PLANET EARTH
Huge ancient lava flow seen from space
WORDS HARRY BAKER
The Carrizozo Malpaís lava flow in the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico
Did you know?
The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest in North America
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has snapped a stunning photo of an ancient lava flow stretching across the desert in New Mexico. From above, the frozen river of volcanic rock looks like a dark scar carved into the surrounding desert. The basaltic lava flow, known as the Carrizozo Malpaís, covers around 130 square miles and is around 50 miles long. It’s located near Carrizozo, a city in the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico, and is one of the largest lava flows to have formed on Earth in the past 10,000 years. The eruption that birthed the Carrizozo Malpaís began around 5,000 years ago and lasted for between 20 and 30 years. During that time, magma slowly trickled out of the ground from a subsurface shield volcano, which has since become dormant. Insulated lava tubes beneath the surface spread the molten rock out over an unusually large area.