Craters of the Moon!

Nick visits Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, Idaho.
Filmed on September 3, 2021.

[@Bob-t4o1v]

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.

[@glory5918]

Bob, about 1mo ago Jeff Nadolny of DogMan & Paranormal Research spoke with Mica, the son of a 20yr retired Craters Park Ranger ('72-'92) Mica told Jeff about his dad's extremely strange but terrifying encounters/experiences at Craters Indian Tunnel lava tube eventually causing ill health, leading to his retirement. The title: "DOGMAN & NEPHILIM/GIANT SEEN BY PARK RANGER IN IDAHO NATIONAL PARK W/ GOV'T INVOLVEMENT". Bob, if you were a seasonal Ranger at Craters from '72 on you might remember James, Mica's dad? If you enter the vid title in Jeff's Dogman & Paranormal Research direct link the vid will come up. James' encounters at Craters are well worth listening. They will cause you to be relieved you were at Craters Before 2Sep1990, the date of James bizarro beyond belief encounters.

[@slwtgf]

Thank you for this info/comment. Fascinating as I never heard much of this place!

[@slwtgf]

And your experiences make this place seem less frightening and weird,,,good to be reminded of youthful freedoms, along with learning about this vast place in the middle of Idaho, so thanks again.

[@valeriehenschel1590]

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.

[@markpashia7067]

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.

[@keppscrossing]

You have it backwards. Humidity goes up when the temperature goes down because cooler air cannot hold as much water. So with the same volume of water in the air, the relative humidity rises. As the day heats up, the air can hold more water as absolutely clear water vapor and the relative humidity drops. It's generally rare for the humidity to rise as the day warms up. That only happens when an air mass moves into the area that has more moisture in it. This is also the reason that the humidity is so low in the winter time. Winter humidity in cold climates is not very low outside, but when we take that outside air into our homes and heat it, the relative humidity drops very low. It's not uncommon for me to have it below 25% inside my house in the winter, well at the same time it's above 50% outside.

[@BearlyNoticeable]

@@keppscrossing So rather than humidity, they probably meant the water content of the air.

[@AndiFromOly]

Thanks for taking me back to the places I can't get to anymore!

[@larry8lo]

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.

[@stevewhalen6973]

Very true 👍

[@ken2tou]

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.

[@jacktoy3032]

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.

[@rayschoch5882]

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 KZbin for weeks!

[@18Bees]

Its lovely to imagine what was going through their minds, what did they say at this marvel rolling out.

[@davidsharpness9990]

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...)🙄

[@Metal4You666]

At 22:32 you were wondering what the plant is. It is Eriogonum ovalifolium var. focarium Aka. Craters-of-the-Moon Buckwheat

[@kimklinzman2919]

Love the close up pictures! Many thanks!

[@grandparocky]

You continue to provide some of the best video on KZbin in my humble opinion. I really appreciate your insights into our geology in the Pacific Northwest! Thank You so much!

[@donnacsuti4980]

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.

[@Anne5440_]

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.

[@Vickie-Bligh]

It's been 50+ years since I've been there. I hope I can convince my husband to revisit next year. Thanks Nick.

[@zachbarlow25]

I audibly said "oh boy" when I saw the title. Such a unique and intresting place. The view from Sunset cone is unmatched personally.

[@folday6169]

Nick, as the years advance, it’s the memories that count!

[@livewire2k4]

Thank you for taking us on these adventures with you and showing us the beauty of the NW geology.

[@sirnotesy]

I imagine a stroll through icelands' meradalir valley in 2000 years might look like that.

[@RoxnDox]

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! 🌋

[@nonmihiseddeo4181]

@@RoxnDox Will Grindavik be destroyed, along with the road and miles of moss and grass? Stay tuned!

[@RoxnDox]

@@nonmihiseddeo4181 with our little friend in Geldingadalir, “stay tuned” is the best advice… 🌋🤷‍♂️😎

[@jeremyo3596]

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!

