The Big Bend is part of the Trans-Pecos region in southwestern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

along the border with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, north of the prominent bend in the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

for which the region is named. Here the

passes between the Chisos Mountains in Texas and the

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that ...

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. The region is rugged, sparsely populated Chihuahua Desert, including the Chisos Mountains, Chinati Mountains, and the Davis Mountains. The region has well over of public lands, including Big Bend National Park (801,163 acres) Big Bend Ranch State Park (300,000 acres), Black Gap Wildlife Management Area (103,000 acres)Texas Parks and Wildlife
Black Gap Wildlife Management Area
(accessed Oct 30, 2022) and Chinati Mountains State Natural Area (39,000 acres)Texas Parks and Wildlife,
hinati Mountains State Natural Area
(accessed Oct 30, 2022) 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 marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. The counties are Presidio County, Jeff Davis County, Brewster County, Pecos County, and Terrell County.

References

External links

''The Big Bend of Texas.''
1920, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History

''West Texas Weekly''
a local weekly newspaper.
Visit Big Bend
an extensive website on the Big Bend region and attractions. Regions of Texas Big Bend National Park World War II Heritage Cities {{Texas-geo-stub

See also

References

Further reading

External links