Malapai Hill

1.5 mile round trip hike up this LPC peak off Geology Road in Joshua Tree. It's isolation gives you great perspective on the vastness of the desert landscape and some great views of HOS peaks in the distance. Malapai is the term for "desert pavement," which is a desert surface covered with closely packed, interlocking angular or round rock fragments of pebble and cobble size. While I din't notice this desert pavement, I did notice the large amount of basalt. The exact origin of the landform is not known: it might have been part of an older volcanic complex, or it might have never penetrated the surface but cooled underground and then became exposed as the somewhat softer granite around it was eroded over time. According to Argon dating techniques, the basalt of Malapai Hill is 15.93 ± 0.08 million years old.