CRMO Outer Boundary

Name: CRMO Outer Boundary
Published: 2001

U.S. Bureau of Land Management

Displays the official exterior boundaries of the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (CRMO) as surveyed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 2001 or obtained from previously approved BLM survey plats. This data set has been created to assist in the planning and management of the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. This data reflects the changes resulting from the boundary enlargement of the Craters of the Moon National Monument, a proclamation by the President of the United States, The White House Office of the Press Secretary, November 9, 2000. The exterior monument boundary in this data set reflects the 2001 official survey stored in coverage format at the BLM Idaho State Office. The ground surveyed acreage is 752680 acres. The Craters of the Moon National Monument was established on May 2, 1924 (Presidential Proclamation 1694), for the purpose of protecting the unusual landscape of the Craters of the Moon lava field. This "lunar" landscape was thought to resemble that of the Moon and was described in the Proclamation as "weird and scenic landscape peculiar to itself." The unusual scientific value of the expanded monument is the great diversity of exquisitely preserved volcanic features within a relatively small area. The expanded monument includes almost all the features of basaltic volcanism, including the craters, cones, lava flows, caves, and fissures of the 65-mile-long Great Rift, a geologic feature that is comparable to great rift zones of Iceland and Hawaii. It comprises the most diverse and geologically recent part of the lava terrain that covers the southern Snake River Plain, a broad lava plain made up of innumerable basalt lava flows that erupted during the past 5 million years. Since 1924, the monument has been expanded and boundary adjustments made through four presidential proclamations issued pursuant to the Antiquities Act (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431). Presidential Proclamation 1843 of July 23, 1928, expanded the monument to include certain springs for water supply and additional features of scientific interest. Presidential Proclamation 1916 of July 9, 1930, Presidential Proclamation 2499 of July 18, 1941, and Presidential Proclamation 3506 of November 19, 1962, made further adjustments to the boundaries. In 1996, a minor boundary adjustment was made by section 205 of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333, 110 Stat, 4093, 4106).