Lava: æ or a

As Scott mentioned last week, we were looking at some properties around Lava Hot Springs (which the locals pronounce Læva (like cat) not Lava (like aww)), a cute touristy town in good location for things we want to have access to. There were two different properties on our short list, both with some views of mountains, a bit of aspen / pine tree coverage, and relatively secluded feeling. Ultimately we decided these don’t quite fit enough of our criteria to spend as much money as they would cost. First, the roads were a bit rough and might be impassible in winter (they weren’t plowed year round). Second, they’d need additional work to clear the drive/turnaround so we could bring our home up to them. Third, the access isn’t as great as we originally thought. Yes, it’s close to a lot of great parks and people, but is 2-9 hours one way by car really that close? If we want to be able to take a weekend in one of these protected natural spaces, we’re still driving at least five hours. Which means we will continue on to Montana to continue the search. We probably won’t find anything this year, but we’ve discovered areas we like and have narrowed our definition of what we want for this northern property.

Last weekend we took the short (100 mi (2 hours) one way) trip to Craters of the Moon, a national monument and preserve. The lava vents that created these craters are what are currently under Yellowstone causing the geysers there. The visitor center had an (old school but still cool, in my opinion) exhibit showing how the vents had shifted over time and moved inland. They had a bulletin board with “What’s Blooming?” and photos of 35 flowers (yes I did take a photo and also counted). I also tried to use the iNaturalist website with location filters to give me an overview of what we’d see. I didn’t have much success. While I did have some service and could load the pages, it took a while and wasn’t filtered enough for me to be able to use it effectively.

This was my first time in a lava flow area and I was fascinated by the ways the liquid rock cooled and formed taffy-like ribbons and sourdough-like holes and crusts. It reminded me a lot of glass, ceramics glazes, and candy. Which makes sense as those are all viscous liquids that can be manipulated as they are heated and cooled.

Craters of the Moon just celebrated 100 years of being a landscape protected by the US government. Many of the outdoor signage (exhibits?) was about preservation and the impact of humans. There were two lava caves (really lava tubes) open to visitors and required a “bat talk” and confirmation that we wouldn’t bring anything that had previously been in another cave with bats into their caves. This is because of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that made its way here probably from Europe. We have been to several cave systems now and they all deal with this disease differently. For example, Carlsbad had signage but didn’t require guests to change their behavior (and the rangers were surprised when we requested decontamination wipes) while Craters of the Moon restricted any potentially contaminated items (phones, shoes, watches, etc – not allowed if they’d been in another cave).

I’ve done a lot of my own research on this disease because these varied policies fascinate me and (imo) are not doing a great job at educating the public. Twenty-one of the 47 bat species in North America have tested positive for the fungus. Of those 21 species, 12 have developed white-nose syndrome (a high percentage of those do not recover) and 9 do not seem to develop symptoms. The fungus was first discovered on the East Coast in 2008 and has rapidly spread throughout North America. When discovered, bats in Europe and Asia were tested and found positive for the fungus yet showed no disease symptoms. “White-nose syndrome has been confirmed in 35 states and 7 Canadian provinces. At some affected sites, 90 to 100 percent of bats have disappeared, most succumbing to the disease. There is no known cure for white-nose syndrome, but scientists worldwide are working together to study the disease and how it can be controlled. Much of this work has been conducted under the umbrella of the U.S. National Response to White-nose Syndrome, a broad, multi-agency effort led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service” (https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2020-11/service-announces-winner-national-prize-challenge-defeat-bat-killing-fungus). See their website at https://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/.

2 thoughts on “Lava: æ or a

  1. Judi

    I agree that lava formations are fascinating! And it’s incredible how plants can grow out of what is just rock.

    Reply

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