[@lavalady5097]

It looks like that now

[@solarwizzo8667]

Carrizozo Malpais lava field in New Mexico is from 3000BC. Flowed for about 30 years. 80km long.

[@theleo91386]

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".

[@RICDirector]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@SnuffSimon]

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.

[@deadMoney2k12]

Nick, thanks for doing what you do! The world's a better place for it.

[@101rotarypower]

Really enjoying Nick On The Road! Please keep branching out to outlying areas and connecting them back to the PNW!

[@martinm3474]

Haven't seen them since the 60s, thanks for the trip.

[@davidtotten618]

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.

[@evelynmoyer9069]

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.

[@mjfirthau]

I’m enjoying your videos Nick, you would absolutely love my home town area of Rotorua New Zealand, in particular Mt Tarawera which erupted in 1886 and destroyed the famed pink and white terraces. Also the Wairakei geothermal fields. My dad used to drag us around these areas as kids, he was involved with an amateur geology club. He passed 3 weeks ago, fond memories. We also climbed mounts Ngaruahoe Tongariro and Ruapehu, in between eruptions.

[@chrisking3849]

4 th of July for the local natives, Thanks Nick, makes some of You Tube very worth watching,

[@bkrez6623]

I've been here 3 times so far and every time is better than the last. Glad to see you here!

[@wiregold8930]

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.

[@donnacsuti4980]

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.

[@deadMoney2k12]

What an amazing landscape.

[@jerryvanderwier2310]

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.

[@84Tacos]

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.

[@sherylbenton3149]

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!

[@JaniceinOR]

I wish he had put "pahoehoe" on screen, as the auto-generated captions butchered it.

[@lavapix]

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.

[@HotelPapa100]

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.

[@danielcarroll5667]

Life is good Nick and full of wonderful memories , thanks for sharing some of yours with us.....

[@stephaniemcguire]

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.

[@markjennings7258]

Thank you Nick fantastic series of films for the last 18 months please keep going.

[@StarShine-Ranch]

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.

[@joereedmusic9853]

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.

[@patriciakavanaugh5300]

Hello from American Falls! Thank you for a nice walk through our Moon-scape.

[@ksea9146]

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!

[@PhotographybyTimWMoore]

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!

[@loulagregg8468]

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

[@KathyWilliamsDevries]

This is a treat!

[@alanmoffat4680]

Love the concrete pathways. Looks like they were splattered down on the ground then smoothed over to allow access to the spatters.

[@dkhanks]

While I am a little late commenting on this episode, I wanted to share my summer of 1986 experience in southern Idaho. I spent that summer break, following my freshman year of college, working for a minerals company prospecting for gold in the mountains south of the Burley/Oakley area. As you with your Labor Day that year, I have very fond memories of that summer. I seriously considered switching over to geology after spending the summer with a couple of great geologists. Fate ended up taking me in another direction, but have become a big fan of your channel. Thank you for bringing back those memories.

[@barbmack7098]

Always have wanted to visit there, never have had a chance -- until now -- thanks for the video and commentary!

[@crooked-halo]

35:28 - "COTFM?" Craters Of The Fu**ing Moon? Seriously, this is fascinating, I'm a volcano fan. Ever since my dad "kicked" the co-pilot out of his seat approaching San Jose, Costa Rica in the 70s and told him "let my son fly for a few minutes!" So I got to hold the controls of the big, piston twin Howard 500 for a bit. Out the windshield I'll never forget Mount Irazu, huge and imposing, with a column of smoke climbing higher than we were flying. Fascinated with volcanoes ever since. Do these shorter cones simply mean they weren't active long enough to produce a very high cone? How many are there? I was just in the Northwest for 2 weeks & would've gone here had I known it was so awesome! Thanks for the cool video!

[@SMOBY44]

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.

[@draigygoch]

Thanks for this video, reminds me of my first time to Idaho, I was blown away, Idaho keeps its secrets quiet !

