I first visited Craters in the early 1960s and spent the next four years, along with my brother, exploring. My Dad was the Chief Ranger and our summers we were free to run from dawn to dinner time. I also worked there as a seasonal ranger in the early 1970s. The Craters are my home. The yellow plant you zoomed in on is rubber rabbit brush and the small grey plant is a type of buckwheat. Greatly enjoyed your video and found myself naming all the cones and remembering all the times climbing them.
As a photographer, I have learned to get my “clear” atmosphere shots early in the day. As the land heats up, the clouds build and the humidity often increases, and the haze increases. But mostly, you are getting the wild fire smoke.
I suspect that the overnight dew settling from cooling brings down the moisture to the ground and the particulates with it. Then as you say the daytime heating brings the water back up as humidity. Thus even wild fire smoke is partially cleared in the morning unless there is heavy inflow all night. Plus the water in the air as humidity is seen as haze as well.
It really makes this place come alive after having watched the Iceland Eruption for the last seven months or so! You can actually see how it formed, and why it all looks that way!
I'm with you about avoiding the 3-ring circus… Yeah, 274 feet brought a chuckle. My experience matches yours in terms of air quality and clarity. My experience is that it's true even without smoke to deal with. "Did First Nation people sit here and watch this?" I don't know, but if it were me, I certainly would. I've been watching the Iceland volcano on CZcams for weeks!
wait...my cabin door (the one with the Cedar tree in the doorway, often a photo op) opened on the tourist migration route from the Yosemite Lodge bus terminal to Yosemite Falls...never to me were they a "circus"...it's a Clark's Nutcracker! (JM smacking his forehead...)🙄
Finally COTM in the field! I did a volcanic Western USA drive in '97 starting with Yellowstone and ending with Mt Shasta but COTM was the most memorable because the volcanic features are human-scale and more interactive than, say, a giant caldera.
Thanks for the tour Nick. Each time I’ve been through this area, it was 110 dg. We were on motorcycles, so doing the trails were not in the cards. I’m hoping to go back sometime, when temps are a little more moderate. You’re spot on about the plain! We rode by lava fields for hours. It was awe inspiring! It had to be an amazing sight for the 1st Nation people who witnessed these eruptions.
I was there the second week of June last year and the temp was comfortable. Nevertheless, I made sure that I had a hydration pack similar to a Camelbak. Having hiking poles came in handle where the trail crossed a lava field.
You continue to provide some of the best video on CZcams in my humble opinion. I really appreciate your insights into our geology in the Pacific Northwest! Thank You so much!
Don't apologize about your breathing Nick, we would worry if you were not breathing. The smoke during the night could be settled down with the night dew.
Hi Nick, a resident of Caldwell, ID, a victim of COPD I wake up with California’s most famous export every morning and go to bed with it at night. It has been getting worse every year. I enjoy your lectures on Northwest Geology and would enjoy one in person. I graduated from BSU with a BFA, two of my favorite science 101 classes were Geology and Astronomy. Enjoy your reunion at ISU. The only bad rock is the one that has never been kicked down the hill.
I've always enjoyed checking out COM. I usually spend a week kicking around in the mountains over there. Nick reminds me of a joke we'd always talk about from packing mules with the occasional rock for ballast. "One of these days a geologist is going to be in the middle of these mountains, look down, and wonder how the heck a rock from the Wallowas ended all the way over here".
My wife and I were here in 2013 as part of our Glacial Lake Missoula trip. We stayed in Boise and from there made a trip on Hwy 21 and 75 to see the Sawtooth Mountains and then made a separate trip to Craters of the Moon.
Also since you asked about young basaltic flows in Western USA...Lots of them in New Mexico and Arizona, like Carrizozo in NM and Sunset Crater in AZ which is only a thousand years old
@@DrewskisBrews There's a continental rift going right thru' the middle of NM called the Rio Grande Rift that drives a lot of volcanism in NM. It's supposedly "failed" in that it's no longer pulling NM (and the continental USA) apart, but magma is still making its way up to shallow depths (see the Socorro Magma Body for the "latest" magma intrusion into NM).
@@larry8lo I'll have to look into that. I know there is one in the region in which I live, Kansas (Mid Continent Rift, runs all the way up to the Great Lakes). There are some unusual...magmatic? volcanic?...features in Kansas (kimberlites, lamproites), but they are much older, and I don't know if they are related to the MRS. Hard to study, because everything is buried under sediment. There is more going on beneath the plains (in terms of geologic interest) than most people realize.
@@kczcb4697 So far, so good 🤪 Do you realize we'll be coming up on 2 years this coming March since the first "Nick At Home" live-streamed? Mind-boggling!
@@jessiebunker-maxwell3914 yeah the first one was on st. Patrick’s day I think. I still watch nicks stuff. Glad he’s teaching in front of larger classes. We were spoiled getting his time and information for free basically.
