Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a vast protected area located in Idaho, covering over 618 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) of unique volcanic landscapes. Established as a national monument in 1924 and designated a wilderness preserve in 2002, the park showcases a striking, otherworldly terrain characterized by cinder cones, lava flows, and fissures formed by volcanic activity that occurred over thousands of years. The region's geological features were shaped by a volcanic hotspot that once lay beneath the Snake River Plain, contributing to significant eruptions that produced extensive basalt formations.
Visitors to Craters of the Moon can explore diverse ecosystems that support various plant and animal species, despite its seemingly barren appearance. The area also holds cultural significance, with Native American legends reflecting the volcanic history and landscape. The park is a popular destination, drawing around 200,000 visitors annually, and has served as a unique training ground for NASA astronauts preparing for lunar and Martian missions. Although currently dormant, the volcanic activity in the region is believed to potentially resume within the next millennium, making it an important site for geological research and education.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a large national park in the western United States featuring more than 618 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) of volcanic formations and lava fields. The monument earned its name from its bleak, otherworldly landscape that reminded early explorers of the moon's surface. It was named a national monument in 1924 and designated a wilderness preserve in 2002. The volcanic activity that created the region occurred over a period of thousands of years, ending about two thousand years ago. Although the volcanos are dormant, scientists speculate that they will erupt again within the next millennium.
Background
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is located on the northern edge of the Snake River Plain in Idaho. About eight to twelve million years ago, the area was over a large plume of molten rock in Earth's interior called a volcanic hotspot. Hotspots are formed in the mantle, the area between the planet's core and the relatively thin crust. They remain stationary as the tectonic plates of the crust slowly move over them. This geological feature can produce a line of volcanoes that cool as the crust moves away from the hotspot. The Hawaiian Islands were formed in this manner.
The hotspot that was once below the Snake River Plain has moved over millions of years and now lies under Yellowstone Park in northwestern Wyoming. Eruptions produced by volcanic hotspots can be very violent and leave behind large, cauldron-like craters known as calderas. About 2.1 million years ago, the Yellowstone hotspot produced a large eruption that threw about 588 cubic miles (2,450 cubic kilometers) of material into the atmosphere. Another eruption about 640,000 years ago produced about 240 cubic miles (1,000 cubic kilometers) of material. Both eruptions would have created enough ash to blanket North America.
Overview
As the Yellowstone Hotspot moved away, volcanic activity in the Craters of the Moon region continued from about six million to fifteen thousand years ago. This activity produced basalt lava flows that covered the region to depths of about 4,000 feet (1,219 meters). Much of the more recent activity in the region is an example of a basaltic fissure eruption, a less violent eruption from a crack, or vent, in the surface. The activity that produced the current formations and lava flows at Craters of the Moon occurred in eight eruptive phases from fifteen thousand to two thousand years ago. The lava welled up from a 62-mile (100-kilometer) series of cracks in the Snake River Plain called the Great Rift.
Native Americans have lived in the region for thousands of years and may have witnessed the last eruptions from two millennia ago. The legends of the Shoshone people tell of a giant snake angered that lightning had disturbed its sleep atop a mountain near the Snake River. The snake coiled its body around the mountain and squeezed until the rocks broke apart and fire erupted from the cracks. As the mountain exploded, liquid fire killed the snake. The legends hold that the cinder and lava formations of the region are the ashes and charred bones of the mythical creature.
The Shoshone did not live in the Craters of the Moon region, but often passed through it on their way to find food. In the nineteenth century, miners, fur trappers, and settlers who traveled nearby avoided the area but noted its strange, lunar-like landscape. In some accounts, the region was referred to as the "Valley of the Moon." The area was first mapped in 1833 and was later studied by geologists. In the early twentieth century, explorer Robert Limbert undertook the first comprehensive study of the region. He photographed and named many of the area's natural features. Limbert referred to the region as Craters of the Moon in national magazine articles and lobbied for the area to be named a national park. President Calvin Coolidge officially declared it Craters of the Moon National Monument on May 2, 1924.
In 2002, part of Craters of the Moon National Monument was declared a wilderness preserve. The area of the entire park is about 1,100 square miles (2,849 square kilometers). The cinder cones, eruptive fissures, lava flows, and shield volcanoes of the park make up about 618 square miles (1,600 square kilometers) of that total. The highest point of the monument is about 7,729 feet (2,356 meters) in the Pioneer Mountains to the north. Of the more than twenty-five cinder cones at the park, nineteen are more than 100 feet (30 meters) tall. The tallest is named Big Cinder Butte and stands slightly higher than 700 feet (213 meters). As the name implies, a cinder cone is a conical formation made up of cinders, or volcanic ash.
The monument is located near Arco, Idaho, and sees about two hundred thousand visitors a year. The high elevations make the park extremely windy, especially in the late afternoon. Despite its bleak appearance, the region is home to numerous plant species and several hundred species of mammals, reptiles, and birds. The most common animals in the park are fox, marmots, and mule deer. In 1969, several astronauts who would later make trips to the moon toured the monument to study its geology and prepare for the stark lunar environment.
According to the US National Park Service, Craters of the Moon has not experienced any recent earthquakes, ground swelling, or other signs of volcanic activity. The volcanoes below the surface, however, are not extinct; they are in a dormant, or hibernating, phase. Geologists believe that if eruptions follow past patterns, new volcanic activity will occur in the region within the next one thousand years. Some estimates place that figure as soon as within the next two hundred years.
For more than fifty years, Craters of the Moon has served as a training site for NASA. Its unique environment makes it comparable to the environments that astronauts might encounter on other planets. During the 2020s, it was used to help astronauts prepare for a potential mission to Mars.
Bibliography
"Craters of the Moon." Idaho State University, imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geog/parks/craters/craters.htm. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.
Craters of the Moon: A Guide to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. US Department of the Interior, 2010.
"Craters of the Moon National Monument." Visit Idaho, visitidaho.org/things-to-do/natural-attractions/craters-of-the-moon-2/. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.
"Frequently Asked Questions." National Park Service, 31 Mar. 2012, www.nps.gov/crmo/faqs.htm. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.
"National Monument Unveils the Scientific Secrets of the Moon on Earth." National Park Service, 25 Sept. 2024, www.nps.gov/crmo/planyourvisit/scientific-secrets.htm. Accessed 5 Dec. 2024.
Oskin, Becky. "12 Supereruptions Pockmark Path of Yellowstone Hotspot." Live Science, 28 Mar. 2016, www.livescience.com/54200-yellowstone-hotspot-past-super-eruptions.html. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.
"A Violent Past, Calm Present, and Uncertain Future..." National Park Service, www.nps.gov/crmo/index.htm. Accessed 16 Jan. 2018.