Comments on: Amboy Crater and Lava Field

By: Lester Hunt

Lester Hunt — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:42:23 +0000

I think it’s about fifty miles down Route 66 from Newberry Springs, where the classic film Bagdad Cafe was shot.

By: FoxyMcSlick

FoxyMcSlick — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:02:34 +0000

For interest, that road that runs across the north side of the crater is Route 66 (with railway line running north of that again), and if you zoom in to the T junction just to the north east you’ll see the town of Amboy itself and the roof of the famous Roy’s diner. I drove this area in May this year and the desert is so flat and lifeless it’s like the moon and the blue salt evaporation pits are just surreal.

By: AL

AL — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:38:21 +0000

Juliet is correct. The lava flow extends miles away from the crater, though I am not sure how far it extends in all directions. You can access the crater from the north side so that gives you a good idea as to how far the lava field extends. You can only access the other side of the crater by hiking and climbing your way through the lava rocks and desert.

By: Juliet

Juliet — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:52:08 +0000

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7079/img0383pu7.jpg

http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5416/img0384uu6.jpg

By: Juliet

Juliet — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 02:50:13 +0000

I just came back from camping in the Mojave and I can tell you it's definitely lava flow. Here is a picture I took from a trail extending from Amboy Rd. looking west, toward the crater.

And this is a close up of the rock surface.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:47:18 +0000

I was there about a year ago, and there are fields of black lava rock extending away from the crater, which I suspect explains the "shadow area," although I can't say for certain that I remember them being primarily in one direction.

I thought I had some good pictures of it, but I must not have uploaded them. This page describes the lava field, and you can see the rock I'm talking about from the ground in these pictures.

By: The Govinator

The Govinator — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:38:31 +0000

I guess i should have said John not chris… I posted to late and didn’t read

By: The Govinator

The Govinator — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:36:59 +0000

Chris G… looks like it to me, but it could also be winds having blown black volcanic dust in that direction. I zoomed out and there looks to be some smaller areas (vents maybe) that have the same tailing effect. This is a guess on my part

By: Chris G.

Chris G. — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 14:34:14 +0000

John in response to your question, it may be ash residue that has blown from the North West winds and, over most likely many hundred years, has discoloured that area behind the volcano. Granted I’m not a geologist but it seems to be a plausible explanation to me.

By: John Hartnup

John Hartnup — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 13:07:41 +0000

Can anyone explain what the dark marking extending SouthEast of the crater is? At first I thought it was shadow, but the sun is coming from the wrong direction. Is this the path of a massive lava flow?