The Timbisha Shoshone Indians know the crater as "Tem-pin-tta-Wo’sah", or Coyote’s Basket. It is a half mile wide, about 500 ft deep, and around 2000 years old.

Ubehebe (YOO-bee-HEE-bee) was created when magma rising from the earth's core reached ground water, which flashed into steam. Intense pressure built up until a superheated combination of steam and rock exploded in a hydrovolcanic eruption. Pulverized rock was spewed over a six-square-mile area, in depths of up to 150 ft. The resulting crater is known as a maar volcano.