Nevada has over a dozen volcanic areas, less well known than similar sites in Arizona and California since they are located away from main travel routes, in remote areas of the Great Basin Desert. The best is the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field, a zone of vulcanism covering over 100 square miles at the southern end of the Pancake Range, and comprising cinder cones, outcrops of lava, elongated fissures, ash hills and, most visibly, the 430 foot deep Lunar Crater - an impressive and rather unexpected site in an otherwise isolated, windswept location. The crater is designated a National Natural Landmark, one of six in Nevada, and is situated 75 miles east of Tonopah near the center of the state. It is geologically termed a 'maar', the name given to a shallow, broad crater formed by explosive eruptions close to ground level, usually caused by heating of subterranean water.
Parks, Craters
Links: www.americansouthwest.net
By: kjfitz
