Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area

The Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area is a Bureau of Land Management wilderness study area (WSA) in Lincoln County, Idaho. It covers 15,560 acres (6,300 ha). The WSA is located to the south of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.[1]

Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area
A map of the United States showing the location of the Shale Butte WSA
A map of the United States showing the location of the Shale Butte WSA
LocationLincoln County, Idaho, United States
Nearest cityMinidoka, ID
Coordinates42°56′06″N 113°51′00″W / 42.935°N 113.850°W / 42.935; -113.850
Area15,560 acres (6,300 ha)
Established1992
Governing bodyBureau of Land Management
Map of Shale Butte WSA. Image is 13 km across.

Shale Butte itself is located in the northeast corner of the WSA.[2] It is not composed of shale, but basalt lava of Pleistocene age.[3] The lava extends to the south from the butte to cover the eastern WSA.

The WSA is accessible only by unimproved roads and jeep trails, or by hiking.

To the north is Sand Butte Wilderness Study Area.

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  2. ^ Shale Butte Quadrangle, Idaho-Lincoln Co., 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic), United States Geological Survey, 1976 edition.
  3. ^ Kuntz, M.A., Champion, D.E., Lefebvre, R.H., and Covington, H.R. Geologic map of the Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields, and the Great Rift volcanic rift zone, south-central Idaho. Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-1632. 1988. Map Scale: 1:100,000