 |
||||||||
|
CRATERS of the MOON US NATIONAL MONUMENT The strangest 75 square miles on the North American continent. Craters of the Moon contains three lava fields covering almost half a million acres. |
 National Parks |
|
A volcanic landscape of cinder cone. This is one of the largest purely basaltic cinder cones in the world. 
|
|
The surface patterns and formations found here are typical of basaltic lava associoted with volcanism. Craters of the Moon sits astride the "Great Rift." In places, this plain is 60 miles wide, with basalt lava deposits over 10,000 feet deep. It really does feel like a lunar landscape. 
|
|
The searing heat on the black surface versus the cool of the cave interiors, the roaring afternoon wind versus the dampened stillness below ground, the brilliant light and expansive views versus the enclosed darkness of the lava tubes. These contrasts offered within the cave area are very appealing. |
|
|
Conditions are hot and dry in summer, snowy and cold in winter, and the wind is non-stop. 
|