MSGID: 1:317/3 62e17d50   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   July 27, 2022 - Lava Fields in Snake River Plain, Southern Idaho   
      
      Southern Idaho,Craters of the Moon National Preserve, the Snake River,   
      Bear Lake   
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      At first glance, the land adjacent to Idaho’s portion of the Snake   
      River appears to be a wide, dry floodplain, similar to floodplains   
      found near most rivers. However, a longer looks reveals curious   
      features that expose the volcanic origins of the Snake River Plain.   
      
      On July 25, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of   
      the eastern Snake River Plain.   
      
      The most curious feature visible is a large, dark area near the center   
      of the image. From space it gives the appearance of a giant can of   
      ochre paint spilled across the landscape, creating quite a mess. In   
      fact, the dark colors mark a “weird and scenic landscape” that is a   
      “vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and   
      sagebrush,” according to the National Park Service’s website as they   
      describe this unique portion of the Craters of the Moon National Park   
      and Monument.   
      
      The Craters of the Moon lava field is a striking area of recent   
      volcanic activity containing 60 (or more) lava flows, each ranging from   
      approximately 15,000 to 2,100 years old. Together the flows cover 1,600   
      square kilometers (620 square miles) with a total volume of 30 cubic km   
      (7.2 cubic miles). Several other lava fields are also found within the   
      Snake River Plain, including the Wapi Lava Field that sits southeast of   
      Craters of the Moon. Another large field, called Hell’s Half Acre Lava   
      Field, sits to the northeast and is bordered by green scrubby   
      vegetation that grows near the course of the Snake River.   
      
      Although the Snake River Plain appears much like it was created by an   
      ancient meander of the river, the presence of lava fields point to a   
      much more violent origin. Millions of years ago, the plain formed as   
      the North American Plate pushed over a stationary mantle plume   
      (“hotspot”) in the Earth’s crust. The North American Plate continues   
   to   
      crawl slowly along, roughly moving about 4.5 millimeters a year over   
      the hotspot, and this motion has resulted in a linear track of   
      volcanism that parallels the motion of the plate, which is quite   
      evident in the volcanic features found in the eastern Snake River   
      Plain. Today, the hotspot fuels the famous geysers found in Yellowstone   
      National Park.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 7/25/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (231.7 KB),  500m (637.1 KB),  250m (422.4   
      KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-27   
       
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