Craters of the Moon

So last week, we took a drive out to Craters of the Moon national monument, hoping to get some good shots of the lava fields.

Just to give a little history on this area, I found this at Wikipedia:

The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km²) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the lower 48 U.S. states. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones including outstanding examples of spatter cones. Sixty distinct lava flows form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field ranging in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years old. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve.

The drive from Idaho Falls to there is very interesting, not because there is a lot to see, really, but to get there we have to pass by the Idaho National Laboratory.

If you aren't familiar with this facility, here is a little information about it that may surprise you:

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is an 890-square-mile (2,300-km²) complex located in the Idaho desert between the town of Arco and the city of Idaho Falls.

On January 3, 1961, the first and only fatal nuclear reactor accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a problem control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three military personnel working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive isotope contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins. The events are the subject of a book published in 2003, Idaho Falls: The untold story of America's first nuclear accident.

I don't think most people are aware that the INL exists, let alone that it was the site of the first and only fatal nuclear accident in the USA!

Anyway, we'll be touring the facility later this spring, so I'll do a whole post about that, as well.

There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground as we passed the INL and reached Craters of the Moon, and the snow actually contrasted really nicely with the coal black color of the lava flows:

Now I had assumed that the small mountain in this picture was an extinct volcano, but I was wrong! It is actually one of several lava hills that were pushed up during one of the many flows that took place.

For a while, the sun was out and it was really beautiful, you can really see just how blackened it is there:

Once the clouds took the sunlight away, it took on a more ominous feeling:

Once the snow has fully melted, I will go back and do an update on this post to show the difference between now and then.

Hopefully that won't be too much longer! I can honestly say that I'd be happy to never see snow ever again at this point.

At least not until around Christmas. :)