I'm watching this in June of 23. Very enjoyable. Last night I was watching the live cam from Kilauea. It was directed at a spatter cone that has formed at the edge of the crater wall in this current eruption. Seeing that last night makes seeing this spatter cone in COTM this morning easy to imagine when it was active. I can also remember looking into a spatter cone at Craters in the early 1980s. I enjoy the hikes with Nick! Yes smoke does dye down at night then build up through the day. We've had some many summers of heavy smoke now in the Wenatchee Valley that I've learned that. My asthma has cleared almost completely but is now only triggered by smoke. This has caused me to pay attention to the patterns through the day.
I remember my first time coming here for a school field trip from Bellevue. I spent the entire time trying not to step on any cracks because as the saying went for kids in the early 90’s, if you step on a crack, you’ll break your mamas back. 🤷🏻♂️😂
We loved camping at the Craters on our way between Nevada and Montana, preferring the quiet 2-lane roads to the circus of the Interstate. Thanks so much for sharing this video! It brings back memories.
Just as for Nick, CTM holds special memories for me. As a child in the early sixties we would pack up the old station wagon and drive from Idaho Falls to Craters for a picnic. I especially remember going into lava tubes, and how frightened I was, until Dad picked me up and carried me. My wife and I go there every time we are close to it, as it’s still one of my favorite places, especially in the spring when wildflowers abound.
Your observation about the haze makes sense. It is, after all, particulate matter, so settles in the calm air of the night. During the day thermals mix up the lower layers of the atmosphere and carry the stuff higher up again. Turbulence of air pockets of varying density may even affect clarity directly by refraction.
Your school must have been richer than mine. We had iodine for wipeouts. At home it was mecurichrome. Some friends had hydrogen peroxide at home. Bactine was just too expensive.
@@markpashia7067 I remember that little brown bottle of Merthiolate we had as kids. The red stuff. They'd put it on your scrape, and then blow on it because it burned so bad. That stuff was torture! It had the same pain relieving properties as setting yourself on fire. lol They finally figured out that pouring mercury in an open wound wasn't a great idea and outlawed the stuff.
Nick, I have always been fascinated with the area called the "Mt Adams volcano field" south and west of Mt Adams. Also amazing to me is the fact that Mt Adams sits way east of the Cascade divide and Mt St Helens sits way west of the divide. And they are almost exactly east and west from each other. Hope you can shed some light.
I will not ever be able to visit CotM (or do any of the hikes up and down mountains that you do), but your personal and unrehearsed meanderings and observations help me *see* these astounding geological wonders. Bless you.
I had a Toyota tercel also loved it. It was a stick shift which I didn't know how to drive when I got it used from coworker cheap. My friend gave 2 lessons and off I went. Of course I kept killing the motor at signals for awhile but got better. Car went almost 200000 miles. Fond memories.
In 2013 my wife and I visited Idaho and The Craters of The Moon. It was amazing to see all those volcanic features of that park. Then in 2019 we went to La Palma and there also we saw the effect of the lava flows and volcanic ashes. We stayed in a little village called Todogue which is as we speak being totally destructed bij the outburst of the Cumbre Vieja.
Thought it looked like something my Dad referred to as “flocking”back in Virginia. I live in Idaho and while ranging around have seen this stuff and admired its ability to grow (like those trees he mentions) seemingly out of no soil. Almost always see them growing on decomposed granite. CHEERS!!
If you want to see how the combo of pahoehoe and aa formed, watch the early Icelandic eruption videos of Gutn Tog and others. The flow is very fluid, but it travels a long way down gently sloping valleys, which allows the surface to cool. As the liquid lava continues flowing underneath, the stiff surface buckles and folds into aa-like jumbles.
Winds die down at night as it cools. When the day heats up the winds start to increase and bring in the smoke from the west. That is a general statement with a lot of possible variables.
There's nothing like standing next to an active spatter cone, vent, or fissure. Exploring the old ones is fun too. Some you can crawl into over here in Hawaii. Because they're very young they're also very colorful. Good work avoiding people. Not always easy in crowded parks.
hi, walked around here in 1957. as a kid we picked up rocks, hauled to michigan, dad had a great camera, look for photos, maps, postcards. and rocks piled around.
Beautiful textures of the basalt. Sometimes it looks like crocodile skin, petrified wood, dried sponge, animal's skeleton... giving the strange feeling of life and death in a mineral world. I can imagine the Native American people watching this in fascination 2000 years ago the way people do now in Iceland. Very nice field video as always.
My stomping grounds, except I mostly go to the southern portion of the Monument. I can be in it in about 1/2 hour. Going to go out there in a few weeks for a few days of camping with friends. No entrance fees. Few people. Plenty of cattle and sheep. Some interesting spots. Like Pillar Butte. And a flow of AA that I call The Wall of Death. Indians made two trails over it just over a mile long instead of walking 10+ miles around it. Back in the 1970's a rancher used a bulldozer and generally following one of the trails cut a road over it. Can still see a few remnants of the trail. Road is an easy drive but kind of spooky. Drive it with your windows down so you can hear your tires on broken glass.
Outside of Glacier and Yellowstone, Craters was the last existence of grizzlies in the contiguous states....down near the south end of the Craters conservation area. Had grizzlies later than 1918. Just another interesting fact about Craters.
