The Carrizozo Malpais is a large lava flow on the west side of Carrizozo, on the northern part of the Tularosa Basin between Sierra Blanca and the Oscura Mountains to the west. The lava came from Little Black Peak, about 10 miles north-northwest of Carrizozo. It reached about 40 miles south-southwest along the bottom of Tularosa Basin in two active flows. Initial age estimates ranged from 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, but recent cosmogenic dating techniques revealed the eruption date is 5200 ± 700 y