EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA

El Malpais National Monument

1900 E Santa Fe Avenue

Grants, NM 87020

505 876-2783

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Notes:

4/2015
El Calderon Area

Trail Guide

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

El Malpais National Monument

www.nps.gov/elma
El Calderon Trail Guide

El Calderon Area

Hiking and backcountry exploring can be found in the El Calderon Area. 

The El Calderon Area is located 20 miles south of Grants on NM 53 and is 

generally accessible year round. To protect the fragile resources of the El 

Malpais National Monument please stay on the trail.

For more information, call the NW New Mexico Visitor Center at 505-

876-2783. The Visitor Center is open from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily 

with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Dirt Footpath

Dirt Road

Suggested

Hiking Route

Loop Distance:

3.8 Miles North
National Park Service 

The El Calderon Area offers diverse exploring opportunities. A gravel and dirt surface 

route winds past volcanic features on an easy 

to moderate 3.8 mile hiking loop. The primitive road leading west from the parking lot 

is accessible to high-clearance, four-wheel 

drive vehicles. Backcountry camping is also 

allowed off this primitive road.

Be adequately prepared for whatever adventure you choose so that your memories of El 

Calderon are good ones.

 Tell someone where you are going

 Carry plenty of water 

 Wear sturdy hiking shoes

 Be aware of changing weather conditions

 Comply with cave closures

Geology in Motion

The processes of geology are usually so slow 

that they cannot be measured in a human lifetime. Occasionally, we can see the effects of 

erosion or other processes after a good rain, 

or high spring winds, but this is usually the 

exception. However, there are some events 

that happen so quickly, their effects can be 

seen immediately. Volcanic eruptions are one 

of these events.

In 1943 near Paricutin, Mexico, a farmer noticed a crack in one of his fields sending out 

gas and ash. Less than ten years later a cinder 

cone 1,200 feet high towered over the field.

El Calderon Cinder Cone would have had a 

similar beginning when it was formed about 

115,000 years ago. A vent shot cinders hundreds of feet into the air creating the cone 

you see today. Rivers of molten rock created 

lava trenches and lava tubes. Since then, the 

changes have been less dramatic. A combination of vegetation and erosion slowly break 

down lava into smaller particles. Eventually, 

the area is transformed from a blackened 

landscape to the forested land you see today.

As you explore the El Calderon Area, try to 

imagine not only what the area may have 

looked like 115,000 years ago, but also what it 

may look like 115,000 years in the future.

Signs of Life

The seasons bring an ever changing array of 

life to the El Calderon Area. In the spring, 

look for piñon jays and the occasional snake 

or lizard basking in the sun. Summer brings 

warmer temperatures along with several species of bats that can be seen flying from Bat 

Cave. As summer progresses, wildflowers 

blanket the ground. Fall is a good time to spot 

deer, elk and other animals foraging for food. 

During winter, prints from coyotes, bobcats, 

rabbits and other animals are easy to spot on 

freshly fallen snow.

Remember to never feed or pet wild animals. 

It is not only dangerous for you, but also for 

the animals. Let wildlife be wild.

Exploring El Calderon

From the winding trenches that were once glowing rivers of lava, to 

the sloping hills of a long quiet volcano, you can imagine the forces that 

created this area. Where else, but at a volcano, can you see what created 

the rocks beneath your feet? This is where geology comes to life.

© 1999 Zackery Zdinak
El Calderon Trail Guide

 Junction Cave

Junction Cave is a lava tube created by the 

lava flows from nearby El Calderon Cinder 

Cone. At 115,000 years old, this is one of the 

oldest lava tubes in the monument. 

A Living Laboratory. In a 1995 study of 

caves in El Malpais, Junction Cave had more 

cave-adapted species than any other cave surveyed at that time. Most of 

the life in this cave is small to 

microscopic and lives in dark 

corners, under rocks and in 

deep cracks. 

Scientists divide the life 

found in caves into four 

categories: accidentals, trogloxenes, troglophiles and 

troglobites. Accidentals can 

be anything from moths to 

animals that find their way into a cave. The 

other types of cave life generally show some 

type of adaptation that allows them to use or 

live in the cave. 

Trogloxenes typically live above ground and 

do not depend on the cave for survival. Bats 

and mice are good examples of trogloxenes. 

Troglophiles may live their entire lives in the 

cave, but are not fully adapted to the cave 

environment. Some spiders and beetles are 

examples of troglophiles. Troglobites live 

their entire life in the cave and are completely 

dependent on the cave for survival. Special 

kinds of tiny, all-white mites and insects are 

two types of troglobiotic species found in 

Junction Cave.

Bats in Peril. A disease called White-nosesyndrome (WNS) is spreading across the 

United States. Although this 

disease does not bother humans, it has killed of more 

than 6 million hibernating 

bats so far, and threatens to 

wipe out entire bat species. 

