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Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Idaho >> Craters of the Moon National Monument – Idaho tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Craters of the Moon National Monument – Idaho

Images of Craters of the Moon National Monument – Southern Idaho, taken in June and July 2018.

Preserving an area that was the scene of a volcanic eruption as recently as 2000 years ago, Craters of the Moon National Monument is appropriately named due to the pristine nature of the volcanic formations that reminded early explorers of what the moon’s surface would look like. Volcanic craters, spatter cones and cinder buttes dot the landscape that is made up of jagged lava flows and smooth cinders plains. All are products of the 52 mile long Great Rift zone that has erupted in this area as far back as 15,000 years ago. The most dramatic features lie within the area near the Visitor Center and along the park road, however, the park stretches southward for miles into what was in 1970 the first Wilderness area declared in any national park.

Whenever I get to a new area that I want to explore I always hope for nice weather; it just makes things easier hiking-wise and photographically. Clear blue skies are preferred but the right kind of clouds can produce dramatic images; such was the case for my first day in this park. There were thunderstorms throughout the area and that produced the kind of dark and broken cloud cover that makes for some dramatic images, especially here where they churned over an intense volcanic landscape! The image in the middle of the third row is my favorite; I’m on top of the 6,181 foot Inferno Cone looking at a large dimly lit tree growing out of black cinders with sparse sunlight in the valley below and the aforementioned clouds above. You couldn’t ask for a better setup, as the saying goes, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good! Now my time here wasn’t always as perfect for when the weather cleared the bright sunny skies combined with dark black lava flows and cinders produced mind-bending contrast issues that kept me on my toes for the rest of my stay. Some of those worked out too and to paraphrase the song, I have to remind myself that the sun is bound to shine but ‘into each life some rain must fall’…and that means clouds and a dramatic photographic opportunity!
Spatter Cones along the volcanic rift zone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Spatter Cones along the volcanic rift zone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Volcanic Spatter Cones in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Volcanic Spatter Cones in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Chipmunk on lava rocks in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Chipmunk on lava rocks in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Large Spatter Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Large Spatter Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Inferno Cone (6181 ft.) in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Inferno Cone (6181 ft.) in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cinders making up the side of Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cinders making up the side of Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Spatter Cones viewed beyond a hill of cinders in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Spatter Cones viewed beyond a hill of cinders in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Yellow-Bellied Marmot on lava rocks in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Yellow-Bellied Marmot on lava rocks in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 View through rugged lava rock along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
View through rugged lava rock along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Spatter Cones with Big Cinder Butte in the background in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Spatter Cones with Big Cinder Butte in the background in Craters of the Moon National Monument
A storm moves across the Pioneer Mountains as seen from the top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
A storm moves across the Pioneer Mountains as seen from the top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Big Cinder Butte (6515 ft.) as seen from the top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Big Cinder Butte (6515 ft.) as seen from the top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Dark clouds over a large tree growing from the cinders on top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Dark clouds over a large tree growing from the cinders on top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Dead sagebrush in cinders on top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Dead sagebrush in cinders on top of the Inferno Cone in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Buckwheat plant among the cinders along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Buckwheat plant among the cinders along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Clouds over the lava flow landscape along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Clouds over the lava flow landscape along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Ominous clouds over the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Ominous clouds over the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Storm clouds darken the skies along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Storm clouds darken the skies along the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava pond along the Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava pond along the Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 North Crater area from US Highway 20 in Craters of the Moon National Monument
North Crater area from US Highway 20 in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cinder cone along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cinder cone along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava flow frozen in time along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava flow frozen in time along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Monkeyflower along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Monkeyflower along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava mold of a fallen tree trunk along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava mold of a fallen tree trunk along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Impression in lava of tree bark along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Impression in lava of tree bark along the Tree Molds Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Spatter Cones and Big Cinder Butte viewed from along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Spatter Cones and Big Cinder Butte viewed from along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Flower in bloom along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Flower in bloom along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Yellow-Pine Chipmunk along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Yellow-Pine Chipmunk along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Tiny flower blooming in the cinders along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Tiny flower blooming in the cinders along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Large Crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Large Crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Crater with Big Cinder Butte in the distance from along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Crater with Big Cinder Butte in the distance from along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 A toppled tree forms an archway over the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
A toppled tree forms an archway over the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava rocks and a barren tree frame the moon along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava rocks and a barren tree frame the moon along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 An old exposed tree root frozen against lava rock along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
An old exposed tree root frozen against lava rock along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Path winds its way through a crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Path winds its way through a crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Brush grows sparingly in the lava rocks along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Brush grows sparingly in the lava rocks along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument 		Colorful Buckwheat blooms along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Colorful Buckwheat blooms along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 A lava arch along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
A lava arch along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Bitterroot plant along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Bitterroot plant along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Path snakes through a crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Path snakes through a crater along the North Crater Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
View of the Spatter Cone and Big Craters area over a’a lava near the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
View of the Spatter Cone and Big Craters area over a’a lava near the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Pahoehoe ribbons of lava along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Pahoehoe ribbons of lava along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava arcs along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava arcs along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Lava dome pushed upward along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Lava dome pushed upward along the Broken Top Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Broken chunk of lava along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Broken chunk of lava along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Assortment of plant life grows together along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Assortment of plant life grows together along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Vertical Lava Tree formation along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Vertical Lava Tree formation along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Form of a disintegrated tree along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Form of a disintegrated tree along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Large vertical tree form along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Large vertical tree form along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Weather worn tree trunk along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Weather worn tree trunk along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Crescent Butte along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Crescent Butte along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Sap dripping from a pine cone along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Sap dripping from a pine cone along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Cinder craters along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Cinder craters along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Tree growing on the steep side of a cinder cone along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument
Tree growing on the steep side of a cinder cone along the Wilderness Trail in Craters of the Moon National Monument		 Pioneer Mountains viewed over the North Crater Lava Flow from along the North Crater Flow Trail in Craters of the Moon National
Pioneer Mountains viewed over the North Crater Lava Flow from along the North Crater Flow Trail in Craters of the Moon National

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