Craters of
the Moon National Monument and Preserve is about two hours from Idaho
Falls. An hour and a half of that time
we looked at a lot of open space. In
some of that space is the Idaho National Laboratory (atomic and nuclear
research). They also have a museum. We passed on going to the museum. A couple of years ago we toured a museum
devoted to the beginnings of atomic power – it was a struggle to
understand. I’m amazed by what it can
provide but I really don’t need to know how they do it.
Before going
on to Craters of the Moon we decided to have lunch in Arco. It wasn’t a hard decision, Arco is the only
town between Idaho Falls and Craters of the moon. Pickle’s Place (home of the Atomic Burger)
was one of two places where you can eat.
I had the Atomic Burger (1/3 pound patty with mushrooms and onions) – it
was really good.
Arco’s claim
to fame is that on July 17, 1955 it was the first community in the world to be
lit by electricity generated by nuclear power
Craters of
the Moon is huge – 752,000 acres.
Needless to say we didn’t see all of it.
We took the 7 mile trail through a small portion of the park. Hikers can see a lot more but we weren’t that
energetic.
There is a
20 minute video in the visitor’s center explaining the different types of lava
deposits in the park. There are smooth
lava flows, huge chunks and small cinders.
Beginning 15,000 years ago this area was covered with lava, not from a
single volcano but from a series of deep fissures called the “Great Rift”. Here’s what concerned me from that
presentation. The fissures have erupted
several times, about every 2,000 years.
The last eruption was 2,000 years ago – is today the day it happens again?
At the North
Rim we can see an example of the smooth flow and a larger piece.
These
craters at the North Rim and other craters in the park are aligned along a 52
mile northwest trending volcanic fissure.
This great crack in the earth is likely to provide an avenue for future
events.
The lava
formations provide sanctuary for small wildlife.
The white
spots on the hill are small flowers.
After the spring rains these hills are covered with short-lived wild
flowers, the area is referred to a “Cinder Garden”.
This white
flower, shown next to a pinecone, is a dwarf buckwheat.
I don’t know
what this flower is, but there are many of them in the park.
There is an
abundance of vegetation in spots.
Cinder cones
are formed when volcanic froth erupts high into the air and is deposited in a
mound. Sometimes the vent is located in
the center of the cone, but more often it is a considerable distance away. You can walk to the top of this one called,
the “Inferno Cone”. We didn’t take
advantage of that option.
See that
lighter spot in the distance? It’s a “kipuka”,
or an island of vegetation spared by lava flows. Old lava flows continue to protect it by
forming a barrier to keep future flows from covering it.
Spatter
cones like this one are miniature volcanoes formed when blobs of lava are flung
into the air during the last part of an eruption.
Some of the
lava is 6 to 8 feet deep.
The smooth
lava flows are fragile, not very deep at all.
These lava
cascades were formed when hot lava leaked through cracks in the wall formed by
previous lava flows. That wall held back
a molten lava lake but some of it seeped through.
Scenery in
the area.
We did catch
a wildlife photo.
See that
light colored mountain in the background?
If you were sitting on top of that mountain 2000 years ago, you could
have seen the eruptions that created all of this.
Heading back
through Arco, this mountain looks like a lot of other mountains we have seen.
A closer
look at the top of the mountain indicates that a lot of adventurous (crazy)
people have graduated from the local high school.
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