@@ResortDog LOL...gossip isn't science. Before Craters was named as a Monument, there was a known population of grizzlies on the Idaho desert. It caused such place names as Bear Trap Cave, and Bear Den Butte. Both near the southern end of what is now the Craters Conservation area. Those bears caused the sheepmen of that era a lot of problems until they were eliminated. The weather had to be much wetter back in those days. No way grizzlies could survive there now....sadly. An occasional black bear is seen on the desert, but they don't stay long.
On a clear day, I can see COTM from my house 105 miles away. The lava is broken by frost action. A ah is seen at the ends of the flows where its cooler. Great Southern Butte is a Rhyolite 'spear'.
I like going to the Craters in the dead of winter when there is fog. The hoar frost covering everything really makes one think you are in a different world. The haze or smoke you're seeing is from the large California fire that is burning near Lake Tahoe. Smoke density depends a lot on the wind currents. Some days it's clear, and other days, there would be no way you'd see any mountain range.
Wonderful lecture and analysis. Blew me away. We drive through these areas from time to time and wonder about just what we are looking at. It's the journey that gets you where you want to be, not always the destination.
We were here at CotM just before you on 8/27. We were fortunate as there was no smoke to be seen on that day. However, after heading south of the Coumbia River just past Mt. Hood, we started to have smoke and it persisted for almost 700 miles; starting around Newberry crater, through Lasen, Shasta, Lake Tahoe, and all the way south until Death Valley before it finally cleared. Really thought about your teachings while around some incredible multi-colored formations on Cali SR-190 (halfway betwn Father Crowley overlook and Panamint Sprngs Resort). The rocks in this one area were deep purple next to areas of striped and splotched pinks, yellows, greens, reds, and more. While mostly sedimentary and not much igneous, I wish I could have heard your commentary on this incredible geologic structure.
In Australia, the afternoon vistas of out eucalyptus covered mountains and hills in the distance have a distinct blue haze. Most common explanation is that the essential oils evaporating from the leaves makes it so.
Flagstaff Arizona, Sunset crater is about 900 years old, spatter cone, and cinder cones surround the area from many older eruptions. Over 600 formations in the surrounding area. Lots of native American history in the area from before the eruption of Sunset crater and after. Great drive called Sunset crater Wupatki loop road with incredible views of the Painted desert, worth the drive.
Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona is much like this but the lavas and the cinder cone is less than 1000 years old. I've also been to Capulin Volcano in New Mexico, which is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field and has a road to the crater rim. A fascinating place for volcanoes in the Western U.S. which deserves mention is the Mono-Inyo Volcanic Field in east central California. There, a chain of volcanic cones ranging from spatter cones to lava domes stretches from Mono Lake to Mammoth Mountain and is on the western edge of the Long Valley Caldera. The field was active as recently as 150 years ago.
Last time I was at Craters, all the trails were either crushed cinder lined with two by four lumber, or just dirt and rock where people had been stumbling along. 1957 I think. My mother got sick from the gases coming from the vents scattered through the area. We were returning home from Yellowstone Park, so We The Kids were suitably unimpressed. When I took my wife and kids there in the early 1980s, the kids had the same idea, but my wife and I found it quite interesting.
We were at the monument a few weeks ago. We only spent one night camping. While hiking on the trails, we saw many signs of human erosion along the trails and into the lava flows. So much to see here, so we will return in early October to explore more of the lava fields. Thanks for sharing your insights!
Looks just like last year's Icelandic Volcano activity area, interesting. It made deep liquid flows of basalt but also threw pumice and cinders from the same vents. That area kept moving where the cones were and flowed vigorously for many months. Haven't been to this park so thanks for the tour.
I was here on July 7th, 2021. I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I loved this place so much. It was amazing being there. I was right there with you, Nick. Thank you for taking us on your journey.
This area looks like Sunset Crater in Arizona. Sunset Crater emerged about 900 years ago. The San Francisco Colcanic Dield looks a lot like what you’re sharing here! Even the crunching sounds the same! So you don’t like other people on a trail, eh? That’s my husband and me!
The sound effects were spectacular! I LOL'd so hard my office partner started in with the "What? What?" and because I'm wearing my headset (and because I can) I totally ignored her. (It's not like you are missing a potential new Zentnerd - she would never.) And then you're talking about Labor Day and the older folks you met years ago, and then come out with COTFM, you gotta love it, and I've got tears in my eyes from laughing and she's giving me The Eye because I'm still not sharing my good times. Thanks tons, Nick!
While I was out in Utah near Cedar City and Brian Head I came across the volcanic field in the Markagunt Plateau. That was a total surprise to see the lava flows in the middle of a forested region. Other worldly.
The smoke is thicker later in the day because, in general the winds pick up as the day wears on and drop in speed as night comes on. This cloud of smoke that increases during the night shades the land in the morning. This reduses the morning ground temp and so the fire is less active in the morning. As the day wears on the winds in general pick up and blow the smoke away from the fire and the Sun hits the ground with higher enegy. That is what I have learned this season. Great show! I must recommend above the ankle boots for that walk!
I like your videos!! Binge watching this morning. Loved your story about the older couple. Me and hubby are fixing to be those people:). Just love how you show us these beautiful, awesome places.