The impact on North American agriculture may be profound - these millions of bats 

ate crop pests. Farmers may 

now have to use more pesticides to kill insects and grow their crops.

WNS is named for a white fungus, Geomyces 

destructans, found on bat muzzles and wings.

The fungus prefers cold, humid temperatures 

found in caves and mines. It strikes bats when 

they are most vulnerable—during hibernation. It appears that the fungus creates an irritation that invades the bat’s skin, causing bats 

to wake up and use energy reserves needed to 

hibernate. They then starve or freeze to death.

1

Researcher taking soil samples in a lava tube © 2011 Kenneth Ingham
National Park Service 

 Double Sinks

Just a few minutes up the gravel trail are two 

deep pits called Double Sinks. These steep 

sided collapses are about 80 feet deep and 

are formed where the roofs of lava tubes 

collapsed. They are home to owls, squirrels, 

and ferns. In fact, delicate ferns can be found 

in hidden, shady places throughout the lava 

flows where pockets of moisture are sheltered 

from drying summer heat and winds.

 Bat Cave & Xenolith Cave

Like Junction Cave, these are lava tube caves. 

Bat Cave's entrance is easily seen from the 

trail, but Xenolith runs the opposite way, underneath the trail and into the hillside to the 

west. 

Xenolith means "foreign rock," and refers 

to small chunks of white non-volcanic rocks 

found in the walls of the cave's lower passages. These rocks got mixed into the lava as 

it flowed over, or errupted through, limestone 

or sandstone somehwere else in the monument.

During the summer months, thousands of 

bats fly from the entrance of Bat Cave at dusk 

to forage for insects. These Mexican freetailed bats use this cave as a summer home 

and migrate south for the winter. Other bats, 

like little brown bats and Townsend’s big 

eared bats, live here year round and hibernate 

in this cave. Bat Cave is closed year-round.

Smoke Signals. A cloud of smoke circling 

toward the sky is what the nightly flight of 

Mexican free-tailed bats looks like. The flight 

can last for an hour or more without showing 

signs of slowing. However, in recent years, 

the circling cloud of smoke has been replaced 

by a winding tendril that lasts fifteen minutes 

or less. Research is underway to understand 

more about the monument's bat species. 

Please do your part in helping to protect the 

bats of El Malpais National Monument. Do 

not go into Bat Cave or disturb bats in any 

way.

Human use. Lava tubes have been used for 

temporary shelters, natural refrigerators, 

shrines, and even as a source for fertilizer. Bat 

guano is an excellent fertilizer because it is 

high in nitrates. Remnants of a simple mining 

operation are still in Bat Cave. Guano mining, 

even on this small scale, could not have been 

pleasant. Guano has a very distinct and unpleasant smell that you can occasionally get a 

whiff of from the trail near the cave entrance.

Beyond Bat Cave

As you continue along the trail, enjoy the view 

to the southeast. In the distance are the sandstone cliffs that border the east side of the 

monument. The hills in the foreground are 

the Cerritos de Jaspe.

Wildlife

What types of animals 

should you look for as you 

explore El Calderon? There 

are many. Although most 

wildlife is active in the early 

morning or evening, you may encounter several species of wildlife. Deer, elk, mountain 

lions, bobcats, coyote, bears, turkeys, snakes, 

and lizards all call this area home.

Tracks & Scat. Though you may not see 

much wildlife on an afternoon hike besides 

the occasional squirrel or lizard, you will 

probably see evidence that animals do live 

here. Many leave behind tracks, and other 

things as well - scat found along the trail 

leaves a clear sign of not only who was here, 

but also what they last ate!

2

3

Signs of life are everywhere if you 

look and listen closely. The staccato 

thumping of a woodpecker; the pine 

cone seeded and thrown out by a 

squirrel; the paw print left behind in 

mud by a bobcat. This is all evidence 

that life abounds in the “badland.”

© 1999 Zackery Zdinak
El Calderon Trail Guide

Birds of a feather. If you tire of looking at 

the ground for wildlife, look to the trees and 

sky. Say’s phoebes and western kingbirds 

dart overhead while flickers and nuthatches 

search for food. In the spring, listen for large 

flocks of piñon jays noisily going about their 

business. In the winter, look for the flittering 

of juncos and sparrows. 

Hawks and eagles, though not seen as frequently, soar high in the sky, circling on unseen air currents.

 Lava Trench

Along the dirt road and the footpath to the 

cinder cone, look for the deep winding trench 

that begins at the mouth of the volcano. This 

trench was created by a river of lava that 

swept cinder and lava several miles to the 

southeast. A trench is formed in the same way 

as a lava tube, but the roof collapses shortly 

after the tube cools. Because more water collects in the bottom of the trench, trees are 

able to grow larger than their counterparts on 

the top.

 El Calderon Cinder Cone

The loose, pea-sized rocks are called cinders. 

