BLM Reopens Access to Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has reopened the Amboy Crater access road and parking area to the public.

Reconstruction of the access road and parking area began on June 12 with funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). BLM-California received $40 million to fund 115 projects under the Act which are intended to restore landscapes and habitat, spur renewable energy development on public lands, and create jobs.

“This completed ARRA project provides the public with a smooth all-season paved road and replaces the former largely un-maintained gravel road,” states Raymond ‘Rusty’ Lee, BLM Needles Field Office manager.

Designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973, Amboy Crater is recognized for its visual and geological significance. Amboy Crater is an excellent example of a very symmetrical volcanic cinder cone. There is a breach on the west side of the crater where basaltic lava poured out over a vast area of 24 square miles, which contains lava lakes, collapsed lava tubes and sinks, spatter cones and massive flows of basalt.

Amboy Crater lies about halfway between Barstow and Needles (about 66 miles from each) off Historic Route 66 National Trails Highway.

For further information, contact the BLM Needles Field Office at 760-326-7000.