Texas Canyon, Natural granite formation in Cochise County, Arizona, United States

Texas Canyon is a valley in Cochise County, Arizona, about 20 miles east of Benson on Interstate 10, lying between the Little Dragoon Mountains to the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south. It is known for its giant granite boulders: pale tan and buff rocks with rough, weathered surfaces, deep crevices and stacked, bulbous forms, with vertical pinnacles and balanced slabs along the ridge line. Dry brown and green scrub grows between the outcrops, and bare, pale rock slabs and dry grass lie at the base.

The Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route ran through Texas Canyon from 1858 until the Civil War halted the line in 1862. The canyon lies within Chiricahua Apache territory, and Cochise held his last stronghold in the nearby Dragoon Mountains in the mid-1870s. In the mid-to-late 1880s, pioneer David A. Adams moved here from Coleman County, Texas, and his descendants still run the family ranch.

The canyon lies within the range of the Chiricahua Apache, and in the mid-1870s Cochise made his last stronghold in the Dragoon Mountains just south of here. The Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route ran through the canyon from 1858 until the Civil War halted operations in 1862. In the mid to late 1880s David A. Adams, a Cochise County pioneer, moved here from Coleman County, Texas, with other family members; descendants still live and raise cattle on the old family ranch.

Access is easiest from Interstate 10, which runs directly through the area with rest stops for travelers. The landscape is open and exposed to the sun, so bring water and shade protection when exploring.

The granite boulders formed over more than a billion years through natural processes that created nearly perfect spherical shapes. These rounded rocks are uncommon and require specific conditions to develop through weathering and erosion.