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Valley of Fires
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The Valley of Fires Recreation Area is an interesting diversion on the long, sometimes tedious cross-state journey on US 54 - from El Paso to Santa Rosa on I-40 is 350 miles, along a route which passes much barren scenery of grassy prairie, stark mountains and sandy desert. The Valley has many square miles of buckled, twisted lava, part of an extensive flow up to 50 meters thick and over 45 miles long that originated from several volcanoes, including one vent now known as Little Black Peak, 9 miles northwest of the dusty, windswept town of Carrizozo. The lava is called the Malpais (Spanish for 'badlands'), a name also given to several other flows in New Mexico, including the even larger deposits of the El Malpais National Monument.
Lava: The Valley of Fires lava fields are reached by driving 4 miles west along NM 380 from the junction with US 54 at Carrizozo. There is a short side road ending at a campsite, on a small ridge which overlooks a large expanse of lava, extending to low hills over 10 miles away on the hazy horizon. The volcanic action responsible was relatively recent, only between 1500-1000 years ago, but the lava has become quite overgrown with grass and small bushes so the landscape is generally greenish rather than black, less of a dramatic spectacle than other Southwest deposits such as Sunset Crater in Arizona. It is however quite well preserved, with interesting geological features including lava caves, pressure ridges and various different types of lava flow.
Campsite: The campsite was completely empty when I visited one hot July morning; this would doubtless be a rather lonely place to spend the night. Apart from a 3/4 mile nature trail, opportunities to explore the area are limited as the surface is often very sharp and unstable. The southern edge of the black lava is only 14 miles from the start of the dazzling white dunes of the White Sands National Monument, just one of many striking contrasts in the state of New Mexico.
Hotels: The nearest main towns with hotels close to the Valley of Fires are Ruidoso and Socorro.
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Satellite Photo/Map: View above the campsite and trail at the Valley of Fires:
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