[@jimhooper9642]

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.

[@gosiavanunen6316]

Cannot thank you enough for the hours of learning, fun and entertainment you provide with all your programs! Enjoying every bit of it and learning new things all the time!

[@grace1946]

Camped there. Many pikas running around! Fascinating place. Thanks Nick.

[@mfol66]

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.

[@PlayNowWorkLater]

I’ve watched so many of your videos with Q&A period at the end, and several times “Craters on The Moon” has come up. I thought it was a joke because mostly you would laugh off the question. I thought it was I reference to the actual moon. I had no idea this was a real place. Glad to find this, and it seems particularly relevant to other videos you’ve talked about. I’m assuming this is part of the basalt flood plains. And that this is a vent/fissure that had a lot of spatter. Interesting stuff.

[@asl2964]

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!

[@laughingoutloud5742]

Thank you for sharing this video ❤

[@jamesparker6876]

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.

[@tuboe777]

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.

[@randyphillips2263]

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.

[@sharon94503]

Amazing to put into perspective the idea of a solid 2 hour drive through 'featureless terrain ", geologically speaking of course. I much adore how well these videos make me feel as though I'm there, and learning something.

[@chriss.1969]

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.

[@18Bees]

wow thats stunning. I think they should have painted that path BRIGHT ORANGE. thank you for the video.

[@alanmoffat4680]

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.

[@StarShine-Ranch]

I visited Kilauea in 1992, unfortunately during one of the few times it was NOT fountaining back then (darn it!). But I WAS able to hike a long way on pretty fresh lava, and saw amazing formations that looked like chocolate cake icing, frozen in air, while pouring over a 6-foot high cliff. Sometimes the dripping lava thinned into hair-like tips that blew in the wind! It had rained a bit during the hike, and the silvery-grey lava shone with rainbow colors, like oil on water. Walking on it crunched like broken glass (because the delicate air-filled flow WAS disintegrating under my feet!). Other places, at the edge of a flow, had maybe a foot of cooled black surface, but underneath (visible through cracks) it was still glowing orange! Very beautiful and memorable! If you've never seen FRESH lava up close, Nick, you NEED to!

[@KenG557]

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.

[@wendygerrish4964]

Our circus stopped here on the great eclipse tour route towards Jackson Hole via Yellowstone NP. Thank you so much for explaining all that I was seeing, and your videography is perfect. During the night the wind settles and corrals the smokey particulates in blankets or under a temperature inversion. In mid mornings and solar heating the prevailing winds raise the smoke back into motion, and the phrase for that is smoke 'drift'.

[@deepgardening]

Another bit of very interesting basaltic decor is down in S, Cal, where the split has to do with the movement of Baja relative to the rest of Cal. Some very dramatic features- huge cracks, massive flows with curves reminiscent of drips of candle wax, but many orders of magnitude bigger. The sparse veg means it's all up front and visible. Some flights to Mexico and south give a dramatic view from above, too. A good deal on the ticket is worth the view alone, to heck with the beach time down south!

[@johnfraser6013]

Thank you for the nice field trip.

[@brianforman6093]

Ive been there when i was 9-10 years old,about 45 years ago . Glad i saw it then

[@nancyhainline2517]

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.

[@dond668]

I know “high performance geology” when I see it. You rock!

[@dancooper8551]

Great video. My favorite part of COTM was exploring the lava tubes. Thanks Nick.

[@pay1441]

I saw COTM and had to jump in! Thanks for this video!!!

[@garypaull9382]

Me too

[@stevewhalen6973]

Fascinating beautiful grotesque rock forms at the spatter cone . They do look like they only cooled off a couple of weeks ago.

[@cyndikarp3368]

Wow, great showing of Craters of the Moon National Monument. I have always wanted to visit, I used to travel between Colorado & Oregon, several times a year. Family in both states. Get in 1980 Honda Civic Wagon packed heavy, yet still got 45 mpg.

