Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas state park and International Dark Sky Park in Brewster and Presidio Counties, United States.
Big Bend Ranch State Park extends across 311,000 acres of Chihuahuan Desert with mountains, canyons and 37 miles along the Rio Grande river.
The land transformed from a working cattle ranch into the largest Texas state park in 1988, preserving its ranching structures and livestock management practices.
The park maintains traditional ranching operations with a resident Longhorn cattle herd, reflecting the regional agricultural heritage of western Texas.
Visitors can access 238 miles of trails for hiking, biking, and horseback riding, with primitive camping sites and accommodation at Sauceda Bunkhouse.
The park contains Madrid Falls, the second-highest waterfall in Texas, and houses most existing populations of the federally threatened Hinckley oak trees.
Location: Brewster County
Location: Presidio County
Inception: 1988
Elevation above the sea: 999 m
Website: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/big-bend-ranch
GPS coordinates: 29.53060,-104.15400
Latest update: May 13, 2025 05:31
Rock pillars and spires shaped by erosion stand as natural monuments across various locations worldwide. These geological structures, known as hoodoos, display different colors and shapes based on their mineral composition and environmental conditions. From the red rocks of Utah to the limestone formations of Turkey, these sites present geological formations created over millions of years through wind and water erosion. These formations develop through differential erosion, where softer rock layers erode faster than harder layers, leaving slender columns often capped with protective harder rock. Visitors find such structures in desert landscapes, canyons, and plateaus where conditions favor their formation and preservation. The color palette ranges from white to orange, red, and gray, depending on the minerals present such as iron oxide, limestone, or clay.
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