Big Bend Ranch State Park

     This 45-mile wide scene from May 3rd, 1994 spans the Texas Mexico border, marked by the Rio Grande running diagonally across the scene from the top right. The sister towns of Presidio, Texas and Ojinaga, Mexico lie along the river at the northwest corner of the scene.  Big Bend Ranch State Park, the biggest state park in Texas at over 300,00 acres, lies within the Trans-Pecos ecoregion and encompasses diverse subregions ranging from desert grasslands and scrub to river woodlands in stream valleys and juniper woodlands at higher elevations. All host biodiverse Chihuahuan Desert plants and animals. Mountain lions, brown bears, javelinas and restored population of bighorn sheep are just a few of the iconic species found in the Park. The Park served Native Americans for over 10,000 years, as evidenced by hundreds of campsites, shelters, and rock art. The Park has also been designated as an International Dark Sky Park,  and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department maintain lighting restriction to achieve the highest rating for darkest skies that promote viewing the stars and other celestial objects.

     The Solitario Dome on the eastern margin of the Park is just one indicator of the long geologic history of the park. Fairly young in the 500-million year history of Park geology, it was uplifted over 35 million years ago by magma intrusion during a volcanic episode. Erosion has revealed the dome-shaped structure.

     Across the border in Chihuahuan State of Mexico, the Parque Nacional Canon de Santa Elena protect plants and animals including the black bear, peregrine falcon, and beaver, natives of the Chihuahuan Desert.

Big Bend Ranch State Park is located at:

Latitude: 29.470458

Longitude: -103.957922