Big Southern Butte★5.0

Northwest > Idaho > Big Southern Butte

JF Hobbs, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

largest and youngest (300,000 years old) of three rhyolitic domes near the center of the Eastern Snake River Plain and one of the largest volcanic domes on earth

General Information

Hours:
24/7
Fees:
No fees
Pet Policy:
Pets allowed
Closest cities with hotels:
Sun Valley, 67 miles
Idaho Falls, 140 miles
Seasons:
Open all year though fully accessible for only four months during summer, owing to the very heavy winter snowfall
Portland, OR Weather Forecast

How to Get There

From Idaho Falls, ID (53 mi): Take US-20 West toward Arco, then turn south onto the signed gravel access road near the Idaho National Laboratory site and continue to the base of Big Southern Butte.

Overview

Big Southern Butte rises about 2,500 feet above the lava plain near the center of the Eastern Snake River Plain, and is one of the largest volcanic domes on Earth. It is the youngest (300,000 years old) and largest of three rhyolite domes in the area, made of two coalesced lava domes with a base 4 miles wide. A rough road and trail lead up to the summit for wide views, and it is a good stop on the way to Craters of the Moon.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Big Southern Butte", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted