A hike to Hell's Half Acre

Not too far from where I live, is Hell's Half Acre. It is a lava field that is really remarkable, as it just starts abruptly and ends just as abruptly.

A little information about it from The Global Volcanism Program:

Hell's Half Acre lava field, the easternmost of the young basaltic lava fields of the Snake River Plain, covers an area of about 400 sq km SW of Idaho Falls and is the 2nd largest of the Snake River Plain. Basaltic lavas forming the broad, low shield volcano are dominantly pahoehoe flows that were erupted from a 3-km-long, NW-SE trending vent system at the NW part of the field during a brief eruptive episode about 5200 years ago.

I took a drive out to the trail, hoping to get some decent shots of it but the icy wind had kicked up that day, making it difficult to really enjoy the hike.

Here, you can see there are two trails, one short (blue) and one long (red):

Guess which one I ended up taking? ;)

Here, you can see that the sage LOVES to grow among the lava rocks:




The lava itself is an odd mix of black, brown and red, with lovely moss and lichens growing on it:


On the way back to the warm car, I took this shot, because I thought it was just lovely how the foothills in the distance were framed by the trees:



I will be returning for the long version of this hike when it is warm, and the wind isn't blowing so hard!!

I just really love the geology of this area, knowing that I live on top of the world's largest volcano is a bit exciting.

Do you have a volcano close by where you live?

Chelle B.