View from Overlook:
Ranger Station
Nature Trail Guide
Wildlife
By now you have probably seen or at least heard a
few birds. They are abundant in this upland desert.
Approximately 210 species have been observed
at El Malpais. Many of the more common species
can be seen around the Ranger Station. You might
not think there is enough around here to eat if you
were a bird. But take a closer look; Pinõn has large
nutritious seeds, Juniper has moist berries, and
there are many grasses and other hearty plants
to munch on. Insects, reptiles, rodents, and even
other birds provide plenty of food for the entire
ecosystem.
Some common birds you might see in the Winter
include: Pinyon Jay, Western Bluebird and Raven.
El Malpais
National Conservation Area
What started as a one-mile-loop walk to
stretch the legs has hopefully given you
much more. To learn more about the geology
of this area, see samples of the fossils and
formations, or identify birds and tracks you
may have seen, please come in to the Ranger
Station where the helpful staff can assist you
in furthering your knowledge of El Malpais
National Conservation Area.
Summer: Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Mockingbird,
Black-chinned Hummingbird.
Even if you didn’t see or hear a single animal or
bird on your hike today, you can still find evidence
that they are around. Look for tracks in the loose
sand on and around the trail. You can also watch
for scat. Identifying an animal by what it leaves
behind is an important tool for biologists. Elk and
Mule Deer have small pellets as droppings. Coyote
and fox tend to leave their scat in the center of
the trail as a way of marking their territory. It’s not
unheard of to see these tracks along the trail:
Bureau of Land Management
Rio Puerco Field Office
100 Sun Ave. NE
Pan American Bldg., Suite 330
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109
505/761-8700
or
El Malpais Ranger Station
505/280-2918
or
www.blm.gov/new-mexico
BLM/NM/GI-11-04-8000
Rabbit
4"
Coyote
2.5"
Elk
4.5"-5.5"
Bear
7"-9"
Leave No Trace: Plan ahead and prepare - Travel and camp on durable
surfaces - Dispose of waste properly - Leave what you find - Minimize
campfire impacts - Respect wildlife - Be considerate of other visitors.
T
he Ranger Station Nature Trail guides the visitor
through a unique landscape. Follow the 1-mile
loop trail to the right at the trailhead and look for the
plants, animals, and rock features described in this
brochure.
There are many interesting plants
found here. Look around for
plants you might not know and
check in at the Ranger Station for
more information.
Arroyo
Contact Zone
An “arroyo” is the Spanish word for brook or wash.
It is usually a dry river, creek or stream bed/gulch
that temporarily or seasonally fills and flows after
sufficient rain.
The first thing you might notice as you walk along the
wooden steps is a dip in the trail. Although there is
rarely water visible along this sandy, dusty landscape,
this area shows the effects of water on the land. El
Malpais has a semi-arid climate, getting between
zero to15 inches of precipitation per year. Some of
that moisture occurs in annual snowfall. However, in
the summer it is common to get thunderstorms that
produce large amounts of water very quickly. The dry,
baked land around you has no time to absorb such
rain, and deep “arroyos” are formed.
The edges of an arroyo can be quite steep when plant
roots hold down the soil. Look around and see if you
can find plants holding down the soil or debris that
looks like it was washed to where it is now.
PJ Uplands
As you start up the
switchbacks of the trail,
stop and take a look at the
plants around you. Most
Piñon Pine
of the trees found here
are Pinõn Pine (Pinus edulis) and One-seed Juniper
(Juniperus monosperma). You can readily tell them
apart by their leaf structure. These trees have adapted
leaves with small surface areas to avoid having broad
leaves that would be difficult to sustain in the baking
sun and dry winds.
The Pinõn Pine has adapted short needles (about an
inch long) in bundles of two.
Junipers have evolved leaf scales—neither a needle
nor a flat leaf, thus allowing them to survive the
elements.
You are standing on a geologic
timeline. Here, the Zuni
sandstone is from the Jurassic
period—about 160 million years
ago. It was deposited in a desert
One-seed Juniper
made from windblown sand.
The colors vary from yellowish-grey to tan. On top
of this layer is a “white zone,” known as a geologic
unconformity. Unconformities are gaps in the
geologic rock record. They are surfaces of contact
between older rocks and younger sedimentary rocks,
formed due to erosion or lack of sediment deposition
over extended periods of time. Most of the rock layers
that were once here are now missing. Where did they
go? The Dakota Sandstone above that is from the
Cretaceous period (about 80 million years ago). This
rock was once sand deposited by a vast inland sea.
The sandstone here is usually a dark to light grey
color.
Trail split
Here you have an option. You can continue in the
counter clockwise direction to the next interesting
geologic feature, or head south out to the overlook.
Adding the overlook to the journey will make it a
1.25 mile hike. Look further in the brochure for
identification of features seen in the view.
Slickensides
Now that we are walking along the top of this mesa
edge, we are reminded again of how this rock got
here.
If you look closely you might find ripple marks. They
are a little darker than the rest of the rock here and
some good examples are seen five feet to the right
of the trail. Ripple marks are made by waves when
this rock was still sand. In some places you can see
currents flowing in at least two directions, leading
one to believe that this was probably a tidal flat. More
geologic forces have been at work out here since 80
million years ago. Explore around and see if you can
find some smoothly polished surfaces. These are
called Slickensides and are produced by heating as
two rocks move past each other along a fault. There is
a rock with slickensides in the center of the trail.
Slickensides
Ripple Marks
Tidal Flat Ripple Marks
Fossils
If you found the ripple marks and slickensides, and
want another challenge, start looking for fossils!
Remember this rock was once under an inland sea.
Oysters and other bivalves can be found fossilized
and imbedded in rock of the mesa. You also might
find rock that looks like dried mud cracks. This is
called "septarian." Calcite has filled in the spaces
between the mud cracks. Remember to leave
everything you find for the next visitor to discover.
If you have no luck finding fossils, there are some
excellent examples in the Ranger Station.
Overlook
Before you start to head down the trail, stop and take
a look out across the valley. To the southwest are
black, jagged lava flows. The lava is much younger
than the rock you are standing on. The closest
flow, which is approximately 3000 years old, is the
youngest in the area. You can pick it out from the
other flows because it is darker and tends to have
a little less vegetation growing on it. Keep looking
across and you can see the Chain of Craters, which is
a distant row of cinder cones to the southwest. These
provide further proof of the volcanic activity in this
area. To the northeast is Mount Taylor a 11,301 foot
composite volcano. Have a good long look; depending
on conditions some of these features might not be
visible. See the sketch on the back of this brochure to
familiarize yourself with the area. Watch your footing
on your way down!
