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New Mexico
4.5 mi
Distance
38 ft
Gain
No conditions check on file for this trail yet — always verify current conditions before you go.
Why you'll love it
El Malpais Road
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El Malpais Road is an easy, scenic walk through the volcanic landscape of El Malpais National Monument. This relatively flat trail traverses the distinctive badlands terrain characterized by dark lava flows and sparse desert vegetation, offering hikers a chance to explore one of New Mexico's most unique geological features. The minimal elevation gain makes this an accessible option for families and those seeking a leisurely desert experience.
Lava Falls Trail Stop #3
~6 min drive
<h2>McCartys Crater </h2> <p>All lava erupts from somewhere, and in the case of the lava you are standing on, it erupted erupted from McCartys Crater. The crater had been a cinder cone volcano, which is the same feature as El Calderon within El Malpais and Wizard Island in the…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #4
~6 min drive
<h2>Lava Fall</h2> <p>Most lava is liquid during a Hawaiian-style volcanic eruption. Since liquid follows the path of least resistance--which is typically downhill--you are standing slightly downhill from McCartys Crater. <br /> <br /> Like any liquid, melted lava rock flows…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #2
~6 min drive
<h2>The Ground is Lava</h2> <p>Flowing lava creates different features and textures as it flows over, around, and under older, cooler lava flows. Gas bubbles trapped in the rock caused some areas to expand upward and outward. The speed and temperature of other lava flows cau…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #1
~6 min drive
<h2>Hawaiian-Style in the High Desert</h2> <p>You will be hiking on is some of the youngest, if not the youngest, lava in the region from this point on. The McCartys lava erupted between 1,200 and 3,900 years ago. When compared to the Cretaceous-era sandstone cliffs you drov…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #9
~6 min drive
<h2>Connections Over Time</h2> <p><br /> The McCartys flow may be young by geologic standards, but it is old enough to be included in human history. It is very likely that ancestors of today's Acoma Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, and Navajo Nation all witnessed the McCartys eruption.<br…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #5
~6 min drive
<h2>Hot Gases Rise</h2> <p>Although you are slightly downhill from McCartys Crater, the inflation ridges around you might look like the opposite. However, these ridges formed from the lava rising up, rather than tall, thick lava flows flowing down. <br /> <br /> Lava can hold…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #6
~7 min drive
<p>Although lava rock does not have many nutrients for plants to use, the McCartys lava creates a reservoir of precious water plants need to survive. Water trickles through the cracks of the rock and collects beneath the lava while still protected from the intense sunlight and…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #7
~7 min drive
<h2>Pockets of Life</h2> <p>Lava does not always stay the same when it stops moving. As lava is exposed to outside air, it begins to cool. As lava cools, it contracts or shrinks, cracks, and sometimes falls apart. Rock may break apart and fall if there is nothing below a rock…
Lava Falls Trail Stop #8
~7 min drive
<h2>Wilderness: A Tricky Value to Define</h2> <p><br /> Most of El Malpais National Monument, including this trail, is managed as wilderness. Managing wilderness is a balance between maintaining an untrammeled and undeveloped area in a way that prevents future damage while als…
El Calderon Lava Trench
~22 min drive
<p>Along the trail to the cinder cone, look for a deep, winding trench that begins at the mouth of the cinder cone volcano up ahead. This trench was created by a river of lava that breached the side of the cinder cone and swept cinder and lava several miles to the southeast. L…