Outdoors

The National Park Service celebrates 100 years of 'weird and scenic' Craters of the Moon

Boise State Public Radio News | By Rachel Cohen

Published February 27, 2024 at 9:48 PM MST

Spatter cones are created from hot lumps of lava thrown into the air.

The lava fields and caves of Craters of the Moon in south-central Idaho formed from volcanic activity beginning 15,000 years ago.

This May marks 100 years since it became a national monument. In his 1924 proclamation, President Calvin Coolidge refers to Craters as a “weird and scenic landscape peculiar to itself.”

“It's kind of a strange and mysterious place that really feels a lot like another world," said Jennifer Jones with the National Park Service.

Wildflowers emerge from lava flows at Craters of the Moon National Monument

The unusual lava landscape is the result of a series of volcanic eruptions. The central feature is the Great Rift, a 52-mile-long crack in the Earth’s crust that starts near the visitor center.

Jones is planning events for the centennial celebration from May through September. She said talks and exhibits will cover the area's history as Shoshone-Bannock homelands and its role in preparing NASA astronauts for trips to the moon, and in 2016, for Mars.