Mountains of the Big Bend Country

The mountains in the Big Bend country are very scenic.  They rise out of the desert to lofty summits.  Some of the peaks reach about 8,000' feet.  A few of the bigger ranges have enough mass to become "sky islands" with a cooler, wetter climate.  The Chisos being the best example in the park.

Here are a few images of some of the peaks and ranges in the area that stand out and make a great subject for an image.

Tule Mountain is a solitary butte near the west entrance of the park.  Geologically it is related to Burro Mesa and the Chisos to the west but became isolated by faulting and blocking that lowered the surrounding landscape.  It is a great image when one is near the Maverick Mountain and Badlands by the west entrance.  Here I captured it with the Big Bend entrance sign.

The Chisos are the main mountain range in the park.  In fact Big Bend is the only national park to contain an entire mountain range-the Chisos.  They are a classic sky island with pines, aspen, maples, and even black bears in their heights.  This is the view from close to Panther Junction looking up at the range.  The Chisos make a great subject from any direction and can be a great subject any time of day.

Finally a third peak.  This one is actually north of the park-Santiago Peak.  It can be seen from both US-385 between Persimmon Gap and Marathon as well as off Texas 118 south of Alpine.  This is the view near Persimmon Gap in the morning as I was driving into the park.

These are just a few of the great mountain views in the park.  Visit and you will be amazed at landscape potential of these desert peaks.