Sand Butte Wilderness Study Area

The Sand Butte Wilderness Study Area is a Bureau of Land Management wilderness study area (WSA) in Lincoln County, Idaho. It covers about 21,000 acres (8,500 ha). The WSA is located to the south of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.[1]

Sand Butte Wilderness Study Area
A map of the United States showing the location of the Sand Butte WSA
A map of the United States showing the location of the Sand Butte WSA
LocationLincoln County, Idaho, United States
Nearest cityCarey, Idaho
Coordinates43°07′N 113°53′W / 43.11°N 113.89°W / 43.11; -113.89
Area21,000 acres (8,500 ha)
Established1992
Governing bodyBureau of Land Management
Sand Butte WSA

Sand Butte itself is located in the northeast corner of the WSA, and has a maximum elevation of 4974 feet, standing approximately 300 feet above the surrounding plain.[2] It is not composed of sand, but basalt lava of Pleistocene age, of the Snake River Group.[3]

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

Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area is to the south, and Raven's Eye Wilderness Study Area is adjacent to the north.

Sand Butte, looking northwest

References

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  1. ^ "Sand Butte Wilderness Study Area". Bureau of Land Management. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  2. ^ Wagon Butte Quadrangle, Idaho-Lincoln Co., 7.5 Minute Series (Topographic), United States Geological Survey, 1979 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