The Chinati Mountains of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

are a small range in the high desert of far

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betw ...

near the city of Presidio. There is a pass through the mountains on Ranch to Market Road 2810, also known as Pinto Canyon Road, which connects to

Farm to Market Road 170 Farm to Market Road 170 (FM 170) is a highway maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in Presidio and Brewster counties in Texas. The route, known locally as the River Road, runs along the United States side of the Rio ...

at Ruidosa, Texas. Some believe the range derives its name from the Apache word ch'íná'itíh, which means gate or mountain pass. The mountains are primarily composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and are believed to be the remains of a number of explosive volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

-building events in the remote past. The mountains are generally not forested, but rather vegetated with grasses, cactus, and brush typical of the

Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lo ...

. The Chinatis were extensively mined for silver from the 1860s through the 1910s. The highest point in the range is Chinati Peak, with an elevation of . Chinati Peak is also the highest point in Presidio County. It serves as a major landmark for the surrounding area, and its dome-shaped hump can be seen rising prominently in the distance to the southwest from US 90 between Van Horn and Marfa. Chinati Peak is encircled by jagged desert peaks and rugged canyons. The summit of Chinati Peak is broad and relatively flat, but it is surrounded by cliffs and brush-filled drainages on all sides. Sierra Parda, at , is the second-highest peak in the range. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department received a donation from the

Richard King Mellon Foundation Richard King Mellon (June 19, 1899 – June 3, 1970), commonly known as R.K., was an American financier, general, and philanthropist from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and part of the Mellon family. Biography The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of A ...

of 39,000 acres in the Chinati Mountains in the late 1990s. Texas Parks and Wildlife is in the process of conducting multi-year surveys and development of the Chinati Mountains State Natural Area. As of 2022, access to the land is limited.Texas Parks and Wildlife
Chinati Mountains State Natural Area
(accessed Oct 30, 2022)

References

External links

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USGS Summary: Chinati Mountains caldera volcanic rocks, including Chinati Mountains Group, Mitchell Mesa Ignimbrite, and type area of Petan Basalt
Mountain ranges of Texas Landforms of Presidio County, Texas {{PresidioCountyTX-geo-stub

See also

References

External links