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Big Bend National Park
Welcome to Big Bend National Park, located on the banks of the Rio Grande River and the U.S./Mexico border in southern Texas. Lon Garrison described Big Bend National Park as, "A land of strong beauty, often savage and always imposing."
Park History: The first human inhabitants of the land that is today's Big Bend National Park were Native Americans who first arrived thousands of years ago. Some of their paintings and carvings can still be found in Big Bend Today. In more recent history this land belonged to Mexico and many of the Mexican inhabitants were cowboys and ranchers who raised a special breed of longhorn cattle that was well adapted to the dry desert conditions. The late 19th century saw the arrival of many Anglo-Americans who imposed a new system that was both foreign and discriminatory towards the resident Mexicans. Some of the Mexicans chose to work with the new Anglo-American settlers and help them get to know the region while others refused to work with them. The men who settled near the river were fortunate to be able to farm year round but those who were located away from the river had to resort to seasonal farming. In 1898, a mine opened up on the Mexican side that ultimately shipped a large amount of lead, zinc, and silver via a newly built tramway to the U.S. side.
The mines operations were shut down when World War I started, and the man who first advocated for the creation of Big Bend National Park, was a soldier who served on the U.S. Mexico border during this war, Joseph Pickens Harris III. While on duty Pickens was astounded by the beauty of this landscape and soon advocated for park status protection. His wish was granted in 1944 while he was serving his country with the Censorship Office in El Paso and Department of the Navy in New York City during World War II. After the war ended Harris soon became ill and passed away in 1960 and was buried in El Paso. His legacy as an advocate for Big Bend will always be remembered.
Flora and Fauna: The beautiful desert landscape of Big Bend National Park with it's wide range of elevations helps protect the home of over 1,200 species of plants, 450 species of birds, 56 species of reptiles, 11 species of ambhibians, 40 species of fish, 75 species of mammals, and over 3,600 species of insects. Big Bend boasts more species of bats, cacti, and birds than any of the other U.S. National Parks. Many of the species found inside Big Bend are not found at higher latitudes but range as far south as the tropical regoins of Latin America. Just a few of these thousands of species inside this park include dog cholla cacti, yuccas, giant daggers, douglas firs, ponderosa pines, among the plant group. Among the many animals there are swallowtails, monarch butterflies, lubber grasshoppers (which can be 3 inches long), bumblebees, yucca moths, garter snakes, rat snakes, Texas horned lizards, box turtles, black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, great horned owls, and peregrine falcons. Please treat their home with respect.
For the lover of the outdoors Big Bend boasts over 150 miles of trails, rafting on the Rio Grande, magnificent bird-watching, and so much more. Come on out and explore.