Craters Of The Moon National Monument Turns 100! Geology Of This Exceptional Monument

Join geology professor Shawn Willsey with this compilation of geology education videos focused on Craters of the Moon National Monument. 2024 marks the centennial anniversary of this unique and spectacular monument.
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00:00 intro
00:24 Craters in winter, spatter cones, and overview
14:00 lava trees
19:58 North Crater cinder cone and xenoliths
28:46 lava tube (cave)

[@shawnwillsey]

Please be sure to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE. You can support my educational videos by clicking on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Like button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8 Or: www.buymeacoffee.com/shawnwillsey

[@RWBHere]

Thanks Shawn. That's a fascinating region. And still likely to experience more eruptions.

[@waltergutherie9935]

This is one National Monument that should be up graded to a National Park, it is so beautiful and fascinating.

[@TerryBollinger]

Oldest weather report I've ever heard: “Powerful northerly winds today. Stay south of any cinder cone eruptions!”

[@causewaykayak]

So much to appreciate and to learn in these videos. I liked the "calendar" format too.

[@briane173]

13:30 The cone we've been intensely watching form NE of Grindavik is the perfect analog for how this agglutinated spatter came to be in COTM.

[@saimaleon7115]

Fascinating. Look forward to seeing it in person in the June field trip.

[@Selah-dl3ef]

Gives me a view of the inside of the volcano in Iceland.Makes me 🤔.Thanks Shawn🐒

[@christinedaly2694]

Thank you enjoyed your video was very informative

[@valeriemiddleton675]

Mr Willsey first time I found you was at Craters of the Moon. Had to follow you. Learned so much about geology. Thanks love all your vids.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Funny to see these sights covered in snow! Thanks for the knowledge.

[@scottsluggosrule4670]

Looks like melted candle wax in those tubes..awesome video.

[@xwiick]

Thanks for all of your hard work man!

[@marinangeli3250]

Thank you, Shawn... that was pure eye candy, start to finish!

[@LizWCraftAdd1ct]

Love the xenoliths and the lava tube.

[@zonderafspraak]

Those lava trees are amazing!!!

[@TheDevice9]

I've visited COTM so many times I've lost count but somehow I've never seen those Lava Trees. Those are pretty cool.

[@davec9244]

That was one of the best I have ever seen thank you very good job. stay safe ALL

[@runninonempty820]

August of last year I visited COTM, I became a little kid again, exploring the park. I also went through the cave that you showed at the end of the video, my wife had turned around and went out the way we came in. You should have seen her shocked face when I popped up out of that hole and took the trail back to the entrance!

[@DawnDavies-ln3nn]

Hope you landed safely. Have a super time xx

[@LisaBelleBC]

Fascinating per usual! Thanks for the trip!

[@flyingardilla143]

I remember being there in an intense May snow fall. It added to the other-worldly feel of the place.

[@kaytea2983]

Thanks for this video. Fantastic to see the place snow-covered in winter.

[@ped832]

At 31:44...I was in that tube back in the early '80's. I see access has greatly improved since then. I and my compatriots were doing maintenance work on the paved portions of the trail that existed at the time. Shawn, you're bringing back memories (history) in more ways than one.

[@oscarmedina1303]

Thanks Shawn. I visited COTM several years ago. Missed the cave but loved exploring the sections I got to visit. Learned some more new things from your video. Thanks for posting it.

[@hestheMaster]

Thanks for piecing together your visits to this amazing volcanic area of Idaho, considered dormant now but inbetween long active times which may probably reoccur, possibly in our lifetime. Then you won't travel so far ( like Iceland ) to see some very cool and interesting volcanic activity and all in your own state!

[@joannekellam191]

Great compilation! So interesting to see different parts of the park and at different times of year. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@lakegirl3834]

I was RVing in Idaho and stumbled onto Crater’s of the Moon. Was quite surreal to suddenly drive into it.

[@kariknight6287]

Love Craters of the Moon.

[@brucedymock6635]

This was great to watch after following our adventures in Iceland with spatter cones etc great timing thanks

[@sasqetshenkley1190]

I discovered my own private lava tube. I stepped a pit in the south Boise desert, cleared the entrance of tumbleweed and animal bones and I'll be damned there isn't an entirely unknown, pristine lava tube down there.. I want to take you there sometime, Coach.

[@kaboom4679]

Congratulations .

[@holly50575]

Very cool!!!!

