Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry.

[17] A hunter-gatherer culture, the Northern Shoshone subsisted off of the land's bounty; in addition to gathering edible plants, nuts, roots, and berries, numerous game animals were hunted and trapped, both for meat and supplies, as well as for insulating skins and furs.

[18] Larger game hides were used in construction of shelters and windbreaks, while the more delicate furs of smaller mammals were often fashioned into many articles of clothing, used to keep warm; smaller trapped and hunted species included animals such as squirrel, red fox, coyote, river otter, raccoon, pine marten, and rabbit, in addition to numerous bird species.

[21] The cutoff was created to reduce the possibility of conflict with the Shoshone along the Snake River such as the skirmish that occurred near modern-day Massacre Rocks State Park.

[22] After gold was discovered in the Salmon River area of Idaho, a group of emigrants persuaded an Illinois-born trapper and trader named Tim Goodale to lead them through the cutoff.

[23] Improvements to the cutoff such as adding a ferry to cross the Snake River made it into a popular alternative route of the Oregon Trail.

[27] Robert Limbert, a taxidermist, tanner, photographer, filmmaker, and exhibit designer from Boise, first came to the area in 1918 after hearing stories from fur trappers about "strange things they had seen while ranging the region".

My first was a hiking and camping trip with Ad Santel (the wrestler), Dr. Dresser, and Albert Jones; the second was with Wes Watson and Era Martin (ranchers living about four miles from the northern edge).

The peculiar features seen on those trips led me to take a third across the region in the hope that even more interesting phenomena might be encountered.Limbert set out on his third and most ambitious foray to the area in May 1920, this time with W.L.

[31] A series of newspaper and magazine articles written by Limbert were later published about this and previous treks, which increased public awareness of the area.

[29] The most famous of these was an article that appeared in a 1924 issue of National Geographic where he called the area "Craters of the Moon", helping to solidify the use of that name.

[26] In large part due to Limbert's work, Craters of the Moon National Monument was proclaimed on May 2, 1924, by U.S. President Calvin Coolidge to preserve the "weird and scenic landscape" of the area.

The Mission 66 program initiated construction of today's road system, visitor center, bookstore, campground, and comfort station in 1956, and in 1959 the Craters of the Moon Natural History Association was formed to assist the monument in educational activities.

[37] Apollo astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Eugene Cernan, and Joe Engle performed part of their training at Craters of the Moon Lava Field by learning to look for and collect good rock specimens in an unfamiliar and harsh environment.

Part of that goal was reached in 2000 when the monument was expanded 13-fold, from 53,545 acres (217 km2) to its current size, to encompass the entire Great Rift zone and its three lava fields.

[44] The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 16 million years ago.

This hotspot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but "moved" as the North American Plate migrated northwestward.

The lava tubes and pit craters of the park are known for their preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt.

Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case.

The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring).

Some wildflowers that grow in the area are arrowleaf balsamroot, bitterroot, blazingstar, turpentine parsley, dwarf monkeyflower, Indian paintbrush, scorpionweed, scabland penstemon, and wild onion.

Nocturnal animals at Craters of the Moon include woodrats, skunks, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, bats, nighthawks, owls, and most other small, desert rodents.

Snakes and lizards brumate during the winter months, are diurnal during the late spring and early fall, and become crepuscular during the heat of summer.

[64] Pronghorn migration across the northern Snake River Plain has been monitored since the Lava Lake Institute along with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, and the Pioneers Alliance conducted a study of their movements from 2008 to 2010.

[65][66] These studies showed that in the spring and fall, the animals travel about 100 miles (160 km) one-way along the southern edges of the mountains to reach their summer and winter ranges.

[18] Due to the narrow size of this natural funnel, the National Park Service has monitored the number of pronghorns migrating through this area using motion-sensitive trail cameras since 2012.

[67] In May 1980, wildlife researcher Brad Griffith of the University of Idaho started a three-year study to mark and count the mule deer in the monument.

Griffith found that by late summer plants in the area have already matured and dried to the point that they can no longer provide enough moisture to sustain the deer.

In late July after about 12 days above 80 °F (27 °C) and warm nights above 50 °F (10 °C) the herd migrates 5 to 10 miles (8.0 to 16.1 km) north to the Pioneer Mountains to obtain water from free-flowing streams and shade themselves in aspen and Douglas fir groves.

[69] Rain in late September prompts the herd to return to the monument to feed on bitterbrush until snow in November triggers them to migrate back to their winter range.