This was a pleasant discovery and an interesting diversion along our route, thanks to our Boomer neighbors who mentioned the Valley of Fires BLM park.
The attraction is that the park is adjacent to the Carrizozo Malpais lava flow.
Malpais is the Spanish term for badlands, and the name given to the lava flow.
Approximately 5,000 years ago, volcanic action about 10 miles northwest of Carrizozo created this flow and subsequent landscape. It is believed that the molten flow, similar to the flows in Hawaii, emerged from openings, called vents, in the valley floor. Little Black Peak is thought to be the last vent that opened and its flow reached into the Tularosa Basin, about 40 miles south west. The flow is from 4 to 6 miles wide, 160 feet thick in places, and covers 125 square miles.
The flow covered the valley floor and surrounded areas of higher ground, forming islands called kipukas. The visitor center and campground are located on one of these sandstone islands.
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| our $18/night (electric and water) campsite overlooking the malpais with its blackened rock |
A paved nature trail meanders through the hardened lava rock. We learned about the fauna and flora that inhabit this moonscape. And we learned about various lava rock formations - collapsed bubbles, pressure ridges, lava tubes, gypsum caves and lava caves.
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| the slight bump on the horizon is Little Black Peak, the source of the malpais - geologists believe the lava erupted for 30 years |
The cracked, jagged rock looks uninhabitable yet plants somehow grow, and creatures like lizards, snakes, wood rats, quail, road runners, barberry sheep, and mule deer create homes for themselves. Plants typical to the northern Chihuanuan Desert also flourish: yucca, sotol, cholla, mesquite, juniper, and creosote.
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| cholla and yucca |
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| sotol |
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| a 400-year-old Juniper tree along the trail |
The unusual folded formations are known by their Hawaiian name, pahoehoe, initially flowing like smooth and runny bright orange cake batter before hardening. The swirls created interesting patterns.
Here you can see the rope-like formations in the hardened rock.
Just above our campsite is a lookout point with views across the Tularosa Valley. Thirty miles to the west is the location of the Trinity Site where the world's first atomic bomb was tested on July 16, 1945 on a US Air Force Bombing Range. To the south is the Alamogordo White Sands National Monument with its dunes of gypsum, and also the White Sands Missile Range which still conducts tests.
We spent three days here, exploring but also relaxing in this remote camping spot. In the solitude among the ancient lava beds, without distractions of TV or the Internet, there was also time to relax and enjoy hobbies: video editing (he) and piecing the rest of the blocks for the bed cover (me).
Tomorrow we move on to our next stop, the Alamogordo White Sands National Monument.
