The sun peeks out behind wispy clouds on a winter day at City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho. With a warm coat and the promise of blue sky, you can enjoy an educational exploration of this fascinating park. Because of its complicated geologic history, City of Rocks is a perfect place to learn about the incredible forces that raised mountains, dropped valleys and stretched the Earth’s crust. Photo by Stephen King, National Park Service.
Tents camped on a lake in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho.
The Big Southern Butte rises over 2,500 ft. above eastern Idaho’s Snake River Plain. At only 300,000 years old, it’s one of the youngest and largest formations of its kind in the world. The challenging trail to the summit ends in an unparalleled 360 degree view of the plain and distant mountain ranges. Near Craters of the Moon National Monument, visiting Big Southern Butte is easiest from mid-May through October – depending on snow conditions, so there’s still time to book your visit. Photo by Bureau of Land Management.
#FindYourWay to deep canyons and truly wild streams along the Little Jacks Creek Wild and Scenic River in Idaho. Protected in 2009 and surrounded by wilderness in Southern Idaho’s Owyhee Canyonlands, the multi-tiered cliffs and steep grassy slopes of Little Jacks Creek plunge almost 1,000 feet to the streambed, which provides habitat for Redband trout. The Little Jacks Creek canyon is a prime example of high desert fluvial geology; vertical and angular rock lines create a mosaic amid coarse-textured, red, brown, or blackish eroded basalt cliffs, often glazed with yellow to light green micro-flora. Bighorn sheep are a main attraction for visiting hikers, so be sure to keep your eyes open! Little Jacks Creek is one of 209 river segments in 40 states that are part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, which has protected 12,754 miles of free-flowing rivers over the last 50 years! Photo by Bureau of Land Management, @mypubliclands
Visitors to City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho often get really into geology. With classic examples of features like tafoni, panholes, xenoliths and intrusions, the park makes an excellent outdoor classroom. But if you don’t find the rocks that fascinating, you can still enjoy the natural beauty of this rugged landscape. Photo by National Park Service.
On this date in 1993, Congress established Idaho’s Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area – home to the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America, and perhaps, the world. In 2009, it was renamed to honor a long-time advocate for birds of prey and a man who dedicated his life to protecting the area: Morley Nelson. In the 1940s Nelson began to document birds of prey along the Snake River canyon on film, influencing public opinion about the majesty and importance of these species. Nelson was also instrumental in convincing Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton to give the area special protection in 1971. Here cliffs towering up to 700 feet above the Snake River provide countless ledges, cracks and crevices for nesting raptors. These magnificent birds launch from their cliffside aeries to soar and hunt on warm air currents rising from the canyon floor. Today, as we celebrate 25 years of protecting Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, we also honor the man who was critical to ensuring future generations can hear the call of raptors as they swoop for their prey. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, @mypubliclands
On their famous expedition, Lewis and Clark passed through Idaho’s Lemhi Range, marvelling at the quick landscape transitions and gorgeous scenery. The area is still well-known for its colorful wildflowers like these arrowleaf yellow balsam-roots, lupine and purple delphinium. Captain Lewis collected several new plant species in Idaho including mountain maple, common snowberry and Lewis’s monkey flower. Modern day explorers can follow in the expedition’s footsteps on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and experience the same awe without the 19th century hardship. Photo of moonrise by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management (@mypubliclands).
The wildflowers are on full display at Lemhi Pass in Idaho. This location is where Lewis and Clark crossed over the Continental Divide in 1805. This marked a major milestone in the U. S. westward expansion, but Lewis and Clark were not the first people to use the pass. They followed a well-traveled Shoshone Trail. Sacajawea lived as a child below the pass along Agency Creek until age 12 when she was captured during a battle with another another tribe and forced to North Dakota. It was here that she became part of the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and Clark and proved to be invaluable to the success of the expedition. Today the pass is traversed by a 35-mile long graded unpaved Backcountry Byway through public lands. Interpretive pullouts and scenic views abound. Pictured here are arrowleaf balsam-root (yellow), lupine and delphinium (purple) at sunset. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management, @mypubliclands