Idaho
photographer: Nathan Acks
date: 2018-06-27
Idaho, mostly in and around the Malad River Gorge, Shoshone Falls, and Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve.
Boise
Looking south towards Concourse B from Concourse C at Denver International Airport.
A red dragonfly in my folks’ front yard in Boise, Idaho.
Animated GIF.
A red dragonfly in my folks’ front yard in Boise, Idaho.
The most gruesome death I’ve ever personally witnessed.
The force is strong in Boise, ID.
Malad River Gorge
Animated GIF.
Looking west along the Malad River from the bridge near the eastern edge of the state park. Obviously with some heavy post-processing.
Looking west along the Malad River from the north rim of the Malad River Gorge. Near the center of the shadows at left, a small waterfall from an irrigation canal can be seen.
Looking west along the Malad River from the bridge near the eastern edge of the state park. Obviously with some heavy post-processing.
Sage growing on the plateau above the Malad River. The darker green in the distance is trees growing along an irrigation canal… The same one that can be seen in some other shots emptying into the Malad River Gorge as a waterfall.
Looking east from the south rim of the Malad River Gorge. The pedestrian bridge at the eastern end of the state park and I-84 can be seen in the distance. Just below the bridge is the small waterfall where the Malad River enters the canyon. If you look closely at the shadows on the right, you can see a small waterfall where an irrigation canal empties into the gorge.
Sage along the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge. The Malad River itself can be seen on the lower left.
Looking west from the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River Valley.
Looking west from the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River Valley.
Looking west from the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River Valley.
Looking west from the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River Valley.
Looking west from the southern rim of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River Valley. A raised irrigation canal built alongside the Malad River can be seen on the right-hand side of the frame.
Looking west from the end of the Malad River Gorge towards the Snake River. (The Snake River is the line of trees near the far plateau; the river visible mid-distance is actually the Malad.)
A small stream empties into Woody’s Cove, just south of the Malad River Gorge.
Birch Creek in Woody’s Cove, as seen from the amphitheater wall.
Sage on the thin plateau between Woody’s Cove and the Malad River Gorge.
A small stream empties into Woody’s Cove, just south of the Malad River Gorge.
A small stream empties into Woody’s Cove, just south of the Malad River Gorge.
Looking southwest along Birch Creek from the amphitheater wall of Woody’s Cove. The Malad River can be seen in the distance.
Looking southwest along Birch Creek from the amphitheater wall of Woody’s Cove. The Malad River can be seen in the distance.
Looking southwest along Birch Creek from the amphitheater wall of Woody’s Cove. The Malad River can be seen in the distance.
Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls along the Snake River. The tall red-roofed building at center-left is a small hydroelectric power plant (as is the smaller gray building adjoining it to the right).
The Shoshone Falls power plant. The Snake River lies in the foreground, and the northern edge of Shoshone Falls proper can be seen on the far right.
Shoshone Falls on Idaho’s Snake River.
Shoshone Falls along the Snake River. The tall red-roofed building at center-left is a small hydroelectric power plant (as is the smaller grey building adjoining it to the right).
Looking west along the Snake River from Shoshone Falls.
Looking west along the Snake River from Shoshone Falls.
The Shoshone Falls power plant (at left) and the north side of Shoshone Falls (right) on the Snake River.
The southern rim of the canyon holding the Snake River, as seen from Shoshone Falls.
Shoshone Falls on Idaho’s Snake River.
Shoshone Falls on Idaho’s Snake River.
Pools just above Shoshone Falls. The Snake River can be seen in the background.
Shoshone Ice Caves
A prickly pear cactus flowers outside of Shoshone Ice Caves.
A prickly pear cactus flowers outside of Shoshone Ice Caves.
Animated GIF.
Looking north-northeast across a collapsed lava tube near Shoshone Ice Cave (which is itself part of a lava tube).
Looking northwest across a collapsed lava tube near Shoshone Ice Cave (which is itself part of a lava tube). The low, black mound in the distance is Black Butte, a low shield volcano that produced the lava field in this photo.
