Big Bend National Park (redirected from Big Bend National Park, Texas)

Big Bend National Park, 801,163 acres (324,471 hectares), W Tex.; authorized 1935, est. 1944. It is a triangle formed where the Rio Grande runs southeast then northeast in a big bend along the U.S.-Mexico border, notably through deep canyons such as the Santa Elena. The river, the Chihuahan desert plain, and the Chisos Mts. offer sharp contrasts in wilderness scenery. The park has petrified trees, vestiges of prehistoric cultures, and rare forms of animal and plant life. See National Parks and Monuments (table). One hundred miles (160 km) to the west is

Big Bend Ranch State Park, the largest Texas state park, established in 1988 and covering 287,000 acres (116,200 hectares).

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Big Bend National Park

Preserve, southwestern Texas, U.S. It lies 250 mi (400 km) southeast of El Paso and occupies 1,252 sq mi (3,243 sq km). It was established in 1944 and named for the wide bend in the Rio Grande that skirts its southern edge. The park has magnificent mountain and desert scenery; it is home to more than 1,000 species of plants, and its wildlife includes coyotes, pumas, and roadrunners.

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Big Bend National Park

Parks Directory of the United States / US National Parks / National Parks

Address: PO Box 129
Big Bend National Park, TX 79834
Phone: 432-477-2251;
Fax: 432-477-1175;
Web: www.nps.gov/bibe/
Size: 801,163 acres.
Established: Authorized on June 20, 1935; established on June 12, 1944. Designated a Biosphere Reserve in 1976.
Location: Situated on the boundary with Mexico along the Rio Grande; park headquarters is 70 miles south of Marathon, TX and 108 miles from Alpine, TX via Hwy 118. Three paved roads lead to the park: US 385 from Marathon to the north entrance; SR 118 from Alpine to the west entrance; and Ranch Road 170 from Presidio to Study Butte, and then SR 118 to the west entrance.
Facilities: Lodge (é), campgrounds (open year-round; @di), picnic area, rest rooms (é), restaurant (é), visitor centers (é), museum/exhibit, self-guided tour/trail. Entrance fee required.
Activities: Camping, hiking, horseback riding, boating, fishing, bird-watching, wildlife viewing, float trips (outfitters just outside the park).
Special Features: Mountains contrast with desert within the great bend of the Rio Grande, as the river waters rush through deep-cut canyons and the open desert for 118 miles. More than 450 species of birds have been seen in the park, with large migrations occurring in the spring. The fossil record at Big Bend spans a rich history of 35 million years within the Cretaceous Period. More than 90 dinosaur species, nearly 100 plant species, and more than two dozen fish, frogs, salamanders, turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and even early mammals have been discovered here, providing one of the most complete pictures of a prehistoric ecosystem known anywhere on earth.

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See other parks in Texas.