GREAT SCOTT!! A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

View of Craters of the Moon

south of Fissure Butte (via nps.gov)

INTRO

The landscape of Craters of the Moon National Monument (CMNM) is covered with over 60 lava flows which make up an enormous 4,000 foot-thick flood basalt lava field of more than 715,000 acres in Southern Idaho. This flood basalt lava field was caused by numerous volcanic eruptions along the Great Rift which ended 2,000 years ago. The Great Rift spans 62 miles in length and is comprised of a series of fissures which are cracks in the Earth’s crust. These cracks allowed molten hot magma (said in Dr. Evil’s voice) to spill out onto Earth’s surface during a time when a hotspot (now located in Yellowstone) was located in CMNM. Of the features commonly associated with basalt lava flows, CMNM gets its name from the resemblance that the cinder cones and spatter cones littered throughout the area have with craters found on the Moon.
 

1,000 YEARS

1,000 years in the future the landscape will not look very different. Currently, the heaviest vegetation is located on the slope and at the base of the cinder and spatter cones found throughout CMNM. This is most likely do to different types of weathering which break down the cinder and spatter cones. The sediment left from weathering is then carried by wind and rain (erosion) down the slope of the cinder cone where it collects. Despite this collection of volcanic soil, a limited amount of vegetation can thrive in CMNM’s arid climate. This makes the development of vegetation slow going. So, in 1,000 years the cinder and spatter cones would look more degraded and plant life more plentiful, but no drastic changes in the landscape would be noticeable.    

 Vegetation on slope and base of cinder cone. (via osu.edu)

10,000 YEARS

In 10,000 years there would be a noticeable change in CMNM’s landscape. The cinder cones and spatter cones will be considerably eroded and replaced with plant life found in arid climates. The flat lava fields will have also begun to break down do to frost weathering from the collection of water in lava tubes during winter snow falls. However, the lava fields are said to be around 4,000 feet thick and so more time is needed for the hardened lava to be replaced with volcanic rich soils.

1,000,000 YEARS

In 1,000,000 years CMNM will look very different than it does today. Cinder cones and spatter cones will have been eroded down to the base and be covered in plant life found in arid climates. Lava fields will have been broken down (although maybe not completely) and replaced with volcanic soil and biological soil crusts such as mosses and lichens (found in almost all arid climates). In essence, it will probably look much like the desert regions of Southern Idaho we see today.

Photo of Southern Idaho's desert landscape (via lifeinthetetons.com)

FINAL THOUGHTS

CMNM has a wonderful landscape where people can go and find every feature a flood basalt lava field has to offer. In doing this project I have learned a lot about physical geography and enjoyed learning about one of North America’s most interesting landscapes. 

Sources:
geology.isu.edu
    http://geology.isu.edu/geostac/Field_Exercise/Cassia_mtns/srpovrvw.htm

lifeinthetetons.com
    http://www.lifeinthetetons.com/Teton-Valley-Magazine/Summer-2012/In-the-Tracks-of-Pioneers/

newark.osu.edu
    http://www.newark.osu.edu/facultystaff/personal/jstjohn/Documents/Rocks-and-Fossils-in-the-Field/Craters-of-the-Moon-Lava-Field.htm

nps.gov
    http://www.nps.gov/crmo/planyourvisit/wilderness.htm

pubs.usgs.gov
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/volc/types.html

vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
    http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volcanic_past_craters_moon.html