Big Bend National Park 2006

Big Bend is one of the largest, most remote, and least-visited national parks in the lower 48 United States. Because it is so hot in the summer, Big Bend is most popular from November through April.

There are three distinct environments in the park: the river, the mountains, and the desert. We have some pictures of all three environments in this album.

The desert blooms in spring and late summer. We have pictures of nearby Big Bend Ranch State Park in bloom in April 2007.

Big Bend National Park consists of over 800,000 acres of west Texas where the Rio Grande makes a sharp turn - the Big Bend. The park was established June 12, 1944. Before the area became a park, it was heavily grazed, farmed, and mined. The desert is still recovering from the damage to the environment due to overgrazing.