Qualla: Craters of the Moon National Monument

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Introduction

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0. In 1969, four Apollo astronauts wandered across a strange black landscape in central Idaho, learning volcanic geology before their trips to the Moon. Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Joe Engle, and Eugene Cernan were not actually on another world, though visitors to Craters of the Moon often feel they have left Earth behind. President Calvin Coolidge established this national monument in 1924, describing it as "a weird and scenic landscape peculiar to itself." He was not exaggerating. The Great Rift volcanic zone has produced eruptions as recently as 2,000 years ago, leaving behind a stark panorama of cinder cones, lava tubes, and basalt flows that stretch to the horizon.

Image: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States | CC BY-SA 2.0

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Fire Beneath Idaho

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit BLMIdaho, Public domain. The Snake River Plain sprawls across southern Idaho, a volcanic terrain built over millions of years. In places, this plain is 60 miles wide, with basalt lava deposits plunging more than 10,000 feet deep. The Great Rift volcanic rift zone cuts through the monument and preserve, a...

Image: BLMIdaho | Public domain

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Islands in a Sea of Stone

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, CC BY 2.0. Despite appearances, this seemingly barren landscape supports more than 660 types of plants and 280 animal species. The key lies in the kipukas, islands of older vegetation surrounded by newer lava flows. When molten rock poured across the landscape, it sometimes flowed around hi...

Image: Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve | CC BY 2.0

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Wings Over Basalt

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, CC BY 2.0. Over 212 bird species have been sighted on or above the monument. Many are rocky area or shrubland specialists rarely seen in such numbers elsewhere. Small ponds formed by spring rains and snowmelt attract surprising numbers of waterbirds: ducks, geese, shorebirds, herons, and gu...

Image: Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve | CC BY 2.0

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Extremes of Earth and Sky

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Daniel Mayer (talk) (Uploads), CC BY-SA 3.0. Weather at Craters of the Moon runs to extremes. The monument spans from the foothills of the Pioneer Mountains to near the Snake River, and conditions vary dramatically across this range. Annual precipitation drops from 16 inches at the Visitor Center to under 10 inches at the s...

Image: Daniel Mayer (talk) (Uploads) | CC BY-SA 3.0

Craters of the Moon National Monument: Into the Tubes

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit NPS Photo, Public domain. The monument's lava tube caves offer some of its most fascinating exploration. Formed when the outer surface of flowing lava cooled and hardened while molten rock continued flowing beneath, these tubes now provide pitch-black corridors into the volcanic underworld. Exploring them...

Image: NPS Photo | Public domain