El Malpais - a waterpocket filled with water

This view in at the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook area shows a waterpocket filled with water in the shade of the cliff. The pools are also called potholes or tinajas. Summer monsoonal thunderstorms create pools in the sandstone that host spadefoot toad tadpoles, tadpole shrimp, fairy shrimp, and other aquatic invertebrates (Graham, 2003; NPS, 2009d).