El Malpais Wilderness Study Area

The El Malpais Wilderness Study Area consists of several independent tracts of land under consideration for Wilderness designation, in conjunction with lands proposed for Wilderness within the El Malpais National Monument, which is managed by the National Park Service. One tract includes Little Hole-in-the-Wall, a kīpuka — a Hawaiian term meaning island of fertile ground — surrounded entirely by jagged basalt. The area is covered by piñon-juniper woodlands and open stands of ponderosa pine, and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail passes through it.