Growing up in West Virginia, cinders were the residue of burned coal. They were used to spread the streets when covered with snow or ice. We visited COM last August in the midst of the COVID Dem Panic, there were few license plates from Idaho, just CA, OR, WA where everything had been shut down. Your wanderings at COM added a positive dimension to our experience there. We are four year transplants form Ca to ID, and love to explore our new neighborhood in ID, MT,WA.
Thanks for letting us visit COTM with you! We love that place! We've visited twice by following all the back roads and staying off the interstates. . What a GREAT EXPERIENCE! Laughed as you tried to avoid people.
Thanks for this informative scenic tour. I plan to visit this impressive site this August. I missed it when I last visited Yellowstone in 1997. Keep up with your motivating work. Your videos remember me why I studied Geography in the first place.
Thanks for tour. I love to get out and see new terrain, but was not able due to knees and unknownst to me heart blockages that left me gasping for air. Now, after triple bypass last spring I hope to be able to resume rambling and rockhounding. Again, thanks for sharing with us hoi polloi and keeping us out of your hair on the trails.
We live not far from here since 1982 and have always find it interesting when visiting or just driving through on our way to other towns , almost mystical ,specially at night with a full moon . Would have loved visiting the active volcano in Iceland which gives the visual of what happened here .
There's a flow about 30 miles long called the "Valley of Fire" in New Mexico, near Alomagordo. The Satellite Gooble map shows such a stark contrast from the White Sands area some miles to the south and the coal-black flow as seen from space.
Wow!! I missed any LIVE note, well, if there was one?? 🙃🙂... I love seeing these trips again, dear professor of ours!! ... also--- got a few more i got to go see... say, PS--- is your voice, okay 😇🤔🤗.. god bless, thank you so much, for sharing the work that you love!! and, the work that we love, to see and learn about 🙂😊😇.. with nick humor, added in😄
What stunning views of vegetation on the sharp edges of the ledges and promontories! Thank you for sharing your views and commentary. All the shading of the muted colors is gorgeous. I'll never forget walking on the growing lava fields in Hawaii. As we got closer to the sea where the lava poured into the sea it continually hotter, and we occasionally saw flowing lava in fissures and breaks. We gradually became hampered by the heaviness of sulfur in the air and the heat burning through the soles of our hiking boots so we turned back. I was not unhappy to be leaving an area with such live and present danger, but it was good to experience the beauty and the presence of danger without being incinerated! I enjoy your shows. Thanks again
Lassen Volcanic National Park has cinder cones and lava fields in addition to the main volcano. The last eruption from the volcano was early 1900s and there are photographs of it.
I first visited Craters in the early 1960s and spent the next four years, along with my brother, exploring. My Dad was the Chief Ranger and our summers we were free to run from dawn to dinner time. I also worked there as a seasonal ranger in the early 1970s. The Craters are my home. The yellow plant you zoomed in on is rubber rabbit brush and the small grey plant is a type of buckwheat. Greatly enjoyed your video and found myself naming all the cones and remembering all the times climbing them.
As a photographer, I have learned to get my “clear” atmosphere shots early in the day. As the land heats up, the clouds build and the humidity often increases, and the haze increases. But mostly, you are getting the wild fire smoke.
I suspect that the overnight dew settling from cooling brings down the moisture to the ground and the particulates with it. Then as you say the daytime heating brings the water back up as humidity. Thus even wild fire smoke is partially cleared in the morning unless there is heavy inflow all night. Plus the water in the air as humidity is seen as haze as well.
I imagine a stroll through icelands' meradalir valley in 2000 years might look like that.
Yes, I imagine it will. Except it would be a stroll across the flank of the shield volcano that has filled it up by that time, I bet! 🌋
@@RoxnDox Will Grindavik be destroyed, along with the road and miles of moss and grass? Stay tuned!
@@nonmihiseddeo4181 with our little friend in Geldingadalir, “stay tuned” is the best advice… 🌋🤷♂️😎
It really makes this place come alive after having watched the Iceland Eruption for the last seven months or so! You can actually see how it formed, and why it all looks that way!
It looks like that now
I'm with you about avoiding the 3-ring circus… Yeah, 274 feet brought a chuckle. My experience matches yours in terms of air quality and clarity. My experience is that it's true even without smoke to deal with. "Did First Nation people sit here and watch this?" I don't know, but if it were me, I certainly would. I've been watching the Iceland volcano on CZcams for weeks!
Its lovely to imagine what was going through their minds, what did they say at this marvel rolling out.
wait...my cabin door (the one with the Cedar tree in the doorway, often a photo op) opened on the tourist migration route from the Yosemite Lodge bus terminal to Yosemite Falls...never to me were they a "circus"...it's a Clark's Nutcracker! (JM smacking his forehead...)🙄
Finally COTM in the field! I did a volcanic Western USA drive in '97 starting with Yellowstone and ending with Mt Shasta but COTM was the most memorable because the volcanic features are human-scale and more interactive than, say, a giant caldera.
Very true 👍
Thanks for taking me back to the places I can't get to anymore!
Thanks for the tour Nick.
Each time I’ve been through this area, it was 110 dg. We were on motorcycles, so doing the trails were not in the cards. I’m hoping to go back sometime, when temps are a little more moderate.
