Craters of the Moon / A Guide to Craters of the Moon National Monument, Idaho

by United States. National Park Service. Division of Publications

p. cm.—(Official national park handbook; 139) 1. Craters of the Moon National Monument (Idaho)—Guidebooks. 2. Geology—Idaho—Craters of the Moon National Monument—Guidebooks. I. United States National Park Service. Division of Publications. II. Series: Handbook (United States. National Park Service. Division of Publications); 139. F752.C7C73 1991 917.96'59—dc20 89-13670CIP ISBN 0-912627-44-1

[Part 1 Welcome to Craters of the Moon] 4 [Rift Volcanism on the Snake River Plain] 7 [Part 2 From Moonscape to Landscape] 20 [Geology of the Craters of the Moon] 23 [Life Adapts to a Volcanic Landscape] 35 [Indians, Early Explorers, and Practicing Astronauts] 47 [Part 3 Guide and Adviser] 52 [Approaching Craters of the Moon] 54 [Visitor Center and Programs] 56 [Map] 58 [Take the Driving Tour] 59 [Camping and Backcountry Use] 60 [Winter Recreation] 61 [Regulations and Safety] 62 [Nearby Attractions] 63 [Armchair Explorations] 64

Part 1
Welcome to Craters of the Moon

Rock or rope? Folds of lava rock look like coils of irregular rope. Lava flows of this type are known as pahoehoe, a Hawaiian word pronounced pah-hoy-hoy and meaning ropey.

Rift Volcanism on the Snake River Plain

Light playing on cobalt blue lavas of the Blue Dragon Flows caught the inner eye of explorer Robert Limbert: “It is the play of light at sunset across this lava that charms the spectator. It becomes a twisted, wavy sea. In the moonlight its glazed surface has a silvery sheen. With changing conditions of light and air, it varies also, even while one stands and watches. It is a place of color and silence....”

Limbert explored the Craters of the Moon lava field in Idaho in the 1920s and wrote those words for a 1924 issue of National Geographic Magazine. “For several years I had listened to stories told by fur trappers of the strange things they had seen while ranging in this region,” wrote Limbert, a sometime taxidermist, tanner, and furrier from Boise, Idaho. “Some of these accounts seemed beyond belief.” To Limbert it seemed extraordinary “That a region of such size and scenic peculiarity, in the heart of the great Northwest, could have remained practically unknown and unexplored....” On his third and most ambitious trek, in 1924, Limbert and W. C. Cole were at times left speechless by the lava landscape they explored. Limbert recounted his impressions in magazine and newspaper articles whose publication was influential in the area’s being protected under federal ownership. In 1924, part of the lava field was proclaimed as Craters of the Moon National Monument, protected under the Antiquities Act. It was created “to preserve the unusual and weird volcanic formations.” The boundary has been adjusted and the park enlarged since then. In 1970, a large part of the national monument was designated by Congress as the Craters of the Moon Wilderness. It is further protected under the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Until 1986, little was known about Limbert except for those facts recounted above. That year, however, a researcher compiling a history of the national monument located Limbert’s daughter in Boise. The daughter still possessed hundreds of items, including early glass plate negatives, photographs, and manuscripts of her father and that shed more light on his life, the early days of Idaho, and Craters of the Moon. Some of these photographs served as blueprints for the National Park Service in the rehabilitation of fragile spatter cone formations that have deteriorated over the years of heavy human traffic. The Limbert collection has been fully cataloged by Boise State University curators and has already proven to be a valuable resource to historians interested in Limbert and this fascinating part of Idaho. Preservation of the area owes much to Limbert’s imaginative advocacy in the true spirit of the West in its earlier days.