SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Overview National Park

Contact Information For more information about the Foundation Document, contact: [email protected] or 432-477-2251 or write to: Big Bend National Park P.O. Box 129, Big Bend National Park, TX 79834 Purpose Significance

Significance statements express why Big Bend National Park resources and values are important enough to merit national park unit designation. Statements of significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. These statements are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Significance statements describe the distinctive nature of the park and inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving and protecting the most important resources and values of the park unit. 1. Big Bend National Park protects the largest and most representative example of the Chihuahuan ecosystem in the , which includes the — the only mountain range fully contained within a US national park. The river, along with the springs, desert, mountain, and grassland environments, supports extraordinary biological diversity, including endemic and rare plants and animals. Big Bend National Park contains more species of birds, bats, butterflies, scorpions, ants, reptiles, and cacti than any other unit in the . Big Bend National Park preserves a large area of the , 2. Dramatic, diverse, and well-exposed geologic features provide opportunities to study a wide range of sedimentary, encompassing spectacular wilderness igneous, and metamorphic geologic processes in Big Bend character, scenic values, natural National Park. The three great North American mountain- building episodes, which formed the Appalachians, Rockies, dark skies, and the biological and and Basin and Range, intersect in the Big Bend region. geological diversity of the Big Bend 3. The numerous scientifically important and area, including the Chisos Mountains Tertiary found in Big Bend National Park record the and the and its canyons. evolution and history of ancient life from the Age of Reptiles through the Age of Mammals. The park preserves a largely The park provides for the benefit and intact 130-million-year slice of geologic time, including the recreational enjoyment of the public, extinction event. with opportunities to experience 4. Big Bend National Park is the core of a greater region in which diverse cultures interacted over a span of more than remoteness and the international 13,500 years. The park contains physical remains of human flavor of the US-Mexican border, and manipulation of the landscape and adaptation to post- Pleistocene climate change. The cultural history includes the works cooperatively toward binational long span of American Indian habitation and later contact management of resources. with European settlers. More recent history includes the military, farmers, ranchers, miners, NPS development, and modern uses. 5. Big Bend National Park, along with Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, two Texas state parks, and four Mexican protected areas, comprise one of the largest transboundary protected areas in North America, covering 3 million acres and more than 300 miles of the Rio Grande. The binational character of this remote and diverse landscape figures high in visitor experience, as well as management opportunities and challenges. 6. With over 800,000 acres of protected land, Big Bend National Park provides exceptional opportunities to experience primitive desert wilderness, undisturbed natural soundscapes, solitude, world-class dark night skies, clean clear air, and unparalleled scenic vistas extending into . Recreational and educational experiences include rare bird and wildlife viewing, river floating, international border crossing, , sightseeing, and camping. Fundamental Resources and Values Interpretive Themes

Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems, Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or or concepts that visitors should understand after visiting other attributes determined to merit primary consideration a park—they define the most important ideas or concepts during planning and management processes because they are communicated to visitors about a park unit. Themes essential to achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining are derived from—and should reflect—park purpose, its significance. significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure necessary • Acoustic Environment, Scenic Views, and Air Quality for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to explore and relate to all of the park significances and fundamental • Border Culture resources and values.

• Cultural Resources and History • The convergence of desert, mountain, and river ecosystems in Big Bend National Park supports a remarkable diversity of • Ecosystem and Biological Diversity life and provides abundant opportunities to experience and • International Cooperation and Regional Collaboration learn about the natural world.

• Physical Resources • Big Bend’s rugged and remote wilderness, spectacular river canyons, vast expanses, panoramic vistas, clean clear • Recreation and Education air, dark night skies, and proximity to Mexico provide outstanding recreational opportunities and inspire wonder, Big Bend National Park contains other resources and values reflection, and rejuvenation. that may not be fundamental to the purpose and significance of the park, but are important to consider in management and • For thousands of years, the Big Bend region has been a planning decisions. These are referred to as other important focus of human activity—bringing people together from all resources and values. directions, sometimes in harmony and sometimes in conflict.

• Research and Partnerships • Survival strategies and adaptations of living things in the Chihuahuan Desert are as wondrous as the environment is extreme—often defying our expectations about the ability of life to thrive in such conditions.

• Abundant fossils in Big Bend National Park, including some found nowhere else in the world, record the existence and demise of and the flourishing of mammals, enabling us to ponder evolution and our own impermanence in the world.

• Diverse, well-exposed, and accessible geologic features enable us to learn about the processes that shaped, and continue to shape the Earth and influence its inhabitants.

• Although the life-giving Rio Grande has attracted peoples for centuries, it also provides cooperative transboundary management opportunities for the United States and Mexico to ensure mutual benefit. Description