You’re spot on about the plain! We rode by lava fields for hours. It was awe inspiring! It had to be an amazing sight for the 1st Nation people who witnessed these eruptions.
I was there the second week of June last year and the temp was comfortable. Nevertheless, I made sure that I had a hydration pack similar to a Camelbak. Having hiking poles came in handle where the trail crossed a lava field.
You continue to provide some of the best video on CZcams in my humble opinion. I really appreciate your insights into our geology in the Pacific Northwest! Thank You so much!
Don't apologize about your breathing Nick, we would worry if you were not breathing. The smoke during the night could be settled down with the night dew.
Hi Nick, a resident of Caldwell, ID, a victim of COPD I wake up with California’s most famous export every morning and go to bed with it at night. It has been getting worse every year.
I enjoy your lectures on Northwest Geology and would enjoy one in person. I graduated from BSU with a BFA, two of my favorite science 101 classes were Geology and Astronomy. Enjoy your reunion at ISU. The only bad rock is the one that has never been kicked down the hill.
I audibly said "oh boy" when I saw the title. Such a unique and intresting place. The view from Sunset cone is unmatched personally.
I've always enjoyed checking out COM. I usually spend a week kicking around in the mountains over there. Nick reminds me of a joke we'd always talk about from packing mules with the occasional rock for ballast. "One of these days a geologist is going to be in the middle of these mountains, look down, and wonder how the heck a rock from the Wallowas ended all the way over here".
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Carrizozo Malpais lava field in New Mexico is from 3000BC. Flowed for about 30 years. 80km long.
My wife and I were here in 2013 as part of our Glacial Lake Missoula trip. We stayed in Boise and from there made a trip on Hwy 21 and 75 to see the Sawtooth Mountains and then made a separate trip to Craters of the Moon.
Thank you for taking us on these adventures with you and showing us the beauty of the NW geology.
It's been 50+ years since I've been there. I hope I can convince my husband to revisit next year. Thanks Nick.
Also since you asked about young basaltic flows in Western USA...Lots of them in New Mexico and Arizona, like Carrizozo in NM and Sunset Crater in AZ which is only a thousand years old
And the follow-up question I have always wondered: why are there fresh volcanic regions in NM (particularly those near the panhandle of Texas) ?
@@DrewskisBrews There's a continental rift going right thru' the middle of NM called the Rio Grande Rift that drives a lot of volcanism in NM. It's supposedly "failed" in that it's no longer pulling NM (and the continental USA) apart, but magma is still making its way up to shallow depths (see the Socorro Magma Body for the "latest" magma intrusion into NM).
@@larry8lo I'll have to look into that. I know there is one in the region in which I live, Kansas (Mid Continent Rift, runs all the way up to the Great Lakes). There are some unusual...magmatic? volcanic?...features in Kansas (kimberlites, lamproites), but they are much older, and I don't know if they are related to the MRS. Hard to study, because everything is buried under sediment. There is more going on beneath the plains (in terms of geologic interest) than most people realize.
Had to double check it wasn’t April fools day when I saw COTM. The drinking word of the day is cone
RIP to those taking a shot for every time Nick says Cone.
I thought it was a joke at first, too, Jason. How the heck are you?
@@jessiebunker-maxwell3914 I’ve been doing great. Working my tail off mostly. Hope you’re staying healthy and enjoying yourself.
@@kczcb4697 So far, so good 🤪 Do you realize we'll be coming up on 2 years this coming March since the first "Nick At Home" live-streamed? Mind-boggling!
@@jessiebunker-maxwell3914 yeah the first one was on st. Patrick’s day I think. I still watch nicks stuff. Glad he’s teaching in front of larger classes. We were spoiled getting his time and information for free basically.
Visited COTM in the early 70s as a kid. It was scorching hot and yet there was ice inside the tubes just 15 ft below surface.
I'm watching this in June of 23. Very enjoyable. Last night I was watching the live cam from Kilauea. It was directed at a spatter cone that has formed at the edge of the crater wall in this current eruption. Seeing that last night makes seeing this spatter cone in COTM this morning easy to imagine when it was active. I can also remember looking into a spatter cone at Craters in the early 1980s. I enjoy the hikes with Nick! Yes smoke does dye down at night then build up through the day. We've had some many summers of heavy smoke now in the Wenatchee Valley that I've learned that. My asthma has cleared almost completely but is now only triggered by smoke. This has caused me to pay attention to the patterns through the day.
This is a treat!
Nick, thanks for doing what you do! The world's a better place for it.
Really enjoying Nick On The Road!
Please keep branching out to outlying areas and connecting them back to the PNW!
I remember my first time coming here for a school field trip from Bellevue. I spent the entire time trying not to step on any cracks because as the saying went for kids in the early 90’s, if you step on a crack, you’ll break your mamas back. 🤷🏻♂️😂
That saying is much older than that! I heard it in the 60s when I was little, so probably older than that, too!
We Aussies tend to interpret American claims of "biggest in the world" as "biggest in America".
I think the biggest thing since Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, when America was small.
Nick, as the years advance, it’s the memories that count!
