Big Bend Hosts the Most Bird Species of Any National Park
This remote Texas park is home to a remarkable diversity of life.
Location: Texas
Established: June 12, 1944
Size: 801,163 acres
Chihuahuan Desert vegetation—bunchgrasses, creosote bushes, cactuses, lechuguillas, yuccas, sotols, and more—covers most of the terrain. But the Rio Grande and its lush floodplains and steep, narrow canyons form almost a park of their own. So do the Chisos Mountains; up to 20 degrees cooler than the desert floor, they harbor pine, juniper, and oak, as well as deer, mountain lions, bears, and other wildlife. A heavy rain transforms the desert: Normally dry creek beds roar with water, and seeds long dormant burst into fields of wildflowers.
The rocks of Big Bend are a complex lot. Two seas, one after another, flowed and subsided in the region hundreds of millions of years ago, leaving thick deposits of limestone and shale. The present mountains, except the Chisos, uplifted along with the Rockies, roughly 75 million years ago. Around the same time, a 40-mile-wide trough—most of the present-day park—sank along fault lines, leaving the cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon to the west and the Sierra del Carmen to the east rising 1,500 feet and more above the desert floor. In the center, volcanic activity spewed layer upon layer of ash into the air and squeezed molten rock up through the ground to form the Chisos Mountains some 35 million years ago. Molten rock also cooled and hardened underground later to be exposed by erosion.
Big Bend's topographic variety supports a remarkable diversity of life, including 1,200 plant species—some found nowhere else in the world.
People have passed through this terrain for at least 10,000 years. The human pageant in historical times has included Apache, Spanish conquistadores, Comanche, U.S. soldiers, miners, ranchers and farmers, Mexican revolutionaries, and international outlaws and bandits.
Did You Know?
At least 450 species of birds inhabit the park—more than any other national park in the United States.
Related Topics
You May Also Like
Go Further
Animals
- Cougar travels 1,000 miles in one of longest recorded treksCougar travels 1,000 miles in one of longest recorded treks
- Rare gray whale spotted in the Atlantic—and it's only the beginningRare gray whale spotted in the Atlantic—and it's only the beginning
- Why 'funga' is just as important as flora and faunaWhy 'funga' is just as important as flora and fauna
- Termite fossils prove mating hasn't changed in 38 million yearsTermite fossils prove mating hasn't changed in 38 million years
Environment
- Why the 2024 hurricane season could be especially activeWhy the 2024 hurricane season could be especially active
- Mushroom leather? The future of fashion is closer than you think.Mushroom leather? The future of fashion is closer than you think.
- This deadly fungus is hitchhiking its way across the worldThis deadly fungus is hitchhiking its way across the world
- Why 'funga' is just as important as flora and faunaWhy 'funga' is just as important as flora and fauna
- This exploding mine holds a treasure that may change the worldThis exploding mine holds a treasure that may change the world
History & Culture
- See the story of Jonah and the whale like never beforeSee the story of Jonah and the whale like never before
- This ancient mosaic offers extraordinary insights into the pastThis ancient mosaic offers extraordinary insights into the past
- These are the real dunes that inspired Dune—and you can visit themThese are the real dunes that inspired Dune—and you can visit them
- Meet the only woman privy to the plot to kill Julius CaesarMeet the only woman privy to the plot to kill Julius Caesar
Science
- Women’s bodies are understudied—but that’s starting to changeWomen’s bodies are understudied—but that’s starting to change
- Hundreds of tiny arachnids are likely on your face right nowHundreds of tiny arachnids are likely on your face right now
- What's worse than a hangover? Hangxiety. Here's why it happens.What's worse than a hangover? Hangxiety. Here's why it happens.
Travel
- A guide to Gdansk, Poland's regenerated maritime cityA guide to Gdansk, Poland's regenerated maritime city
- A taste of West Bengal, from curries to Kolkata street foodA taste of West Bengal, from curries to Kolkata street food