I gave you a big hint. I said lava. If you'd assumed that the above photos of the moon's craters were the 'Craters of the Moon' that I'm talking about, well... no. You'd be wrong. I won't be spewing on about the beauty of that silvery, slivery moon, but I do promise that what you will see is perhaps as spectacular. Don't think you'll be looking into a black sky to see your treasure, though. Instead by the light of day, turn your eyes to the black earth. Here you will be treated to the sight of one of the most unique, weirdest places you will ever see. These craters of which I speak are not made of green cheese, but of lava. The deepest, darkest lava. Basaltic volcanic black lava.

I am going to introduce you to a mind-boggling National Monument that some joker hid smack dab in the remote, desolate center of Idaho. (Yes, Jimmy. Idaho is full of potatoes; it's also full of lava.)

The craters are in Idaho, a northwestern state of the United States. They are not exactly craters in the meteorological sense (meteors crashing into the moon, let's say); they are 'craters' from a volcanic eruption. These volcanic craters are situated in the Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, Idaho.

This park with its lava formations cover 1117 square miles, the size of the State of Delaware. The lava fields and formations are so large and dark, they can be seen by space satellites. (See the Google Map below.) The monument has 3 major lava fields, 60 miles wide, which are the largest and best-preserved examples in the 48 contiguous United States. The rift that opened the Earth's surface a million years ago is 62 miles long. The lava deposits are as deep as 10,000 feet, the deepest known on earth.

Ten million years ago a gigantic caldera of fire and molten liquid was bubbling directly under the National Monument. Though it was frequently active in its earlier millenia, geological evidence suggests that the most recent volcanic eruptions took place only 15,000 to 2,000 years ago.

However, despite that length of dormancy, the geologists were worried when a record earthquake shook Idaho's largest mountain range in 1983. Luckily there were no effects on the volcanoes. But using recent scientific methods, geologists have determined the next eruption to come within the next 900 years, and speculate that it is most likely to occur within the next 100 years.

Within the boundaries of Craters of the Moon National Monument, there are 55 volcano cones with lava flows and 14 fissures with spatter cones.

When a volcano is young, each eruption spews thin basaltic lava over the surrounding terrain. Basaltic lava contains lots of air bubbles, and flows easily in thin layers. Over time these layers stack upon each other, gradually heightening the volcano. After thousands of such eruptions, the basaltic volcanoes become prominent shield volcanoes with low sloping sides.

There are two major types of lava in Craters of the Moon.

The first type of lava is a'a. a'a flows quickly and this causes cracks and breaks to be formed on the surface of the previous layers of lava. These pieces turn into jagged, razor sharp slices of volcanic stone. A small slip on this lava will result in a mass of jagged cuts on knees and hands.

The second tye is Pahoehoe which is a ropey volcanic lava. This lava erupts from the volcano in a molten, taffy-like substance and then rapidly becomes a mass of pasty lava globs.

The different volcanic formations are made of these two types of lava, either singly or in combination. Craters of the Moon National Monument has a variety of lava formations.

Spatter cones (tiny volcanoes) are formed with pahoehoe as the lava cools and forms stringy lumps of beads. Upon close inspection, you can see splatter marks where the lava hit the side of the cone.

Cinder cones are made of a'a and can explode with great force. The lava is full of tiny gas bubbles which pulverizes the lava, turning it into dark gray cinders.

Large caves and caverns are made from lava tube channels. Hot lava streams through an enclosed channel when the volcano either erupts or has a split (fissure) from a vulnerable side. There is a continuous flow of lava through these tubes. As the lava cools from the top, a ceiling is formed. Then lava drips down the sides making an enclosed tube cave. These caves can be 1,000 feet long.

In 1969, the Apollo 14 astronauts were shipped off to Craters of the Moon National Monument. There, Alan Shepherd, Edgar Mitchell, Joe Engle and Eugene Cerman, spent several days exploring the landscape. Why?

They were learning first hand the basics of volcanic geology in preparation for their space flight to the Moon.