Big Bend National Park, the first national park in Texas, is in The park exhibits extreme climate contrast due to the range in south Brewster County and encompasses more than 801,000 elevation, which causes wide variation in moisture and temperature. acres, including 533,900 acres of recommended wilderness Altitude ranges from about 1,800 feet along the river to 7,800 feet in in the Big Bend of the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande flows for the Chisos Mountains. Annual precipitation in the arid to semi- 118 miles on the park’s southern boundary, through Santa arid climate ranges from 6 inches in the desert to 17 inches in the Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas Canyons, the deepest gorges mountains. Summer days often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) on the river. The river forms the international boundary in the lower elevations, and although winters are normally mild between Mexico and the United States, with the name Big Bend throughout the park, subfreezing temperatures occasionally occur. originating from the abrupt change of the Rio Grande’s channel This variation in climate contributes to the extraordinary diversity from southeasterly to a northeast direction. The park boundary in plant and animal habitats present in the park. is within the northern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert, which has the most precipitation of all four in North America Thousands of archeological sites record the presence of humans and one of the most biologically diverse. in the Big Bend area for the past 13,500 years, demonstrating their survival strategies and their adaptations to changing climatic The Chisos Mountains, the southernmost range in the conditions. The park contains examples (architecture, farming, continental United States, are completely enclosed in the park , ranching, etc.) of 19th- and 20th-century developments and rise over 7,800 feet above sea level. The popular Chisos that highlight the cultural interactions among the people of Basin, a topographic depression in the Chisos mountain range, the United States, Mexico, and American Indian groups, who offers spectacular panoramic vistas and a cool respite from the combined to form a distinctive borderlands culture, and a desert heat for visitors. The park preserves tremendous geological landscape exhibiting cultural change and the effects of human diversity, including marine sedimentary rocks, continental activities on the land. sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks, and evidence of the three great North American mountain-building episodes. Evidence In 1976, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural of geological processes readily visible at the park includes Organization (UNESCO) designated Big Bend a “Man and the sedimentation, , , volcanism, and fossilization. Biosphere” international reserve, one of only 28 in the United With over 1,200 known species of fossils, the park is in the top tier States. Binational collaboration with the government of Mexico of national park system units for resources. in the management of shared natural and cultural resources was strengthened in the 1990s with the

Unpaved road Trail Ruins S establishment of the Maderas del A N 385 North 0 5 10 Kilometers T Primitive road Private land within I A Rapids G 0 5 10 Miles (four-wheel-drive, park boundary O Carmen and Cañon de Santa Elena

high-clearance Please observe landowner’s vehicles only) BLACK GAP rights.

M WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA Persimmon Gap O protected areas. In 2006, these two U N T A Stillwell Store and RV Park Graytop I N S Visitor Center on Dog Cany areas were recognized officially as Trail d o a nch R 2627 TEXAS Ra sister parks, creating one of the largest a u ng Te r l i 118 transboundary protected areas in North Big Bend Dagger Mountain Stairway Mountain S I E America. In 2013, the Boquillas Port of National Park ROSILLOS MOUNTAINS R R A DAGGER Camels D r Packsaddle Rosillos e FLAT S Hump E v i l L I Entry was opened, allowing improved Mountain Peak i E R

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B n A Mountain o A e t CORAZONES PEAKS u c lat A L cooperative resource management ROSILLOS gger F L S Da O L O A d ld M R n G a Hen Egg U O E A d r l and research, educational programs, R i Mountain T e T O W R O CHRI N R STM I A Terlingua Ranch o S L L M O a e O d d and increased tourism opportunities

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TA L r LINDA I A N T G S Grapevine o d Fossil i between the two countries. a Spring o Bone R R THE Exhibit e Balanced Rock s G T E L E P d PAINT GAP l H l RA O N n HILLS i P N E N Y O a H EV ail C A r Slickrock H I IN r LL E T G Croton Peak S S Mountain e

n Government n o i I n T y Some of the many opportunities for u Spring v Roys Peak e E R e le n S o p p a R i Dogie h C R E gh ra O o u G l n T

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Panther Junction O A T visitors in the park include scenic drives O

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n d and mountain biking through miles

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Chisos Basin Lost Mine U T d Trail C N PROTECTED AREA 170 Maverick Pummel Peak a re S The Window o Junction V of paved, improved, and dirt roads, k R Sam Nail Lost Mine Peak ek T Dugout Wells A e C LAJITAS e k Ranch r ic Can B L A C r k Visitor Center e yo in n Nugent A L e e P v BURRO MESA La Noria E R Barton Warnock Museum e Casa Grande Trail S a Chisos Mountains Lodge Mountain a r Tule Y I M a large network of hiking trails, and

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T A i g horseback riding; engaging in river- U I y N D R l Ore Terminal N D ic rive o n IT E en H n i Trail O Luna's Jacal c S T S r Y E A O U N N s T S ) p N ey ra p I B CA M D n il Sotol Vista o S Rio Grande A im Dodson T Lo O S G o r Peña Ch l k ail untain T A S l ee Mo Overlook L E U r ter N n Q I L m u U e related activities such as floating the T Mountain C O Chilicotal Mountain X I ( n A a Homer U

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I T A w Goat Wilson O l Boquillas Canyon C A E x M G Overlook O S e a Mountain Ranch Ri Santa Elena Blu Daniels o Canyon Trail M Gr Hot Springs Ranch canyons or open water by raft, canoe, S an s A N d Dorgan House s BIG BEND NATIONAL G PARK TA EL e Cerro o l Rio Grande Village E R en N Trail TUFF d n A Castellan Mule Ears a S Elephant Tusk S Visitor Center NYON Spring O o p C A CANYON R r or kayak; birding and other wildlife S i I p n st a g Ea Castolon H Dominguez G Santa Elena Mule Ears Peaks Talley d R a C Mountain o River Access Mountain o SAN VICENTE a R k d c viewing; and camping in one of the four Cottonwood A Mariscal r a R e Visitor Center R l SANTA E Mine v I B i S ELENA A R E L Triangulation A D campgrounds in the park or numerous T M Station P U N A S Mountain R I I S E R C backcountry sites. The remoteness of iv R e r A Ro L R C ad

A E W M e il R SANTA ELENA CANYON Tra Solís s O R n the park and its distance from major t U o D y O N n a E T PROTECTED AREA C

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C roads, airline routes, and developed E o y A n L

a N UN n IT TAT C ED S E o Mar l is V y l A S ca i l n a a Ca r areas contributes to its lack of artificial U V E T c Ri s H m i I LA O r I A N M C a C UI EXI M T H E

A E HIHU N light and noise as well as its wilderness O C C T

E character and ecological diversity.