Big Bend National Park
Location: Southwest Texas 29.25°N 103.25°W
Founded: June 12, 1944
Size: 1252-square-miles
Characteristics: Chihuahuan desert, Chisos Mountains, Rio Grande Border, Limestone canyons, Dark Skies, Hot Springs
United States National Parks
Our National Parks are truly magical places, each one worthy of multiple visits!
The world’s first true national park was created with the signing of the Yellowstone National Park Act on March 1st, 1878. The act established more than two million acres of land in Wyoming and Montana that “is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all persons who shall locate or settle upon or occupy the same, or any part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered trespassers and removed therefrom.”
Today there are 63 national parks in the United States and a total of 433 nationally designated sites across 50 states, the District of Columbia and US territories. Thes include national Battlefields, National Historic Sites, National Monuments, national Recreation Areas and more. In addition, many countries around the world have followed suit and established their own national parks.
Each of our national parks is unique and offers incredible experiences. Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon National Park are probably the most recognized of our national parks, but there are 60 more! Every single one is worth a visit, some worth more than just one visit! Describing our parks with words can be difficult. Images better convey what the national parks of the United States are all about.
Big Bend National Park
From the National Park Services site:
There is a place in Far West Texas where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. Here, at the end of the road, hundreds of bird species take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert. Tenacious cactus bloom in sublime southwestern sun, and species diversity is the best in the country. This magical place is Big Bend…
Big Bend National Park is a geological marvel evidenced in sea fossils and dinosaur bones to volcanic dikes that mar the desert landscape. It’s a world of species diversity from the meandering river corridor that sidles across the desert floor to the sky island ridge tops that reach for the stars. It’s a place where you can still hear the whispers of pioneers, ranchers, miners, and Native Americans. And it’s a land of borders—a place where countries and cultures meet.
Big Bend is a gift from those who came before us. Often referred to as Texas’ Gift to the Nation, Big Bend is famous for its natural resources and recreational opportunities, the park is also rich in cultural history. Native peoples lived in and/or passed through this area for thousands of years. Their presence is evidenced by pictographs and archeological sites. In more recent history (the last 500 years) Texas has been claimed by six different nations!
Ranches, villages, trading posts and cavalry camps all existed in the Big Bend in the century prior to the park’s establishment. A number of historic districts within the park protect the tangible evidence of human history in this region. Elsewhere remnants of solitary ruins, graves or camps also mark the spots where history was made.
Big Bend, with its long and rich cultural history, is home to many stories, tales and legends. While almost all the stories told contain some degree of truth and authenticity many of the tales and legends from the region are probability more fiction than fact. Human history in this harsh desert environment is a complex blend of cultures, boundaries, and the limits of economic and personal adventures.
With the brief descriptions above and the following pictures you’ll agree that Big Bend National Park deserves a visit. Plan on more than just one day to fully experience all that this National Park has to offer.
View of the Window from the Window View Trail
Stormy Sunset Through the Window
Mule Ears Peaks
The Balanced Rock
Double Lightning Strike
Sierra del Carmen Sunset
Desert Grassland and Volcanic Peaks
Afternoon Light Across the Chisos Mountains
Casa Grande and Window View
Boot Rock Formation and Crown Mountain
Rainbow over Casa Grande Peak
Santa Elena Canyon
View in the Canyon
Rio Grande Vista and Crown Mountain
Image Credits:
- All images courtesy of US National Park Service. Thank you to photographers: T. VandenBerg, Matthew Yarbrough, Jennette Jurado, Cookie Ballou, Reine Wonite, Ann Wildermuth