[@gabsy6443]

I have been in a lava tube in Lanzarote that an artist had turned into a home. Very beautiful.

[@pmgn8444]

Thanks for the collection of videos. Craters Of The Moon is a cool place! Had a chance to visit in 2010.

[@margaretanneknight615]

This is so cool to get to learn about geological features and history from someone who’s such an enthusiastic and articulate teacher. Never dreamed I’d find geology so interesting. Thanks, coach!💐

[@jacquie-h4530]

It felt like I was actually on a field trip with you to Craters of the Moon. I loved the way you explained things up close. I learned a lot from this. Thank you.

[@sheilaathay2034]

Thanks Shawn!🎉❤

[@timothyboles6457]

I went to Craters of the Moon in my mid teens, and was fascinated by it. I've been watching the various eruption activities in the past few years in Hawaii and Iceland. And watching the various types of eruptions, and as you're walking around the monument, seeing exactly the same types of volcanic activities.

[@ped832]

You continue to fascinate me, as well as educate. Thanks for your content.

[@vladimirtodt6460]

31:33 left bottom corner: Mr. Yoda in his cave.😲

[@frannysinclair2613]

I watched this live from Kerrville, Tx on my Television, Didn't find a "like" thumbs up so I'm enjoying it again !☺

[@davidk7324]

Great review for June Shawn.

[@diedrikbrandsma1958]

I've been in Craters of the Moon NM in 2017. I was amazed by the views from the top of the Inferno Cone. I knew it had something to do with volcanos and was not as interested in geology/volcanology as much as now. Thanks for this informative video. Now I want to go back to discover it myself, knowing all this new things!

[@The_Travelling_Jonoberries]

Shawn, just watched Just Icelandic “Gylfi” and heard the great news that you are on your way over to meet up and conduct another Geological Episode, great news buddy. Sorry to post this comment when not directly related to this topic. Thank once again for you knowledge and vast experience coupled with such a wonderful teaching ability. Take care, safe travels and god bless 👍😇🌋

[@jacktoy3032]

I visited around mid-June last year.

[@michaelhansen6977]

I really loved my trip to Craters of the Moon.

[@mkilptrick]

Thankyou for posting the names of the rock types on the screen.

[@joshsmith3650]

I elk hunt near sisters Oregon and I found a lava tube hole that went down further than I could see. We had 16” of snow on the ground so I didn’t get close enough to check it out but made a way point to go back in summer

[@mhkaroly]

The lava tube reminds me of one north of Mt. Lassen in California.

[@sheilaathay2034]

We had a crazy one near Mt. St. Helens. Called the Ape Caves. Much like the one in California

[@vladimirtodt6460]

And now we will see the same video about spattercones from Iceland.🤗1-3 years old only.

[@TheStormpilgrim]

For all we know, there could be the bones of a geologist buried under the rubble of one of those collapsed lava tubes. That would be ironic.

[@sandrine.t]

Hey Shawn! I had already watched all your COTM videos separately but I really enjoyed watching them again in this great compilation, thanks :) Before subscribing to your YT channel (thanks again to @Mandie Jo :) I had no idea there was a place called Craters of the Moon... on Earth!! I wish I could visit this unique area one day and go down Indian Tunnel lava tube and see its stunning drip features... And I really like the lava trees and would love to see them up close! Off topic: it's so cool that you and Gylfi are planning to meet :) Who knows, maybe you'll witness the beginning of eruption #8 together...? Enjoy your stay in Iceland, take care!

[@karenloveless4129]

We've been twice❤ The first time was about 35-40 years ago in the hottest time of July. I was kind of a nervous wreck, with all our littles. Last year, we went for our second time In early June. It was so beautiful with all of the wildflowers and cooler temperatures!❤

[@marymachunis3778]

Utterly fascinating. I wonder how the names were decided on.

[@jackbelk8527]

Lava names are Hawaiian. Most volcanic terms are Italian.

[@maurasmith-mitsky762]

Thanks!

[@kaboom4679]

Granulite xenoliths in basalt lavas , erupted concurrent with crustal extension , gets my attention . This is enhanced by the fairly low volatility of the basalt . There's some possibilities there for an astute prospector .

[@JennaFerrari]

They got it right. Moons mirror reflection, craters on earth mirrored on moon.

