Volcanic Wonders

We quickly learned that there was a lot to do in this area as we were in the middle of Newberry National Volcanic Monument, a 55,000 acre National park. Our first stop today was a 2.5 km drive up a narrow, winding road to the top of Lava Butte, a 7000 year old cinder cone (which I learned was created by fragments of lava thrown out during eruptions). Linda and I walked the .5 km rim trail with panoramic views and it was HOT....sunny and 32!

To cool off, our next stop was the Lava River Cave where the temperature dropped to 5 celsius inside the cave. There is no artificial lighting in the cave so we had to rent large flashlights for $5 each to walk through the 1.6 km lava tube that was formed during Newberry Volcano’s eruption. The lava tube is about 58 feet x 50 feet at it’s largest point but deeper in the cave it drops to about 5 feet x 4 feet.. We had to walk down 126 steps at the entrance and climb over a jumble of volcanic rocks. The 2 wimpy sisters turned back at about the half-way point but I carried on to the end which had the most interesting features. It was a fascinating experience and far superior to the lava tube on the Big Island in Hawaii. We had our picnic lunch near the Visitor Centre where NASA astronauts trained to walk on the moon in the 1960’s. We’ve learned a lot today about volcanoes.Read more