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=**El Malpais National Monument**=

In Leslie Marmon Silko's book, Ceremony, the reader is witness to Tayo's quest for balance, and harmony in his life after the war. Along the way, his journey takes him from his hometown in the Mid-Eastern region of New Mexico to places like Gallup, NM. When Tayo talks about lava caves in the area, I assume he refers to the El Malpais area. So when Tayo heads to Gallup with his "pals" Harley and Leroy on a drinking spree, he must pass a small town just off Interstate 40, called Grants, NM.

The El Malpais National Monument is located near Grants, NM (approximately 3.5 hours drive east from Flagstaff, AZ). The park was founded on December 31, 1987 by the State of New Mexico. There are many different types of geologic structures present at this location. There are sandstone bluffs, lava flows, lava caves, lava tubes, and ice caves... all relatively young geology. The area was first inhabited by the early Pueblo and Acoma people. Although both tribes are located on either side of the lava flows, there are a couple trails that link the two areas. The trails that wind around this area are marked by cairns, piles of rocks, which are used like signs to point a traveler in the right direction. These cairns along the trail consist are ancient in themselves, made in ancient times. Of course in more recent times, additional cairns were added when the park was open for tourism.

The name El Malpais is a term derived from the early Spanish explorers, meaning "badlands." This interpretation is a direct result of their initial observations of the land, which consisted of rough terrain due to the jagged lava flows. El Malpais encompasses about 114,277 acres of government protected land. According to an announcement of the National Park Service website, the Visitor Center will be closed to visitors for the months of December, and January, and will resume normal hours beginning in February. The park however, is open year-round.


 * Brochures** (all in pdf format):

For additional information, or to plan your trip, please visit the [|El Malpais] National Park Service website.


 * Works Cited**:

United States. Dept. of the Interior. //El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico.// National Park Service, 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. <[]>.

Silko, Leslie Marmon. //Ceremony//. New York: Penguin Books. 1977. Print.