They are bits of lava that hardened as they 

were shot hundreds of feet into the air from 

a vent in the ground. As the cinders fell to the 

ground, they formed a cone shaped structure 

around the lava vent. There were at least two 

main eruptions from this volcano. One created the black cinders; the other created the 

red cinders. The red cinders contain higher 

amounts of iron and oxidized as they were 

exposed to the air.

How can anything grow in the loose, airy 

cinders around El Calderon? The cinders, 

as loose as they are, provide a good place 

for seeds to take root. The cinders may also 

retain water deep below the surface, providing ample moisture for trees, plants and wild 

flowers. There are, in fact, several plants in 

the monument that grow only on cinders. 

Bracken ferns, cinders phacelia and limber 

pine do not grow elswhere in El Malpais 

except on cinders. On El Calderon Cinder 

Cone, look for ponderosa pines, Rocky 

Mountain juniper and chamisa. In the late 

summer, primrose, Indian paintbrush and 

sunflowers are common.

Bombs away. Cinders were not the only thing 

El Calderon sent flying into the air. Lava 

bombs, some up to three feet in diameter 

were also hurled into the air. These rounded 

pieces of lava were formed when a piece of 

lava was ejected from the volcano, and solidified before it hit the ground. If one of these 

bombs hit a tree, it could wrap around the 

trunk and create a horseshoe shape. If the 

bomb spiraled through the air, it would be 

elongated, like a football. Look for these lava 

bombs around the base of El Calderon.

A point in time. The eruption of El Calderon 

is just one dot on a time line of events that 

continue to shape the earth. By the time El 

Calderon was formed, the area around El 

Malpais had already seen millions of years of 

volcanic activity. After El Calderon’s eruption, 

there continued to be volcanic activity about 

every eight to ten thousand years up until 

around three thousand years ago. Because 

cinder cones do not erupt again once the vent 

is plugged with hardened lava, El Calderon 

itself is no longer an active volcano. However, 

it is possible that there will again be volcanic 

activity in the El Malpais area. Will it happen 

in our lifetime? Only time will tell, but history 

reveals that it will be several thousand years 

before this area sees volcanic activity.

© 1999 Zackery Zdinak

flicker, Colaptes auratus

4

5
National Park Service 

Reminders of the past. Cinders, like guano 

from Bat Cave, were also mined from the El 

Calderon Area. Notice a hole in the side of 

the cinder cone. This hole, along with items 

such as glass bottles, tin cans and tools that 

occasionally turn up in the loose cinders are 

evidence of a cinder mining operation. It is 

not known how long the mine was active, 

but the cinders were probably used to build 

roads. 

 Fire Ecology

Wildfire is a naturally occuring and necessary 

process. Through tree-ring research, scientists 

know that low intensity fires occur in this area 

every eight to ten years. These low intensity 

fires clear dry brush and prevent large, hot 

fires from burning everything.

When European settlers came to this area, 

they began to put out all fires to protect grazing land and homes. Fires continued to be 

suppressed throughout the 20th century by 

land management agencies in keeping with 

standard land management practices. 

Because fires have not been allowed to burn 

on a natural cycle, forest lands have accumulated a high concentration of dry vegetation and other fuels. This means that fires 

today are generally hotter and larger, burning 

healthy trees that withstand smaller fires.

Restoring balance. Park managers are trying 

to restore the natural fire cycle to El Malpais 

National Monument. The blackened areas 

you see along the trail are from prescribed 

fires. These fires are ignited under specific 

conditions to clear excess fuel and allow 

healthy trees to thrive.

 Life on the Edge

Lava, though it may seem harsh and inhospitable, can create some unusual habitats. One 

of these habitats is actually found just along 

the edges of lava flows. Known as the “edge 

effect,” it is an area of dense vegetation. Scientists surmise that runoff from the lava and 

from the surrounding land collects along the 

edge and allows more vegetation to grow. 

As you follow the dirt road, look for the edge 

ef﻿fect. Aspens, not normally found at this elevation, grow along the lava edge and can be 

seen as you return to the parking area.

A Continuing Process. The volcanic forces that shaped this area 115,000 years 

ago are the same forces that continue to shape the earth to this day. From Kilauea 

in Hawaii to Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland, the Earth is alive with activity. The El 

Calderon Area provides an opportunity to see the evidence of these forces and experience one point in time of a continual process of change. 

Soon after a prescribed fire, grasses and 

wildflowers abound. The burned trees return nutrients to the soil and a healthy forest 

emerges from the ashes. One tree that thrives 

from the ef﻿fects of fire is the quaking aspen. 

Known as a pioneer tree, it is the first tree to 

start life anew in a burned area.

What is tall, fire resistant and smells 

like vanilla? The ponderosa pine can 

grow to heights of 150 feet or more. 

Their thick bark protects them from 

fires, and if you put your nose up to 

one and breathe deeply, you may 

detect the heady scent of vanilla. © 1999 Zackery Zdinak

ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa © 1999 Zackery Zdinak

6 

7