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TIME LINE
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(Before
Recorded
History)
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The Shoshone-Bannock build rock rings at Indian Tunnel.
2,000 years ago a volcanic eruption creates the Broken Top Flow.
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1805
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Lewis and Clark cross northern Idaho enroute to the Pacific Ocean.
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1831
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Lewis and Clark expedition member, Jean Baptiste Charboneau, gets
separated from a brigade of fur trappers and nearly perishes trying to cross the Snake River Plain from south to north.
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1833
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Army Captain Benjamin Bonneville explores the area with instructions to report back his findings to the War Department.
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1862
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Tim Goodale leads 1,095 emigrants and 338 wagons across a cutoff of the Oregon Trail that came to bear his name.
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1901
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Israel (I.C.) Russell with the Geological Survey explores the area and provides the first geologic description of what he calls the Cinder Buttes.
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1920
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Robert Limbert hikes the entire length of the Great Rift and widely promotes the region for status as a national park.
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1923
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Harold Stearns, a geologist, describes the area as the most recent example of a fissure eruption in this country and recommends it be preserved as a national monument.
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1924
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Limbert's article "Among the Craters of the Moon" is published in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.
President Calvin Coolidge signs a proclamation creating Craters of the Moon National Monument.
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1925
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First custodian Samuel Paisley constructs thefirst visitor center near Registration Waterhole and receives a salary of $12 per year.
1926 visitation = 4,600
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1927
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Waterholes that supplied water to the monument dry up following a series of earthquakes and water has to be hauled in for four years.
A troop of Boy Scouts discovers Boy Scout Cave.
The Craters Inn and several cabins are built for the convenience of visitors.
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1931
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A waterline supplying water from springs in the north end of the monument to the campground and headquarters building completed.
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1956
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The Mission 66 Program initiates construction of today's road system, visitor center, shop, campround, and comfort station.
1956 visitation = 100,000
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1959
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The Craters of the Moon Natural History Association formed to assist the monument in educational activities.
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1962
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Addition of an island of vegetation completely surrounded by lava known as Carey Kipuka increases the size of the monument by 5360 acres.
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1967
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Study of mule deer completed.
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1969
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NASA astronauts Alan Shepherd, Edgar Mitchell, Eugene Cernan, and Joe Engle explore the monument while training to visit the moon.
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1970
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Congress creates the Craters of the Moon Wilderness, one of the first such designations within the National Park Service.
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1978
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The Great Rift is designated as a National Natural Landmark.
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1983
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Mt. Borah earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 felt at the monument but does little damage.
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1992
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Dedication of first totally accessible trail at Devil's Orchard.
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1993
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Guided walks and programs attended by over 12,000 visitors.
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1994
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Visitor center lawns removed to eliminate the attraction that was causing deer to be killed while crossing the highway.
1995 visitation = 237,000
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1997
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New exhibits installed in visitor center.
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1999
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75th Anniversary Celebration.
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2000
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Monument expanded to include all of the Great Rift Zone. Cooperative management initiated with the Bureau of Land Management.
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2016
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The National Park Service celebrates its Centennial.
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2017
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Craters of the Moon designated as an International Dark Sky Park.
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