Desert Destination: Lunar Crater

Ready to get away from it all? Really away? Take US Highway 6 out to the middle of Nevada and you will find the Black Rock Lava Flow and Lunar Crater. The nearest hotel or restaurant is well over an hour away, but feels even farther. I had visited the Black Rock Lava Flow in 2009, and wrote this very nice post.

The lava flowed out of vents and covered over 1900 acres. That's a lot of land!

The kids were eager to get out of the truck and stretch their legs. They scrambled easily up onto the lava.  I got the kids to pose for a photo. They think it's fun to make silly poses. (Note Desert Girl's shoes--I will explain them soon.)

I enjoyed seeing the lava flow with the backdrop of the cinder cones. This Lunar Crater area covers about 100 square miles and includes more than 20 extinct volcanoes and 35 lava flows. You can read more about the geology on this USGS page.

I saw this cave and wanted to go there, but it was a little too far and the kids had declared no hiking for them. Instead they were making a pile of lava rocks and calling it a shelter. They were happy, I was happy, and I did get to wander around a bit. Then it was time to go see the main attraction.

But, first, a brief interlude as we watch a dust devil. Perhaps that's why so much soil is interspersed with the lava.

I had passed this sign a few times over the last ten years and always told myself, Someday I really am going to go see that lunar crater. And today was that day! I was very excited.

The scenery was otherworldly, with cinder cones and lava lumps all over. The road turned out to be only 7 miles long and it was in much better shape than the one-mile long road to the lava flow.

Not to my surprise, we were the only ones at the parking area. Adjacent was a sign and the crater itself. The crater is a maar, a shallow crater formed by the heating of underground water until it boils up and explodes. Two of them exist in this volcanic area.

This crater is called Lunar Crater because in the 1960s NASA brought astronauts out to train in this area.

Desert Boy took off down into the crater before I could say anything. Desert Girl and I trailed after. Desert Girl had been reading a book from the library that we had picked up just a couple hours previous that featured a little girl in a dress and fancy shoes. Desert Girl had her fancy Mary Jane's on, and she quickly learned they were not a good choice.

So we were a little slow, but that let me take photos of the 430 ft deep crater that's about 4,000 ft across. Impressive!


She did smile for a photo.

Eventually I managed to yell at Desert Boy to stop, but he was already half-way down in the crater. I would have loved to have gone all the way down, but I was concerned that it might take us a long time to get back up, and I didn't want to carry Desert Girl. So we will have to return another day to go to the very bottom and explore some of the other nearby craters. Here's the BLM website for the area.

Isn't this curved basalt awesome?

Lunar Crater became a National Natural Landmark in 1973. I'm glad it has some extra recognition, it deserves it!

Searching for Garnets

 While we were in Ely one Sunday, we decided to go visit Garnet Hill Recreation Area. We had a rock hammer and were eager to find lots of garnets.

When we got there, we found a few other people looking for garnets. We went to an area not far from the parking lot where it looked like a lot of people had looked. Desert Boy was eager to try out the rock hammer.

 It was hard work, but he was ready!

 Then it was Daddy's time to take a turn.

Meanwhile Desert Girl was taking a nap, so I wandered around the gullies looking for some garnets that had eroded out of the rock.

 I found a couple, but it was a little frustrating because I was hoping to find a lot more.

 We ended up with about five garnets with three people looking for nearly an hour. Not so great. Especially when I knew where there were a lot more garnets up Hampton Creek in the North Snake Range.

 This time the kids took naps on the bumpy ride up the canyon so they were both ready to go searching when we arrived. We didn't have to go far--there are garnets even right in the parking area!

 Desert Boy was more interested in making stone houses. Henry was in a lazy-dog mood and just hung out.

 Once I found a couple, I started seeing garnets everywhere.

 Most are quite small. These are almandite garnets. They were mined from here for a time in the 1960s (see my book for more info). Garnets, in addition to being semi-precious gems, are also used for industrial purposes, such as sandpaper.

 Fortunately we had two containers so that Desert Girl had her own. She liked putting more than just garnets in hers. Then she would get tired of what was in there and dump it all out and start again. We tried to ignore her bucket and make sure she didn't get too close to the one my husband and I were sharing.

 With her little fingers, she could pick up the garnets quickly. If she chose to.

 She also really wanted to wear a dress. We do lots of pants wearing under the dresses so she can go out and romp around.

Can you find the garnets in the photo above? They are dark red. They are easiest to find on a sunny day.

 We never strayed far from the parking area and found plenty. It was quite rewarding, and also quite relaxing. Maybe those hunter-gatherer genes are kicking in, making us feel successful as we collected our harvest.

Meanwhile the stone house was getting quite elaborate.

 Soon it was time to share the finds.