Finally COTM!
We loved camping at the Craters on our way between Nevada and Montana, preferring the quiet 2-lane roads to the circus of the Interstate. Thanks so much for sharing this video! It brings back memories.
Just as for Nick, CTM holds special memories for me. As a child in the early sixties we would pack up the old station wagon and drive from Idaho Falls to Craters for a picnic. I especially remember going into lava tubes, and how frightened I was, until Dad picked me up and carried me. My wife and I go there every time we are close to it, as it’s still one of my favorite places, especially in the spring when wildflowers abound.
Your observation about the haze makes sense. It is, after all, particulate matter, so settles in the calm air of the night. During the day thermals mix up the lower layers of the atmosphere and carry the stuff higher up again. Turbulence of air pockets of varying density may even affect clarity directly by refraction.
Cinder running tracks. Brings back memories of the "crunchy" sound. And the smell of Bactine for the wipeouts!
Your school must have been richer than mine. We had iodine for wipeouts. At home it was mecurichrome. Some friends had hydrogen peroxide at home. Bactine was just too expensive.
@@markpashia7067 I remember that little brown bottle of Merthiolate we had as kids. The red stuff. They'd put it on your scrape, and then blow on it because it burned so bad. That stuff was torture! It had the same pain relieving properties as setting yourself on fire. lol They finally figured out that pouring mercury in an open wound wasn't a great idea and outlawed the stuff.
I visited Craters of the Moon in the late 90's. It's a very fascinating place, well off the beaten track in the middle of a fairly desolate terrain.
Nick, I have always been fascinated with the area called the "Mt Adams volcano field" south and west of Mt Adams. Also amazing to me is the fact that Mt Adams sits way east of the Cascade divide and Mt St Helens sits way west of the divide. And they are almost exactly east and west from each other. Hope you can shed some light.
Haven't seen them since the 60s, thanks for the trip.
I've been here 3 times so far and every time is better than the last. Glad to see you here!
I will not ever be able to visit CotM (or do any of the hikes up and down mountains that you do), but your personal and unrehearsed meanderings and observations help me *see* these astounding geological wonders. Bless you.
I had a Toyota tercel also loved it. It was a stick shift which I didn't know how to drive when I got it used from coworker cheap. My friend gave 2 lessons and off I went. Of course I kept killing the motor at signals for awhile but got better. Car went almost 200000 miles. Fond memories.
Can’t help but think the lava flow looks like a living thing. Trees or our own bone structure.
Amazing
In 2013 my wife and I visited Idaho and The Craters of The Moon. It was amazing to see all those volcanic features of that park. Then in 2019 we went to La Palma and there also we saw the effect of the lava flows and volcanic ashes. We stayed in a little village called Todogue which is as we speak being totally destructed bij the outburst of the Cumbre Vieja.
I mean destroyed of coarse.
The plant you asked about is a type of wild buckwheat.
Thought it looked like something my Dad referred to as “flocking”back in Virginia. I live in Idaho and while ranging around have seen this stuff and admired its ability to grow (like those trees he mentions) seemingly out of no soil. Almost always see them growing on decomposed granite. CHEERS!!
If you want to see how the combo of pahoehoe and aa formed, watch the early Icelandic eruption videos of Gutn Tog and others. The flow is very fluid, but it travels a long way down gently sloping valleys, which allows the surface to cool. As the liquid lava continues flowing underneath, the stiff surface buckles and folds into aa-like jumbles.
Winds die down at night as it cools. When the day heats up the winds start to increase and bring in the smoke from the west. That is a general statement with a lot of possible variables.
There's nothing like standing next to an active spatter cone, vent, or fissure. Exploring the old ones is fun too. Some you can crawl into over here in Hawaii. Because they're very young they're also very colorful. Good work avoiding people. Not always easy in crowded parks.
hi, walked around here in 1957. as a kid we picked up rocks, hauled to michigan, dad had a great camera, look for photos, maps, postcards. and rocks piled around.
We don’t have anything like this in the uk… I love walking with you thanks Nick
I did a small little road trip of Idaho and craters was an afterthought. Turned out being one of the coolest places ive ever seen.
Beautiful textures of the basalt. Sometimes it looks like crocodile skin, petrified wood, dried sponge, animal's skeleton... giving the strange feeling of life and death in a mineral world. I can imagine the Native American people watching this in fascination 2000 years ago the way people do now in Iceland. Very nice field video as always.
My stomping grounds, except I mostly go to the southern portion of the Monument. I can be in it in about 1/2 hour. Going to go out there in a few weeks for a few days of camping with friends. No entrance fees. Few people. Plenty of cattle and sheep. Some interesting spots. Like Pillar Butte. And a flow of AA that I call The Wall of Death. Indians made two trails over it just over a mile long instead of walking 10+ miles around it. Back in the 1970's a rancher used a bulldozer and generally following one of the trails cut a road over it. Can still see a few remnants of the trail. Road is an easy drive but kind of spooky. Drive it with your windows down so you can hear your tires on broken glass.
Ive been there when i was 9-10 years old,about 45 years ago .
