Big Bend National Park

The Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park are mountains of legend. Look closely at Pulliam Bluff in Chisos Basin, and you might see the profile of a reclining man's face. According to legend, this is Alsate, a mighty Apache chief whose ghost still roams the higher mountains. His campfire can still be seen at night, it is said.

The mountains are ideal for hiking, and many of the choicest outings begin from the trailhead in Chisos Basin. From the visitors center there, you can hike the Window View Trail to see The Window, where water drains out of the basin, or head down a trail towards the picturesque South Rim. On the South Rim, you will find a fine oasis of bigtooth maple, Douglas fir, and Arizona pine. This is the yellow Colima warbler's only home in the United States.

The other splendid part of the park is the region around the Rio Grande, which forms the southern border of Big Bend National Park for 118 miles. Canyon walls in this area range from 1,200 to 1,600 feet. Down along the river the thick subtropical vegetation forms a veritable jungle. Three great canyons can be found along the Rio Grande: Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas. It is always possible, along these junglelike stretches, for visitors to see some of the rarest wild felines in the United States -- the ocelot, the jaguarundi, and the jaguar.

The fauna and flora of Big Bend attract many nature lovers to the park, as the remarkable topographic variety provides a habitat for a surprising diversity of life. Here are over 1,200 plant species, many found nowhere else on earth, and more than 400 species of birds, which is many more than you will find in any other national park.

Desert vegetation covers most of the park's terrain; bunchgrasses, cactus, creosote bushes, and yuccas grow in vast profusion. Also abundant are sotols, bright green plants with sawtooth edges on their leaves that the Apaches roasted and ate. Fermenting the plant yields an alcoholic drink.

If you visit Big Bend in the spring, you may have the chance to observe the desert's transformation after a heavy spring rain. Normally dry creek beds rage with water, and dormant seeds create short-lived fields of wildflowers. Elsewhere in the park, the Rio Grande, with its deep canyons and floodplains, creates an ecosystem all its own, as do the cool Chisos Mountains, which harbor forests of pine and oak that provide a habitat for deer, mountain lions, and other animals.

Big Bend National Park Photo Opportunities

There are many sights to behold, with all the diverse wildlife and stark desert scenes framed by mountains. Here are a few of the views you'll want to capture with a camera:

Big Bend offers more than 800,000 acres of wilderness for exploration, making it a perfect destination for nature lovers. The stunning canyons, mountains, and desert are the result of volcanic activity and shifting land. Learn how these wonders were formed on the next page.

Hundreds of millions of years ago, first one and then another great inland sea flowed through the Big Bend National Park region, depositing thick layers of limestone and fossil-bearing shale. About 60 million years ago, mountains began thrusting up through the earth. At about the same time, a 40-mile-wide plain began sinking along fault lines. This left the awesome cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon to the west and the Sierra del Carmen mountains to the east.

Then, about 35 million years ago, volcanic activity began spewing vast amounts of ash and dust into the air and squeezing out magma, or molten rock, to form the Chisos Mountains. Some of the magma that cooled and hardened underground was later exposed by erosion.

Today, Big Bend remains a special place; it is at once desolate, haunting, and fascinating. Within the park are archaeological treasures, petrified trees, vestiges of prehistoric cultures, and unusual forms of plant and animal life. Geologically, the park encompasses some of the most fascinating and complex landforms on earth.

The History of Big Bend: Explorers and Inhabitants

Southwestern Texas is a wild land with a wild history. People arrived in Big Bend country about 10,000 years ago. They were probably nomadic tribes whose ancestors had crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia. The first farmers began cultivating the rich bottomland near the river in the thirteenth century A.D. These people may have wandered into the valley from Pueblo cities to the north.

According to legend, when Spanish soldiers and settlers arrived in the sixteenth century, they discovered a rich lode of silver at the top of a jagged mountain near a bend in the river where it had cut a spectacularly deep canyon. The Spanish soldiers enslaved the native people to work the mine, but eventually the miners rebelled, killed their Spanish overlords, and sealed the entrance to the mine so they would never have to work there again. Soon, more warlike tribes, such as the Mescalero Apaches, moved in from the north, launching lightning attacks on the Spanish settlements.

Later the Comanches made their way into the region, driven by encroaching white settlers from the Comancheria, their prairie homeland in northwest Texas. Skilled horse fighters, the Comanche warriors victimized both Spanish ranchers and Apaches, killing, taking slaves to sell in Mexico, and destroying livestock and crops. They eventually drove the Spanish settlers from the region. In 1821, Big Bend country became part of Mexico and, 15 years later, part of the Republic of Texas.

Despite a tumultuous history, Big Bend country today is a peaceful, if desolate, region. The unusual geology and diverse wildlife fascinate visitors who venture to this Texan outpost of natural wonder.

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