Big Bend (Texas)

See also: Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park
Big Bend area map
Casa Grande is a prominent peak in the Chisos Mountains of the Big Bend area of west Texas. The view is from the Pinnacles Trail in Big Bend National Park.

The Big Bend is part of the Trans-Pecos region in southwestern Texas, United States along the border with Mexico, north of the prominent bend in the Rio Grande for which the region is named.[1] Here the Rio Grande passes between the Chisos Mountains in Texas and the Sierra Madre Oriental in Mexico as it changes from running east-southeast to north-northeast. The region covers three counties: Presidio County to the west, Brewster County to the east, and Jeff Davis County to the north.[2]

The region is rugged, sparsely populated Chihuahua Desert, including the Chisos Mountains, Chinati Mountains, and the Davis Mountains. The region has well over 1 million acres (4,000 km2) of public lands, including Big Bend National Park (801,163 acres) and Big Bend Ranch State Park (300,000 acres), Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (103,000 acres),[3] Chinati Mountains State Natural Area (39,000 acres)[4] along the north side of the Rio Grande. It is also the home of the McDonald Observatory. In Mexico, adjacent areas of protected lands on the south side of the Rio Grande include the Cañón de Santa Elena Flora and Fauna Protection Area (ca. 511,508 acres), Ocampo Flora and Fauna Protection Area (ca. 850,630 acres), and the Maderas del Carmen Flora and Fauna Protection Area (ca. 514,920 acres).

The largest towns in the region are Alpine, Presidio, Marfa, Sanderson, Terlingua, and Marathon. The counties are Presidio County, Jeff Davis County, Brewster County, Pecos County, and Terrell County.

  1. ^ Fehrenbach, T. R. (1985). Texas : a salute from above. San Antonio, Tex.: Texas Books, World Pub. Services in association with K. Weldon, McMahons Point, NSW, Australia. ISBN 0-940672-28-6. OCLC 12320665.
  2. ^ Tinkham, E. (1935). "The Mutillidae of Presidio and Jeff Davis Counties of the Big Bend Region of Trans-Pecos Texas". The Canadian Entomologist. 67 (10): 207–211. doi:10.4039/Ent67207-10.
  3. ^ Texas Parks and Wildlife, Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (accessed Oct 30, 2022)
  4. ^ Texas Parks and Wildlife, C hinati Mountains State Natural Area (accessed Oct 30, 2022)