Glad i saw it then
Outside of Glacier and Yellowstone, Craters was the last existence of grizzlies in the contiguous states....down near the south end of the Craters conservation area. Had grizzlies later than 1918. Just another interesting fact about Craters.
@@ResortDog LOL...gossip isn't science. Before Craters was named as a Monument, there was a known population of grizzlies on the Idaho desert. It caused such place names as Bear Trap Cave, and Bear Den Butte. Both near the southern end of what is now the Craters Conservation area. Those bears caused the sheepmen of that era a lot of problems until they were eliminated. The weather had to be much wetter back in those days. No way grizzlies could survive there now....sadly. An occasional black bear is seen on the desert, but they don't stay long.
Life is good Nick and full of wonderful memories , thanks for sharing some of yours with us.....
Fascinating beautiful grotesque rock forms at the spatter cone . They do look like they only cooled off a couple of weeks ago.
On a clear day, I can see COTM from my house 105 miles away.
The lava is broken by frost action. A ah is seen at the ends of the flows where its cooler.
Great Southern Butte is a Rhyolite 'spear'.
Aha!
Can’t get enough of the close-ups of individual pieces of Pahoihoi, and other fragments. Never knew the folds got so big. Thank you!
I like going to the Craters in the dead of winter when there is fog. The hoar frost covering everything really makes one think you are in a different world. The haze or smoke you're seeing is from the large California fire that is burning near Lake Tahoe. Smoke density depends a lot on the wind currents. Some days it's clear, and other days, there would be no way you'd see any mountain range.
Wonderful lecture and analysis. Blew me away.
We drive through these areas from time to time and wonder about just what we are looking at. It's the journey that gets you where you want to be, not always the destination.
Here Kathryn and I spent part of our honeymoon. Note. We stayed in Bliss Idaho. BTW that was 51 years ago.
We were here at CotM just before you on 8/27. We were fortunate as there was no smoke to be seen on that day. However, after heading south of the Coumbia River just past Mt. Hood, we started to have smoke and it persisted for almost 700 miles; starting around Newberry crater, through Lasen, Shasta, Lake Tahoe, and all the way south until Death Valley before it finally cleared. Really thought about your teachings while around some incredible multi-colored formations on Cali SR-190 (halfway betwn Father Crowley overlook and Panamint Sprngs Resort). The rocks in this one area were deep purple next to areas of striped and splotched pinks, yellows, greens, reds, and more. While mostly sedimentary and not much igneous, I wish I could have heard your commentary on this incredible geologic structure.
In Australia, the afternoon vistas of out eucalyptus covered mountains and hills in the distance have a distinct blue haze. Most common explanation is that the essential oils evaporating from the leaves makes it so.
Flagstaff Arizona, Sunset crater is about 900 years old, spatter cone, and cinder cones surround the area from many older eruptions. Over 600 formations in the surrounding area. Lots of native American history in the area from before the eruption of Sunset crater and after. Great drive called Sunset crater Wupatki loop road with incredible views of the Painted desert, worth the drive.
Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona is much like this but the lavas and the cinder cone is less than 1000 years old. I've also been to Capulin Volcano in New Mexico, which is part of the Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field and has a road to the crater rim. A fascinating place for volcanoes in the Western U.S. which deserves mention is the Mono-Inyo Volcanic Field in east central California. There, a chain of volcanic cones ranging from spatter cones to lava domes stretches from Mono Lake to Mammoth Mountain and is on the western edge of the Long Valley Caldera. The field was active as recently as 150 years ago.
I saw COTM and had to jump in! Thanks for this video!!!
Me too
Last time I was at Craters, all the trails were either crushed cinder lined with two by four lumber, or just dirt and rock where people had been stumbling along. 1957 I think. My mother got sick from the gases coming from the vents scattered through the area. We were returning home from Yellowstone Park, so We The Kids were suitably unimpressed. When I took my wife and kids there in the early 1980s, the kids had the same idea, but my wife and I found it quite interesting.
Did you get to go in the caves? Hard to believe kids would be bored in caves.
We were at the monument a few weeks ago. We only spent one night camping. While hiking on the trails, we saw many signs of human erosion along the trails and into the lava flows. So much to see here, so we will return in early October to explore more of the lava fields. Thanks for sharing your insights!
My father worked there in 1970 when I was born.
4 th of July for the local natives, Thanks Nick, makes some of You Tube very worth watching,
Thanks for this video, reminds me of my first time to Idaho, I was blown away, Idaho keeps its secrets quiet !
Hello from American Falls! Thank you for a nice walk through our Moon-scape.
Love the close up pictures! Many thanks!
Looks just like last year's Icelandic Volcano activity area, interesting. It made deep liquid flows of basalt but also threw pumice and cinders from the same vents. That area kept moving where the cones were and flowed vigorously for many months. Haven't been to this park so thanks for the tour.
Watching the Iceland lava flows, I saw several clearly a'a flows that had blocks of pahoehoe within them.
I was here on July 7th, 2021. I am from Atlanta, Georgia. I loved this place so much. It was amazing being there. I was right there with you, Nick. Thank you for taking us on your journey.
wow thats stunning. I think they should have painted that path BRIGHT ORANGE. thank you for the video.