[@DaveBartholomew-uf6sm]

I have been by there and through the park many times. Now learning what I saw. Hope to get back there some day to see friends in Rexburg. The stretching to of the earths crust you describe, does that extend down into Northern Nevada? Looking at in on Google Earth, it appears that may be an extension of the Idaho topography. I have been over Hwy 50 a number of times and always curious how those north/south mountains got that way.

[@lukedawg2787]

At some point I would love to see a more in-depth video/explanation as to WHY these rifts zones even exist in the first place and WHY they are almost always located on the opposite side of the volcanic mountain range from the subduction zone. I have done my own research on it and have a very good understanding of them but through my research I only found 1 research paper that explained the connection between these eruption events in the back arc/rift zones and the build-up of stress/stress levels along the subduction zone. Basically, they were noting that eruption events in these rifts zones was a potential sign of how much stress was built up along the plate boundary. Once the plate had been pulled down and stretched to a point that eruptions started in these areas it was at a breaking point. By dating these eruptions and comparing them to large earthquake events on the west coast, they found that it was highly likely that large stress relief earthquake events followed eruption events in the rift zones. Once the stress was relieved, the volcanic activity subsided. I have no clue how much truth there is to this which is why I was hoping for someone like Shawn to look into it. I mean think about it, if that was true then technically mother nature is giving us a huge heads up as to what is about to come.

[@brucedymock6635]

Thanks

[@shawnwillsey]

Much appreciated

[@dougsundseth6904]

That embedded piece of granulite would seem to indicate that the eruption was quite energetic indeed. If it were not, the granulite would likely have melted before it could be deposited.

[@Backroad_Junkie]

I've seen the "Why is is named that" in a few comments, so I'll make it a general post... It was named in 1923 by a geologist Harold T. Stearns, who said it looked like, "The surface of the moon as seen trough a telescope." It was featured in a National Geographic that year, and the name stuck. It became a National Monument in 1924. In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson was the first guy (along with his mechanic and dog) to drive an automobile from San Francisco to New York. They passed right by the area: "June 15, 1903. The country took on a new character. Soaring heights of denuded slopes. Monstrous cliffs and giant boulders scattered in magnificent confusion." I think Magnificent Confusion National Monument would have been a better name. 😁 (BTW, Apollo astronauts did visit the Monument in 1969, but it was to learn about volcanic geology, and had nothing to do with craters or the moon...)

[@maurinedoyle9964]

Is the inside of the tube, where the oozing along the sides, is it glass like lava?

[@3xHermes]

👍

[@SawyerAndGretch]

Amazing eruption. Iceland in Idaho. Though Craters of The Moon is not what I would call it. When was this named?

[@Backroad_Junkie]

It was named in 1923 by Harold T. Stearns, who said it looked like, "The surface of the moon as seen trough a telescope." It was featured in a National Geographic that year, and the name stuck. It became a National Monument in 1924. In 1903, Horatio Nelson Jackson was the first guy (along with his mechanic and dog) to drive an automobile from San Francisco to New York. They passed right by the area: "June 15, 1903. The country took on a new character. Soaring heights of denuded slopes. Monstrous cliffs and giant boulders scattered in magnificent confusion." I think Magnificent Confusion National Monument would have been a better name... 😁 (BTW, Apollo astronauts did visit the NM in 1969, but it was to learn about volcanic geology, and had nothing to do with craters or the moon...)

[@jackbelk8527]

It would be great to insert video of current eruptions doing the same things. Etna throwing cinders, Iceland throwing spatter and Hawaiian basalt flow textures as they occur. The photo of the geologist standing on the thin crust above a glowing, rapidly flowing, skylighted lava tube is an attention getter! Great video of a great place but the worst place on earth to wreck a bicycle!

[@causewaykayak]

I live in a peat moorland area and bicycles are a seriously harmful device let loose on virgin moorland soils. In parts of our Welsh national parks their use is forbidden except on specially constructed (and expensive trails). On foot is better for preserving nature. Please ❤!

[@jean-francoislemieux5509]

hi! why was it named craters of the moon? how could anybody tell it looked like the moon 100 years ago?

[@user-lg3ol7dn3p]

Off topic, are there any reservoirs to capture melting snow?

[@jackbelk8527]

Most snow in the Snake River Plain just evaporates. The plain is so porous, there is no run-off at all. In fact, The Big Lost River sinks into the Plain just east of COTM.

[@user-lg3ol7dn3p]

@@jackbelk8527 Now I understand and thank you.

[@bobbyshaftowenttosea5410]

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