Big Bend National Park, located in Texas borders Mexico. The national park on the Mexican side is called Parque Nacional Ocampo. The national park is a desert area with very rich flora and fauna. This is unusual for a desert area, as it is very dry. This means that little water flows continuously through the park. To survive here, a species must be able to adapt to the conditions. One can enjoy walking in this park. In the park there is the possibility to drive off-road vehicles.
Table of contents
- General information about Big Bend National Park
- History of Big Bend
- Flora of the park
- Fauna of the park
- Other attractions in and around Big Bend
- Activities of Big Bend National Park
General information about Big Bend National Park
The park is one of the largest national parks in the United States of America. The total area is almost 3250 square kilometers. This area is mainly desert. In addition to the desert, there is also a mountain range. In addition to its extensive flora and fauna, the area is mainly known for its paleontology and geology. Fossils have been found that are up to 145 million years old. It is not known exactly how old these fossils are, but based on a C-14 dating, it can be determined which era they are from. Eventually it became known that there are fossils from the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods.
The Rio Grande, which is the border between the United States and Mexico, runs for almost 400 kilometers through the national park. This river has carved a number of deep gorges, including the Santa Elena Canyon.
The temperature here varies depending on the time of year. People often choose to visit this park in the fall or spring. This has to do with the extreme temperatures that one can encounter in summer or winter. In summer, days when temperatures exceed 40 degrees are very normal and in winter it can become very cold here, with temperatures around or below freezing.
History of Big Bend
Particularly special about the history of the national park is its geology. The influence this has had can still be found in the national park today. The geology can best be found in the mountain range, the Chisos Mountains.
What made geology so special is its influence on the life and establishment of various species of flora and fauna.
10,500 years ago, in the year 8500 BC, this area was occupied and inhabited by Indians. These Indians included the Comanche and the Chisos Indians. The Comanche entered this area via the Comanche trail”. Today one can still walk along this road.
European people have been here since the year 1535. At that time