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All the United States Idaho Crater Rings
AO Edited

Crater Rings

Two geologically young and nearly circular volcanic subsidence craters, each about a half-mile in diameter, abruptly break the nearly featureless Snake River Plain.

Cleft, Idaho

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slgwv
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West crater, looking slightly northeast.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
West crater, looking slightly northeast.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The west crater. Looking east.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The west crater. Looking east.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Looking west across east crater, from above the channel draining into it.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Northwestern edge of east crater. The edge of the west crater is barely visible beyond toward the right.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
East crater, looking southwesterly.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Looking west across the east crater.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The west crater, looking southeasterly.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Flat floor of the west crater.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
North wall of east crater.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The low, broad shield volcano where the craters occur, silhouetted on the skyline. Looking south from the primitive road leading to the craters.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Excerpt from the Crater Rings USGS 7.5’ topographic quadrangle map (1992), showing the topographic prominence of the craters.  
East crater from a distance. Looking south.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
Drainage channel coming into east crater from the east.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
The north wall of the west crater.   slgwv / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A volcanic subsidence crater (also called a pit crater or collapse crater) is formed when subsurface magma, supporting the rock overhead, drains away for whatever reason. The unsupported rock "ceiling" over the void left by the draining magma then collapses. (Much the same mechanism accounts for the formation of summit caldera craters, but those are typically at a larger scale.)

A subsidence crater can be distinguished from other craters, such as maars (e.g., Soda Lakes in Nevada), or impact craters, because they have no built-up rim formed by debris ejected out of the crater. They also typically have flat floors, reflecting the former presence of a lava lake.

Crater Rings are two collapse craters on a low, broad shield volcano that is thought to be geologically young (less than about two million years old). The east crater is about half a mile across and 300 feet deep, while the west one is slightly smaller and shallower (approximately 200 feet deep).

This shield volcano lies out in the Snake River Plain north of Mountain Home, Idaho, an area that has seen abundant volcanic activity in the recent geologic past. Despite the ubiquitous volcanism, however, subsidence craters like this are rare in these volcanic fields.

Related Tags

Volcanoes Geology Craters

Know Before You Go

The Crater Rings are just off Interstate 84 north of Mountain Home, Idaho. Take Old US-30 (Old Oregon Trail Highway) 9.1 miles north from its intersection with Idaho State Route 51 (American Legion Boulevard) in downtown Mountain Home to a junction (at about 43.21878 N, 115.82268 W) with Cinder Butte Road. Turn left here and follow Cinder Butte Road (which is graded) 1.8 miles to a junction (at about 43.21506 N, 115.85748 W) with a primitive road on the left. Turn left here; the Crater Rings are in the low rise which forms the skyline. Go about 1.4 miles and park. This road will need high clearance but 4wd will probably not be necessary in dry weather. Jeep roads go around the craters, but can also be hiked.

The ground cover is all low grass and shrubs. A common component is cheat grass, a non-native species that, when dry, has annoying seeds that embed in clothing (such as socks) and also in pets' coats. It's also extremely flammable and has made wildfires both more common and more catastrophic in recent years. Be very careful with fire; in particular, don't park on dry grass as it is easily ignited by a hot catalytic converter.

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Added By

slgwv

Published

July 10, 2024

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Sources
  • Shervais, J.W., Gaurav Shroff, S.K. Vetter, Scott Matthews, B.B. Hanan, and J.J. McGee, 2002, Origin and evolution of the western Snake River Plain: Implications from stratigraphy, faulting, and the geochemistry of basalts near Mountain Home, Idaho, in Bill Bonnichsen, C.M. White, and Michael McCurry, eds., Tectonic and Magmatic Evolution of the Snake River Plain Volcanic Province: Idaho Geological Survey Bulletin 30, p. 343-361. Available online at: https://idwr.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/projects/east-ada-county/2002-Western-Snake-River-Plain-near-Mountain-Home-Shervais.pdf
Crater Rings
Cleft, Idaho, 83647
United States
43.190534, -115.859585

Nearby Places

Big Idaho Potato Hotel

Boise, Idaho

miles away

Bruneau Dunes

Mountain Home, Idaho

miles away

Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area

Murphy, Idaho

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Idaho

Idaho

United States

Places 67
Stories 12

Nearby Places

Big Idaho Potato Hotel

Boise, Idaho

miles away

Bruneau Dunes

Mountain Home, Idaho

miles away

Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area

Murphy, Idaho

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Idaho

Idaho

United States

Places 67
Stories 12

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