In this episode of Exploring the National Parks, we are sharing 5 fun facts about Big Bend National Park! We recently shared our favorite activities and places to stay in this park, and today we are sharing some incredible fun facts.
Known as a geologist’s paradise and nightmare, we are so excited to share all of the things that make this place so cool. Join us as we explore this chaotic and fascinating park!
Join us as we discuss:
- The massive events this park has been a part of in the last 340 million years
- The one thing Big Bend has that other national parks don’t
- What makes the fossils at Big Bend so unique
- The vast amount of species living in this national park
- What makes the human history in this park so fascinating
From the plants, animals, and geology to the human history, there is so much to appreciate about this one-of-a-kind national park. Catch the full podcast episode to hear all the details so you know what to look for on your visit to Big Bend!
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:
Big Bend Fun Facts
1: Big Bend’s geological history is messy and chaotic
In the last 340 million years, Big Bend has been part of at least three major mountain-building events, covered by two oceans, blown up by volcanos, and dropped thousands of feet. Big Bend really embraces the chaos!
Despite the park having mostly shades of brown rocks that we couldn’t tell apart, geologists have pieced together the puzzle of Big Bend’s history over time. If you can believe it, Big Bend is a part of three mountain formations!
During the formation of the supercontinent Pangea, a tectonic plate collision crumpled up the land like a snow plow. A new mountain range formed from the Appalachian Mountains all the way to Big Bend, known as the Ouachita Mountains.
Of course, if you drive through Texas now, you won’t see the Ouachita Mountains as they first existed. They’ve been lost over time to erosion and tectonic forces. Big Bend is the only remaining evidence of this mountain range in Texas.
In another tectonic collision, the Rocky Mountains formed, making Big Bend the southernmost point of the range. You can visit this point at Mariscal Mountain.
The third mountain range, the Chisos, was formed by volcanoes, which leads us to our next fun fact…
2: Big Bend is the only National Park with its very own mountain range
The Chisos Mountains are contained entirely within the boundaries of the park. They formed between 42 to 25 million years ago. Not even Grand Teton has this claim to fame!
Many other mountains we see were formed by extreme pressure on sediment that morphed into rock. The Chisos stand tall because they were created by magma chambers rising to the surface. These strong volcanic rocks have eroded incredibly slowly compared to other mountain ranges.
Take a close look at the rocks next time you visit Big Bend. The volcanic rock in the Chisos is a reddish color. Ash that fell and accumulated around this same period is called tuff and, very appropriately, can be seen in Tuff Canyon in the park when the trail reopens.
For more tips on what to see when you visit Big Bend, check out our post, 10 Things You Can’t Miss On Your Visit To Big Bend.
3: Big Bend preserves fossils from a longer span of time than any other National Park unit
Other parks with fossils typically cover about 10 million years; Big Bend has 130 million years worth of fossils! There are over 1,200 fossil species in Big Bend’s fossil record, going back to the ice ages, the entire age of mammals, the extinction of dinosaurs, and then 35 million more years.
You can see the K-T layer separating the age of reptiles and mammals in the park. Some of the highest quality and largest fossils have been found in Big Bend through all the geological chaos.
Over 90 dinosaur species have been found here, including the Texas-named Alamosaurus sanjuanensis. The largest flying creature of all time, Quetzalcoatlus, was also found here and can be seen in the Fossil Discovery Exhibit. It had a wingspan of 36 to 39 feet!
If you think fossils are cool, Big Bend is the place for you! We talk more about the incredible things you can see in Episode 60: Exploring Big Bend.
4: Big Bend has more types of birds, bats, butterflies, ants, scorpions, and cacti than any other National Park in the United States
Desert, mountains, river. These are the three distinct ecosystems you’ll run into in Big Bend, and each has its incredible facts.
The largest desert in Big Bend is the Chihuahuan, which is also the wettest of North America’s four deserts. It boasts the greatest diversity of plants of any desert on Earth! Big Bend also has the most cacti of any National Park.
The temperature in the mountains can be 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the desert floor below. They support their own unique ecosystems with distinct plants from what you’ll find only a few miles away. When you drive to Big Bend, it’s impressive how distinct the mountains are from the surrounding desert!
The Rio Grande provides year-round water that serves as the park’s lifeblood. Big Bend has more bird species than any other National Park. Birds coming from Central America and North America stop right here in Big Bend before continuing. There are more than 450 species of birds in the park, but only 56 species stay year-round.
If you get to Big Bend and are underwhelmed, you need to just keep digging!
5: Big Bend has changed hands more than most other National Parks
First, there were the Paleo Indians, the great hunters who moved around to hunt giant sloths and mammoths. During the archaic period, people were primarily nomadic.
About 1,000 years ago, the Spanish arrived and kept a written record that has survived to today. Before they arrived, many Native American tribes lived in the area that would become Big Bend – the Chisos, the Apache, and the Comanche.
The Comanche rode their horses through the park and into Mexico annually on the Comanche Trail. Make sure you catch the full podcast episode to hear the details of this incredible time in history!
Over time, Spain, Mexico, France, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America have flown their flags at Big Bend. In total, there are 26,000 archaeological sites in Big Bend, reflecting the area’s rich human history.
By 1933, Big Bend had become a state park, and the Civilian Conservation Corps had arrived to build roads and buildings just one year later. Ten years after becoming a state park, three men raised $600,000 to buy the remaining land needed to create Big Bend National Park.
Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Head over to our Facebook or Instagram and participate in our poll. We want to know what part of Big Bend you are most excited to see!
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Big Bend
- Geology of Big Bend
- The Chisos Mountains
- Tuff Canyon
- Fossils in Big Bend
- The K-T Boundary
- Alamosaurus sanjuanensis
- Quetzalcoatlus
- Wildlife in Big Bend
- Big Bend’s Ecosystems
- Birds of Big Bend
- Human History of Big Bend
- The Establishment of Big Bend National Park
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Although the Spanish arrived in North America in 1492, they did not reach further inland into what is now the United States until at least 50 or so years later. Hence they probably arrived closer to 500 years ago in what us now Texas, not 1,000 years as stated in this otherwise informative article.
Thank you for the info!!