[3] The name El Malpais is from the Spanish term Malpaís, meaning badlands, due to the extremely barren and dramatic volcanic field that covers much of the park's area.

[6] El Malpais has many lava tubes; two are open to explore (unguided) with a free caving permit, available at NPS-staffed facilities.

[7] A nearby scenic overlook at Sandstone Bluffs offers spectacular panoramic views over the monument's lava flows.

Conservation efforts to preserve these lava-tubes are vital for safeguarding bat populations, especially in light of potential threats like White-nose syndrome.

[13] The area around El Malpais was used for resources, settlement, and travel by Oasisamerica cultures, Native Americans, and Spanish colonial and pioneer exploration.

[14] People of the Acoma Pueblo used to utilize the lava tubes that would collect cold air as sanctuary to protect them from the heat above.

Raptors including red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, peregrine falcons, great horned owls, and wester screech-owls may be seen.

[24] Moss and other bryophyte gardens also form in El Malpais, as a result of ice melting and dripping water along humid, cool, sunlit cave entrances.

[26] They staff the El Malpais National Conservation Area Ranger Station 8 miles down State Highway 117 south of I-40 Exit 89.

[27] The Cibola National Forest conserves large natural areas, wildlife, and habitats in the surrounding region as well.

The second portion of the 1932 book Brave New World by Aldous Huxley takes place on the "savage reservation", which is located on land encompassing the park's area.

Flint is a successful business man who thinks he is dying of cancer and returns to a hidden campsite within the malpais he had learned of in his youth.