 Desert Girl and one of her many expressions. She also graced us with songs with exciting lyrics like, "Garnet, Garnet, Little Garnet in My Bucket. Garnet, Garnet, Little Garnet." (repeat about 50 times)

 Desert Boy got a little more interested in garnets at the end. We also found some rocks with nice displays of garnets and took some of those home. They will be winter projects.

 The garnets at Hampton Creek might be smaller than those at Garnet Hill, but it was much easier to find them. Since we were looking for quantity more than quality, this was a great spot for us.

 And apparently the rocks were just right for making stone houses.

We had the canyon all to ourselves on this beautiful afternoon. We hope to go back sometime (maybe next summer?) and camp--it would be lots of fun to spend even more time collecting garnets and building stone houses.

St. George Dinosaur Disovery

 In honor of National Fossil Day on Wednesday, here's a post about some cool fossils we saw recently. We were headed to St. George, Utah to watch some friends run in the St. George marathon, and I figured that since we were going to make the trip, it would be a great opportunity to see some of the sights. With Desert Boy's love of paleontology, it was only natural that we head to the Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm. 

This is a relatively new site, discovered in 2000 when Dr. Sheldon Johnson was leveling a hill on his property. He found the dinosaur tracks, and it was quickly seen that this was an exceptionally good place for tracks. He worked to preserve the tracks instead of developing the land. I couldn't help but wonder what dinosaur tracks lay under the nearby parking lot, roads, church, and houses.

 And the tracks sure are spectacular! These are not difficult to see at all. I liked to think of the dinosaurs wandering across the landscape, unknowingly leaving prints that would be preserved for millions of years.

 At least three different species of dinosaurs left tracks at the site.

 We also saw fossilized mud cracks, which are cool looking.

 The site also has some other really interesting tracks, such as these swim tracks. Apparently it's rare to find tracks that dinosaurs made as they were entering the water and starting to swim. I also really liked the impression of dinosaur skin. It doesn't seem like it could be so old!

 The kids really liked the touchable fossils.

 I thought this fossil was really pretty--and big! We were on little kid speed through the museum, which meant I couldn't read very much.

Much of the museum protects the biggest trackway, with a dinosaur replica to give a sense of scale. Although the museum isn't very large, it sure is interesting.

 The kids especially liked the hands-on activities in the activity room.

Another favorite was the sandbox.

It looks like the museum is working on making a short trail out back, which would be a nice addition.

Hope you have a great National Fossil Day!

Desert Destination: Black Rock Lava Flow

Every Monday we visit a Desert Destination.
Out in the middle of the three-hour long drive between Ely and Tonopah, with no public bathrooms, no telephones, no gas, and no soda machines, part of US Highway 6 passes through the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field. A BLM sign alerts drivers who are still awake about the nearby Black Rock Lava Flow. You can see it from the highway, but it's much more interesting to take the one-mile detour (the sign says two miles, but it's wrong), and get out and stretch your legs a bit.

A sign gives some information about the lava flow with the unimaginative name. The lava flow is made of basalt. Hot lava swelled up inside the nearby cinder cone and broke through the walls, flowing towards the west. As the lava cooled, it solidified. The Black Rock Lava Flow is the youngest of the lava flows in the lunar volcanic field, and covers about 1,900 acres.

Behind the lava flow are a couple of the many cinder cones in the area. The entire Lunar Crater area in central Nevada encompasses about 100 square miles and includes more than 20 extinct volcanoes and 35 lava flows. You can read a bit more about the geology of the area on this USGS page.

I was a little surprised when I walked up to the lava flow to see that not all of it was solid lava, like I've seen at other lava flows. The south edge of the lava flow has many scattered pieces of basalt.

Among the basalt are bushes and dirt--and probably quite a few wildflowers right about now.

I visited in March, when the temperatures were wonderful for exploring. In the middle of the summer, this area can be scorching, with the black basalt absorbing the hot desert sun. In the winter, it can be covered in snow.

The basalt hosts an interesting array of lichens. Here's an interesting post about lichens in the Salt Lake area. They certainly lend more color to what might be described as a rather stark view.

I should mention that the Black Rock Lava Flow is many hours away from the Black Rock Desert, where the (in)famous Burning Man Festival is held every year. 

Embedded in some of the basalt are rocks and crystals that the magma picked up deep within the earth on its way to the surface.

Lizards love to hang out in the lava field.

The road continues on around the lava field, where it becomes more continuous. I didn't have time to see the entire lava field, so when I got home I took a look at Google Earth and found this image of the lava flow (I added the labels):

As you can see, the lava flow really stands out from the surrounding scenery. Not too far away is Lunar Crater, a maar about 4,000 feet across and 400 feet deep. I hope to get there soon!