Bat Cave and Xenolith Cave

Witness a bat outflight (ranger-led or on your own) at Bat Cave during summer months.

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

34.96, -108.0056

Designation:

National Monument

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

Bat Cave and Xenolith Cave are parts of a lava tube system created by lava flows from nearby El Calderon Cinder Cone in El Malpais National Monument. Bat Cave is an important habitat for bats, and during the summer, thousands of bats can be seen flying out of the cave at dusk to feed on insects.

Bat Cave

During the summer, thousands of bats fly from the entrance of Bat Cave at dusk to forage for insects. These Mexican free-tailed bats use this cave as a summer home and migrate south for the winter. Other bats, like little brown bats and Townsend's big eared bats, live here year round and hibernate in this cave. Bat Cave is closed year-round.

A cloud of smoke circling toward the sky is what the nightly flight of Mexican free-tailed bats looks like. The flight can last for an hour or more without showing signs of slowing. In recent years, the circling cloud of smoke has been replaced by a winding tendril that lasts fifteen minutes or less. Research is underway to understand more about the monument's bat species. Please do your part to help protect the bats of El Malpais; do not go into Bat Cave or disturb any bats. Learn more about seeing a bat outflight.

Xenolith Cave

Xenolith means "foreign rock" and refers to small chunks of white, non-volcanic rocks found in the walls of the cave's lower passages. These rocks got mixed into the lava as it flowed over, or erupted through, limestone or sandstone elsewhere in the monument.

Xenolith Cave is currently closed for resource and visitor protection. Learn more about caving permits and caving safely.

Human Use

Lava tubes have been used for temporary shelters, natural refrigerators, shrines, and even as a source for fertilizer. Bat guano is an excellent fertilizer because it is high in nitrates. Remnants of a simple mining operation are still in Bat Cave. Guano mining, even on this small scale, could not have been pleasant. Guano has a very distinct and unpleasant smell that you can occasionally get a whiff of from the trail near the cave entrance.