[@EM-bp5zv]

Can’t help but think the lava flow looks like a living thing. Trees or our own bone structure. Amazing

[@skippylippy547]

Another amazing video with my favorite geologist! 👍 It just doesn't get any better than this. Loved every minute and every detail. Thank you!

[@JanetClancey]

We don’t have anything like this in the uk… I love walking with you thanks Nick

[@steveegbert7429]

Well Nick, if you see this in 2022, I am enjoying revisiting this video on March 13, 2022. I only spent one day and night at COTM but it was well worth the stop after years of bypassing it on my hurried way to Yellowstone from Oregon. I think after Oregon and Washington, Idaho is my next favorite place to take in the geologic story. Thank you for your willingness to share your knowledge and stories.

[@deplorableneanderthal1265]

I grew up near this place. I've been there hundreds of times. The only thing I could think of while watching this was how you managed to walk around off the trails without getting your ears pinned back by the park rangers. 🤣😂

[@JaniceinOR]

While I understand Nick wanting to get good video, I was uncomfortable with Nick walking off trail. If everyone making a KZbin video felt free to disregard signs requesting them to stay on trail, that could degrade the experience significantly over time. I wish he set a better example.

[@loadmastergod1961]

Driving past this right now. So glad nick has a video on it

[@KSparks80]

Cinder running tracks. Brings back memories of the "crunchy" sound. And the smell of Bactine for the wipeouts!

[@markpashia7067]

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.

[@KSparks80]

@@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.

[@christinebettencourt4163]

Nic, your getting better, I've been with you from the start

[@knutanderswik7562]

I think the jumbled pahoehoe blocks happen when formations that are set and cooled slightly are disturbed by later flows that break them and plow them up into piles.

[@paulw.4834]

This was a great video. Also visited Craters of the Moon with my parents in the 60's. Last summer my wife & I hiked Bandera Volcano & the Ice Caves south west of Grant's, NM. That whole area was interesting. Just wish I knew more about geology. We appreciate the beauty and are fascinated by the structures and the processes that formed them.

[@MakoWoman]

My family just recently visited the Craters of the Moon!! It was absolutely fantastic, and we spent a great deal of time trying to apply what we’ve learned from your videos to what we were seeing 🙂

[@NickandRachel]

Nice video! Thanks for sharing your experience

[@carladelagnomes]

Thank you for the first-hand look Nick! I was on a roadtrip a few decades ago and came out in the CotM area totally uninformed. It was stunning and I was given another geologic delight to learn about. Geology is better than Disneyland for discovery and adventure, as far as I'm concerned. And an area's geology results in the area's ecology and eventually the area's history.

[@jenniferwaskow2602]

COTM is great for x-country skiing or snowshoeing in the winter months but watch out for the wind and extreme cold. The geography looks surreal when covered with a blanket of snow. Thanks for the tour.

[@deantheot7296]

Ya gotta luv it. Thanks for the intro, the bit of education and the memories. Perty place. Thank you for sharing.

[@711zuni]

Loved this as I visited 3 years ago and spent the night camping - just returned from doing another scablands tour - you’ve made geology a wonderful event in my life - been traveling all over the world seeing archaeological sites - now it’s amazing geological sites .... Fun to be retired !

[@reginebellefontaine4936]

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.

[@ked5081]

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.

[@matthewjewkes9659]

Thank you Nick for taking the time to show us this awesome landscape!

[@farm3699]

I spend a lot of time out there, side by side county, very hot in August, the spring wildflowers are amazing, don't count on a compass, way too much magnetic disturbance, in the area, spring and fall the best times to explore, a geological feast. 60 miles of of rough road south to north but worth it. Thanks Nick good video.

[@fivehigh4718]

the quality of your video/camera are really, Awesome, Nick... the detail is stunning.

[@davidleadford6511]

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.

[@heidik5961]

I haven't been there yet..so its really nice getting to see it all like we are there with you walking the paths :) and off ;)

[@KrisWood]

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.