Extraterrestrial Highway
Lunar Crater Volcanic Field, NV

The Lunar Crater Volcanic Field is located between Toponah and Ely. It is made up of cinder cones, lava flows, and craters. The bizarre landscape formed when molten lava surfaced along a fault line in the very thin crust prevalent in Nevada. The first of three distinct periods of volcanic activity began over two million years ago. The first contained a series of small eruptions. Internal pressure ejected ash and rock, making cinder cones, or small volcanoes. Later, molten rock flowed through the vents, cooling to become basalt. Two violent eruptions during this time formed two large, round depressions known today as Easy Chair Crater and Lunar Crater.

Lunar Crater is the area's most outstanding feature. It is almost 4,000 feet across and 430 feet deep. That means more than 400 acres in size! The crater itself is a bowl-shaped depression void of vegetation. It more closely resembles a meteor-impact crater than a volcanic cinder cone that fell in on itself. The name Lunar Crater is very appropriate as it was used in the late 1960s to train astronauts for the Apollo moon missions.

Other features include The Wall, Black Rock Lava Flow, and over 20 other extinct volcanoes.