About Santa Fe

El Malpais National Monument

1900 E Santa Fe Avenue, Grants, New Mexico 87020
505.876.2783

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Experience an Extreme Land
The primeval black basalt terrain of El Malpais was created by volcanic forces over the past million years. Molten lava spread out over the high desert from dozens of eruptions to create cinder cones, shield volcanos, collapses, trenches, caves, and other eerie formations. This stark landscape preserves one of the best continuous geologic records of volcanism on the planet.