Shoshone Ice Cave. On the floor is a thin layer of water, and then 8 – 12 feet of solid ice. The standing water is continuously pumped out of the cave, which would otherwise completely fill up with ice in a few years.
Craters of the Moon
Looking approximately east-southeast from an overlook near the Craters of the Moon visitors center. A couple of different lava flows can be seen in the foreground; on the horizon is the Big Southern Butte, one of the largest volcanic domes on Earth. Craters of the Moon was formed by a series of smaller volcanoes and rifts however; Big Southern Butte is a completely separate feature.
The lava flows that make up Craters of the Moon (on the left) wash up against a larger field of volcanic cinders that have been colonized by native sage. In the background are five of the cinder cones close to the national monument’s entrance. From left-to-right, these are: Big Cinder Butter, Paisely Cone, Inferno Cone, Big Craters, and the North Crater.
Looking west from a small ridge near the Craters of the Moon visitors center. The red pillars are probably parts of the North Crater (visible on the left side of this panorama); most of the northwest quadrant (not visible here) of this cinder cone seems to have been destroyed in the eruption that produced this lava flow.
Parts of the North Crater (just off the left-hand side of the frame) that were carried away in the lava flow originating in the eruption that destroyed most of the northwest quadrant of that cinder cone.
Looking west from a small ridge near the Craters of the Moon visitors center. The red pillars are probably parts of the North Crater (visible on the left side of this panorama); most of the northwest quadrant (not visible here) of this cinder cone seems to have been destroyed in the eruption that produced this lava flow.
Looking west across the lava flow from North Crater towards an older volcanic cone just outside of the Craters of the Moon national monument.
Parts of the North Crater, embedded in the lava flow that destroyed much of that cinder cone. Behind (and largely obscured) by these pillars is Sunset Crater.
The Devils Orchard in Craters of the Moon National Monument.
The Devils Orchard in Craters of the Moon National Monument. Big Cinder Butte can be seen in the distance.
Dwarf buckwheat flowers on the cinders making up what remains of Paisley Cone.
Looking north-northeast across the foot of Inferno Cone. Paisley Cone is right-of-center in the mid-distance; the large, rounded mountain mid-left in the distance is Timbered Dome. In the foreground, dwarf buckwheat blossoms in the cinders making up Inferno Cone.
Looking north-northeast across the foot of Inferno Cone. Paisley Cone is on the right in the mid-distance; the large, rounded mountain on the left in the distance is Timbered Dome. In the foreground, dwarf buckwheat blossoms in the cinders making up Inferno Cone.
Looking southwest from the top of Inferno Cone towards the Spatter Cones.
Looking south-southwest from the top of Inferno Cone. Two of the Spatter Cones can be seen on the right, and the slopes of Broken Top are towards the left.
The eastern slope of Big Craters as seen from the top of Inferno Cone.
A panorama from the top of Inferno Cone, from north (at left) to east-southeast (at right). The round peak in the distance at left is Timbered Dome; the lonely peak in the far distance at right is the Big Southern Butte.
Looking south-southeast from Inferno Cone towards Broken Top. Half Cone can be seen at the edge of the frame on the left.
Looking east-southeast from the top of Inferno Cone towards the Big Southern Butte, one of the largest volcanic domes in the world.
Looking southeast towards Broken Top from the west side of Big Craters. One of the Spatter Cones can be seen on the far left of the frame.
Looking into the throat of the Snow Cone. Which is full of snow… And a random plastic bag (top left quadrant of the throat).
Looking southwest across the Crystal Fissure Flow in Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Lichen grows near the throat of one of the Spatter Cones.
A small blue bird (which looks like a swallow of some kind to me, but I’m not really sure) rests atop the throat of one of the Spatter Cones in Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Looking southwest across the Crystal Fissure Flow in Craters of the Moon National Monument.
A ground-level view of the Spatter Cones of Craters of the Moon National Monument.
Looking south-southwest across the Broken Top Flow towards Big Cinder Butte. Broken Top is on the right.
Looking north-northeast across the Serrate Flow towards Timbered Dome. In the foreground is a collapsed lava tube.
Looking north-northeast across the Serrate Flow towards Timbered Dome.