This area looks like Sunset Crater in Arizona. Sunset Crater emerged about 900 years ago. The San Francisco Colcanic Dield looks a lot like what you’re sharing here! Even the crunching sounds the same! So you don’t like other people on a trail, eh? That’s my husband and me!
I know “high performance geology” when I see it. You rock!
i feel very calm when I watch these videos. helps with my clinical anxiety :)
Driving past this right now. So glad nick has a video on it
was there last year. was able to climb down in to some of the caves. absolutely amazing place. unlike any other I have ever been.
The sound effects were spectacular! I LOL'd so hard my office partner started in with the "What? What?" and because I'm wearing my headset (and because I can) I totally ignored her. (It's not like you are missing a potential new Zentnerd - she would never.) And then you're talking about Labor Day and the older folks you met years ago, and then come out with COTFM, you gotta love it, and I've got tears in my eyes from laughing and she's giving me The Eye because I'm still not sharing my good times. Thanks tons, Nick!
Always have wanted to visit there, never have had a chance -- until now -- thanks for the video and commentary!
While I was out in Utah near Cedar City and Brian Head I came across the volcanic field in the Markagunt Plateau. That was a total surprise to see the lava flows in the middle of a forested region. Other worldly.
The smoke is thicker later in the day because, in general the winds pick up as the day wears on and drop in speed as night comes on. This cloud of smoke that increases during the night shades the land in the morning. This reduses the morning ground temp and so the fire is less active in the morning. As the day wears on the winds in general pick up and blow the smoke away from the fire and the Sun hits the ground with higher enegy. That is what I have learned this season. Great show! I must recommend above the ankle boots for that walk!
I love the sound on obsidian more “tinkly” and cinder is proper crunchy
At 22:32 you were wondering what the plant is. It is Eriogonum ovalifolium var. focarium Aka. Craters-of-the-Moon Buckwheat
I like your videos!! Binge watching this morning. Loved your story about the older couple. Me and hubby are fixing to be those people:). Just love how you show us these beautiful, awesome places.
Growing up in West Virginia, cinders were the residue of burned coal. They were used to spread the streets when covered with snow or ice. We visited COM last August in the midst of the COVID Dem Panic, there were few license plates from Idaho, just CA, OR, WA where everything had been shut down. Your wanderings at COM added a positive dimension to our experience there. We are four year transplants form Ca to ID, and love to explore our new neighborhood in ID, MT,WA.
Thanx for allowing us to "tag along"! 😍🤩
That would be cool if Craters of the Moon came back to life. My first time there was around 1984.
Out there at Craters, you're probably above 5,000' Dr. Zentner.
Spatter cones are right at 6,000
Thanks for letting us visit COTM with you! We love that place! We've visited twice by following all the back roads and staying off the interstates. . What a GREAT EXPERIENCE! Laughed as you tried to avoid people.
Thanks for this informative scenic tour. I plan to visit this impressive site this August. I missed it when I last visited Yellowstone in 1997. Keep up with your motivating work. Your videos remember me why I studied Geography in the first place.
Thanks for tour. I love to get out and see new terrain, but was not able due to knees and unknownst to me heart blockages that left me gasping for air. Now, after triple bypass last spring I hope to be able to resume rambling and rockhounding. Again, thanks for sharing with us hoi polloi and keeping us out of your hair on the trails.
We live not far from here since 1982 and have always find it interesting when visiting or just driving through on our way to other towns , almost mystical ,specially at night with a full moon . Would have loved visiting the active volcano in Iceland which gives the visual of what happened here .
There's a flow about 30 miles long called the "Valley of Fire" in New Mexico, near Alomagordo. The Satellite Gooble map shows such a stark contrast from the White Sands area some miles to the south and the coal-black flow as seen from space.
Wow!! I missed any LIVE note, well, if there was one?? 🙃🙂... I love seeing these trips again, dear professor of ours!! ... also--- got a few more i got to go see... say, PS--- is your voice, okay 😇🤔🤗.. god bless, thank you so much, for sharing the work that you love!! and, the work that we love, to see and learn about 🙂😊😇.. with nick humor, added in😄
What stunning views of vegetation on the sharp edges of the ledges and promontories! Thank you for sharing your views and commentary. All the shading of the muted colors is gorgeous. I'll never forget walking on the growing lava fields in Hawaii. As we got closer to the sea where the lava poured into the sea it continually hotter, and we occasionally saw flowing lava in fissures and breaks. We gradually became hampered by the heaviness of sulfur in the air and the heat burning through the soles of our hiking boots so we turned back. I was not unhappy to be leaving an area with such live and present danger, but it was good to experience the beauty and the presence of danger without being incinerated! I enjoy your shows. Thanks again
Lassen Volcanic National Park has cinder cones and lava fields in addition to the main volcano. The last eruption from the volcano was early 1900s and there are photographs of it.
Camped there. Many pikas running around! Fascinating place. Thanks Nick.
Walking on cinders reminds me of the sound of eating Cap'n Crunch !!! 😂
Love the concrete pathways. Looks like they were splattered down on the ground then smoothed over to allow access to the spatters.
Nic, your getting better, I've been with you from the start