Carrizozo Malpais

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The Carrizozo Malpais is the long dark streak across the bottom half of the image. The red arrowhead marks the location of Trinity site. Sierra Blanca is visible at lower right, and the low ridge towards the top of the photo is the Oscura Mountains. Credit: NASA Astronaut photograph ISS008-E-5604, taken at an altitude of 198 miles.

The Carrizozo Malpais is a large lava flow on the west side of Carrizozo, New Mexico, on the northern part of the Tularosa Basin between Sierra Blanca to the southeast and the Oscura Mountains to the west.

The lava making up the flow came from Little Black Peak, about 10 miles north-northwest of Carrizozo, and went about 40 miles south-southwest down the bottom of Tularosa Basin in a series of recent (the last 10,000-15,000 years ago) active flows. At their southern end, the lava flows are about 12 miles north of the dune fields of White Sands National Monument.

The Valley of Fires Recreation Area provides access to the malpais on its east edge, about 3 miles west of Carrizozo on U.S. Route 380. There are several scenic overlooks through the area where the highway crosses the malpais, and entire extent of the flow can be seen from higher elevations to the east on U.S. Route 380.