US National Parks Codexery

Big Bend

A major river meander and the name of a Texas national park.

Last updated

Big Bend

via Wikipedia: Big Bend National Park · see source

Where it is

Coordinates: 29°15′00″N 103°15′00″W (29.2500, -103.2500) · Open in OpenStreetMap

Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Big Bend National Park (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.

Among national parks in the contiguous United States, Big Bend is considered one of the biggest, most isolated, and least frequented.[1]

Last updated 2026-10-07 from the source article.

Geography and history

All 801,163 acres of the park lie within Brewster County, Texas.[2] Desert surrounds the Chisos Mountains, which are described as sky islands within the park.[3][4] At lower elevations during late spring and summer, dry and hot conditions frequently push temperatures above 100 °F.[5] Winter weather is generally mild, though temperatures sometimes drop below freezing.[5]

Texas Canyons State Park was created by legislation passed by the Texas Legislature in 1933.[6] After Texas transferred the land to the federal government, Big Bend National Park was officially established on June 12, 1944.[6]

What the cited sources add

The U.S. Geological Survey has been investigating geologic, geochemical, and geophysical topics in Big Bend National Park to provide information for resource management goals.[7] The park includes 533,900 acres of recommended Wilderness and administers the 190-mile Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River.[8] Eight basic land-cover types occur at the park, including desert shrubland, igneous grassland, and limestone grassland.[8][9] In 1976, Big Bend was recognized by the United Nations as an International Biosphere Reserve.[10]

The park recorded 1,409 visitors in its first year.[10] Big Bend National Park was the location of the first U.S. sighting of the northern tufted flycatcher, a bird from Central America, recorded in November 1991.[11][12] Johan Udden's 1907 discovery of shark and ammonite fossils marked the beginning of paleontological work at the site.[13][14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Annual Visitation Report by Years: 2009 to 2019", nps.gov (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Brohi, "The Adventures of Archie the Traveling T. Rex: Big Bend National Park", Houston Museum of Natural Science, April 26, 2016; Erwin, "Calvin Huffman - Big Bend Champion", Texas State Cemetery (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Inventory & Monitoring at Big Bend National Park", National Park Service (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. "Inventory & Monitoring at Big Bend National Park", National Park Service. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
  5. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Big Bend National Park, Texas", U.S. Geological Survey, October 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: AN ACT To provide for the establishment of the Big Bend National Park in the State of Texas, and for other purposes. , enacted June 20, 1935. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Geological, geochemical, and geophysical studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Big Bend National Park, Texas", U.S. Geological Survey, October 2008. facts only, no text reused. pubs.usgs.gov
  8. Valentine-Darby, "Big Bend Bird Studies", National Park Service. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
  9. Kevin J. Gutzwiller, "Desert bird associations with broad‐scale boundary length: applications in avian conservation", Journal of Applied Ecology (2008), doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01450.x. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  10. "Texas' Gift to the Nation: The Establishment of Big Bend National Park", National Park Service. facts only, no text reused. nps.gov
  11. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Valentine-Darby, "Big Bend Bird Studies", National Park Service; Kaufman, "Tufted Flycatcher", Audubon, November 14, 2017 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Kaufman, "Tufted Flycatcher", Audubon, November 14, 2017. facts only, no text reused. audubon.org
  13. Wikipedia, "Big Bend National Park" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wick, "Paleontological inventory of Paleozoic, Late Mesozoic, and Cenozoic plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossil species from Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA - over a century of paleontological discovery", Zittel; "Big Bend NP: Administrative History (Chapter 11)", npshistory.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  14. Steven L. Wick, "Paleontological inventory of Paleozoic, Late Mesozoic, and Cenozoic plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossil species from Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA - over a century of paleontological discovery", Zitteliana (2021), doi:10.3897/zitteliana.95.73026. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Big Bend National Park (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in US National Parks

YellowstoneYosemiteGrand CanyonZionGlacierGreat Smoky MountainsRocky MountainAcadiaArchesBryce CanyonGrand TetonOlympic

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →