Description
The cliffs rise directly above the Trail 31.5 miles from Mesa.
History
Named for the rough, clinkery lava rock known in the southwest as 'malapai' or 'malapais' of which the cliffs are formed. Name proposed by Aubrey Drury (Southern Pacific Railroad) as 'Malapai Cliffs', but Dr. F.W. Hodge (Bureau of American Ethnology) recommended the spelling 'Malapais Cliffs'.