August 11, 2019 - Craters of the Moon National Preserve

A blackened field of rocks created from relatively recent volcanic eruptions sprawls across the Snake River Plain in southeastern Idaho, creating an unearthly, moon-like landscape. The crescent-shaped field of basaltic rocks is impressive seen in person—and just as impressive seen from space.

Covering 618 square miles, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve contains stretches of jagged rocks, black, glistening, rope-like folds and large uneven squares of blacked basaltic rock known as pahoehoe. A few Juniper trees and other tenacious vegetation sprouts among the rocks, cinder cones and spatter cones. Impressed by the uniqueness of this large basaltic lava field, President Coolidge established the Craters of the Moon National Monument in the northern section of the field (the top of the crescent) on May 2, 1924, and President Clinton expanded it on November 9, 2000.

On August 5, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image that highlighted the Craters of the Moon lava field. The lava field is a dusky black, tucked at the foothills of the Pioneer Mountains. Irrigated fields follow the twists and turns of the Snake River. Further south Utah’s Great Salt Lake can be seen. Bright red hotspots mark areas where the thermal bands on the instrument detect areas with high temperature. Scattered across Utah and a few in Nevada, these hotspots likely mark actively burning fire. Heavy smoke pours from the Goose Fire in northeastern Nevada. This fire ignited on August 4 in brush, tall grass, and timber about 25 miles east of Jackpot, Nevada. By August 9 it had burned 7,209 acres and was 80% contained, thanks to rain that moved in on that date. The anticipated full containment date is August 10.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 8/5/2019
Resolutions: 1km (263.3 KB), 500m (759.7 KB), 250m (572.8 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC