When I was little my parents took me to Hawaii. There we saw a volcano eruption and lava flow. Of course, I don’t remember the event now. In college I visited Pompeii where I saw the destruction caused by Mount Vesuvius.
Visiting Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho renewed my curiosity about volcanoes. The area was not affected by just one volcano. Instead, it was the result of eight major eruptive periods. Today the land is fascinating with black lava rock covering much of the surface. But, to my surprise, red lava rock is also very common. The campground was gorgeous with each space separated by lava rock. A trail leads out of the campground to a lava field.
After settling in to the campground, Adolfo and I took a drive around the park. We hiked up Inferno Cone. From there we had beautiful panoramic views of the area.
Spatter cones, like this one, are miniature volcanoes. They looked much more like I would expect a volcano to look if you looked in the top. They had large, deep holes. The lava tubes were fascinating, as well. We walked over lava fields full of these lava tubes. As the lava flowed out from volcanoes, the outer layer solidified, but the lava continued to flow inside. This created a tube. Many tubes crumbled over the years revealing long tunnels. Adolfo and I hiked down into two of these that are now caves.
Interesting land surface to that park! Can you imagine trying to drive a covered wagon or ride a horse across that lava covered area?
ReplyDeleteI'll bet it was really strange driving a covered wagon across the US. Imagine all the strange land you would find. But, I think I read that Craters of the Moon was along the Oregon Trail.
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