Where's the Volcano?

Where's the Volcano?. El Malpais National Monument. , Twisted masses of volcanic rock appear almost as if out of nowhere on the El Malpais stretch of Interstate 40. These rivers of rock are lava flows, which erupted from not one but several volcanoes within El Malpais National Monument. The volcanoes of El Malpais produced some of the most extensive young lava flows in North America. Have you seen lava flows like this anywhere else on your travels? , Layers of Lava , Five major lava flows that erupted from at least eight volcanic vents over the last 60,000 years dominate the landscape of El Malpais National Monument. El Malpais is part of a monogenetic volcanic field, an area of volcanism with multiple volcanoes that only erupt once. A future eruption at El Malpais would create an entirely new volcano and lava flow. , Lava Flows and Eruptions Ages. , McCarthy's Flow 3,900 years ago , Bandera Flow 11,000 years ago , Hoya de Cibola Flow -> 11,000 years ago , twin craters Flow 18,000 years ago , El Calderon Flow 30,000 years ago , Go with the Flow , Can you tell one lava flow from the next? As you explore the park, you may notice that not all the lava looks the same. These differences create an incredible volcanic landscape that is home to diverse ecosystems and unique resources that help life thrive in this unforgiving environment. , El Calderon Flow , Vegetation has had plenty of time to grow up over this older flow. The forest and grasslands of El Calderon support abundant wildlife, including many bat species that roost in lava tube caves and fly out on summer nights. , Bandera Flow , This wild-looking lava flow is dominated by blocky `a`a (ah-ah) lava and large lava tubes. The Bandera Flow hides several permanent ice caves that provided a year-round source of water to people for centuries. , McCartys Flow , The maze of ropy pa~hoehoe (pa-hoyh-hoy) lavas that characterize this very young flow stretches for over 30 miles. Soils have not yet developed on this flow, yet a dwarf forest of pinon and juniper trees still thrives in the lava cracks