Amboy Crater

Amboy Crater
Amboy Crater, as viewed from the east
Highest point
Elevation944 ft (288 m)[1]
Prominence250 ft (76 m)[2]
Coordinates34°32′38″N 115°47′28″W / 34.5438831°N 115.7911091°W / 34.5438831; -115.7911091[3]
Geography
Topo mapUSGS Amboy Crater[3]
Geology
Mountain typeCinder cone[2]
Last eruptionAbout 10,000 years ago[4]
Climbing
Easiest routeTrail[1][5][6]
DesignatedMay 1973
Interior of Amboy Crater showing a lava lake and the distant breach in the cinder cone rim.
Interior of Amboy Crater from near breach showing lava lakes.

Amboy Crater is a dormant cinder cone volcano that rises above a 70-square-kilometer (27 sq mi) lava field in the eastern Mojave Desert of southern California, within Mojave Trails National Monument.[2][4]

It is about 75 miles (120 km) equidistant from Barstow to the west and Needles to the east, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of historic U.S. Route 66, near the town of Amboy in San Bernardino County. In 1973, Amboy Crater was designated the Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark.[2][7]

Amboy Crater at dusk
  1. ^ a b "Amboy Recreation Site" (PDF). BLM/CA/GI-2000/014+8322 REV. 6/07. Bureau of Land Management. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  2. ^ a b c d "Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark". Needles Field Office. Bureau of Land Management. 2008-04-22. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  3. ^ a b "Amboy Crater". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  4. ^ a b "Amboy Crater" (PDF). BLM/CA/GI-2000/014+8322 REV. 6/07. Bureau of Land Management. June 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  5. ^ McKinney, John (2006-03-31). California's Desert Parks: A Day Hiker's Guide. Wilderness Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-0-89997-389-0.
  6. ^ Massey, Peter (2006-04-26). Backcountry Adventures Southern California: The Ultimate Guide to the Backcountry for anyone with a Sport Utility Vehicle. Adler Publishing. pp. 475–477. ISBN 978-1-930193-26-0.
  7. ^ "National Natural Landmark Summary". National Park Service. February 5, 2004. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 2016-03-03.