El Malpais Wilderness Study Area

El Malpais Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is a collection of independent tracts in Cibola County under consideration for formal Wilderness designation by the Bureau of Land Management. The largest tract features Little Hole-in-the-Wall, a kīpuka (island of fertile ground) surrounded by jagged lava-flow basalt, within piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine forest. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail passes through the WSA. Access is via Highway 53 south of Grants, near the Zuni Acoma Trail trailhead.