty few who explored the area gave the landmarks forbidding names, such as the Devil’s Orchard. This is an area of ancient twisted pines and up-shooting lava formations, called cinder crags, that they imagined as looking like trees.
The path to the south was more desirable, along the Snake River, but the area was inhabited by native Americans, who were not always friendly. Attacks in the 1850’s and 1860’s, such as those near Massacre Rocks, killed many settlers. To avoid conflict and the impassible lava beds, the settlers were motivated to find a northern route. In 1862, a guide, Tim Goodale, lead 1,095 emigrants in 338 wagons along a new route, through the foothills. This route was then named after him, as the Goodale Cutoff. It took the pioneers through mountainous terrain, but out of the danger of death by Indian raid or perilous journey through the lava fields. You can see the start of this detour in the northern part of the park.
There were already modern roads in the area before any European settler crossed from south to north across the main lava fields. The most famous trek across the lava fields was the Limbert expedition, which was documented in a 1924 National Geographic Article, “Among the Craters of the Moon.” His eloquent account of the journey captivated the imagination of the public.
Native Americans have been passing through Craters of the Moon for thousands of years. They created stone markers to show the location of nearby hidden water holes.
Limbert’s article prompted President Calvin Coolidge to sign a proclamation creating the Craters of the Moon National Monument. For many years, geologists, biologists and environmentalists advocated for Craters of the Moon to become a national park. In 2000, the park was expanded to include the Great Rift, two other large lava fields and all the lands in between. Local ranchers and sportsmen were opposed to the plan to create a national park. In 2002 a compromise was made and the monument was also designated as a National Preserve. This allowed for cattle grazing and hunting, which is not allowed in National Parks. Today more than 250,000 people visit the park every year.
In 1969 NASA astronauts Alan Shepard, Eugene Cernan, Edgar Mitchell, and Joe Engle trained at the Craters of the Moon National Monument. NASA believed at the time that they could encounter such rough terrain on the moon, even though the surfaces were created in quite different ways. The moon’s surface is pitted because of meteor strikes, while Craters of the Moon is volcanic. The place where the astronauts landed on the moon was covered with a fine powdery dust. When stepping onto the moon, one astronaut proclaimed, “If feels just like Sun Valley!” He wasn’t referring to the park, but the ski slopes of the Sun Valley resort.
While you are there, you can trek up the Inferno Cone, a young cinder cone volcano. The half mile trail is steep, but still quite an easy climb. The surface is covered in fine volcanic gravel and pumice, which makes a crunching sound as you walk up its jet black slopes.
Not a single plant will grow on its flanks, but at the top you will find a flat area covered with wildflowers, shrubs and even a few hardy trees. The view from the plateau is one of the best in the park and its 360 degree panoramic views are well worth the hike. It will impress upon you the sheer size of these lava fields, with black lava rock extending in some directions as far as the horizon.
While visiting the park you can explore several caves. These caves are lava tubes, which are natural tunnels through solid lava rock, created when molten rock flowed under a hardened surface. These caves sometimes contain snow, ice liquid water, which could help a traveler survive a trip across the large lava fields.
Indian Tunnel is the most easily accessible of the park’s caves. It is 800 feet long and the ceiling is up to 30 feet tall. Parts of the roof have collapsed, filling the large caverns with light.
Craters of the Moon is far from devoid of life. Within the park there are 169 species of birds, 8 reptiles, 375 species of plants and 48 species of mammals. In Springtime you will even find colorful wildflowers. They will grow in any bit of soil, in volcanic gravel or from cracks in rock. Even in this harsh environment, life finds a way.
