Texas Park List
- Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
- Take a visit to Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument and you'll find yourself standing where an ancient civilization once lived, surrounded by colorful flint that was used to make weapons and tools. Alibates flint is a beautiful multi-colored stone that is only found in an exposed form in and around the park. There are 736 largely unexcavated quarry pits located within the park that reflect its long story of continuous excavation and use. Alibates flint was highly prized and traded considerably throughout much of North America due to its unique colors and its ability to be chipped into sharp cutting edges.
- Amistad National Recreation Area
- The International Amistad Reservoir was formed on the Rio Grande along the border of the US and Mexico. Amistad National Recreation Area encompasses the United States portion of the reservoir, which is bursting with exceptional water-based activities such as boating and fishing. The reservoir is surrounded by a landscape saturated with prehistoric rock art, a vibrant border culture and diverse plant and animal life.
- Big Bend National Park
- Big Bend National Park encompasses more than 800,000 acres in southwest Texas. Sometimes considered "three parks in one," Big Bend includes mountain, desert, and river environments. In just an hour you can drive from the banks of the Rio Grande to a mountain basin nearly a mile high. Come and explore one of the last remaining wild corners of the United States, and experience unmatched sights, sounds, and solitude.
- Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- Welcome to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, home of the world's finest example of a fossilized reef, a surprisingly complex and unique assemblage of flora and fauna, and West Texas' only legally designated wilderness. This hikers' paradise consists of more than 80 miles of trails scattered among woodland canyons, lush riparian springs, steep switchbacks, and rugged wilderness. Here, one can experience solitude, tranquility, and the joy of finding plants and animals whose mastery of survival renews our sense of wonder.
- Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
- Welcome to Lake Meredith, which lies on the dry and windswept High Plains of the Texas Panhandle. Magnificent 200-foot canyons carved by the Canadian River surround this 10,000-acre reservoir. The lake, contrasting spectacularly with its surroundings, was created to supply water to surrounding cities and to create recreational activities such as fishing, boating, waterskiing, sailing, sail-boarding, scuba diving and swimming. The backcountry surrounding the lake provides areas for hunting, camping, horseback riding, wildlife viewing and hiking.
- Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
The Rio Grande flows from its headwaters in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado for 1,865 miles to the Gulf of Mexico near Brownsville, Texas. For 1,250 miles, the Rio Grande is the boundary between the United States and Mexico. In a remote stretch in west Texas, the river makes a curve to the northeast to form the “big bend.” It is here that the wild character of the river lives on. In 1968, the Rio Grande was among the first eight rivers Congress designated into the National Wild and Scenic River System to provide protection and maintenance of the pristine character of the Rio Grande from the Coahuila/Chihuahua, Mexico, state border upstream from Mariscal Canyon to the Terrell/Val Verde County line in Texas downstream. The Wild and Scenic River designation extends for 196 miles along the river’s course. Approximately 69 miles of The Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River designation lies within Big Bend National Park. Recreation opportunities on the river include biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking/backpacking, picnicking, wildlife viewing, and horseback riding.
News from the Parks
August 18, 2008 - 4:49pm
Regina Jones-Brake remembers the day she met Lady Bird Johnson. Jones-Brake was 22 and setting type at the Benjamin Franklin print shop in Philadelphia's historic district. "I was called a printer's devil," said Jones-Brake. "I wore a mop cap and 18th century attire. I set type, I inked the ink balls, I wet the paper and I ran it through. I was so excited about the job that I worked on Sundays; nobody else wanted to work on Sundays."
August 18, 2008 - 4:29pm
A group of Boy Scouts from Maplewood on a backpacking and rafting trip near the Grand Canyon were evacuated by helicopter Sunday after an earthen dam failed and flood waters threatened their campsite. The six boys and three adult leaders were among scores of people rescued from campgrounds and tribal lands after days of heavy rains caused flooding along two creeks that flow into the Colorado River. "Some boys had enough time to grab their backpacks and some did not," said Bridget Lai, whose husband Michael and son Kyle, 13, are on the trip. "There's not a whole lot you can do about a dam breaking. There's not a lot you can prepare for."
August 18, 2008 - 4:26pm
Why go to a national park if you can experience one via an Internet podcast? Park officials across the country are hopeful the podcasts themselves will make people want to visit their parks. But if a trip just isn't possible, podcasts are seen as the next best thing.
August 18, 2008 - 4:21pm
A park service pilot on a routine flight over the North Cascades National Park service area helped discover a large marijuana farm worth nearly $48 million -- the first such grow operation found in a national park site in the state. Officials said the farm, which law enforcement officials raided this week, contained more than 16,700 plants. It was well established and resembled the elaborate grow sites run by Mexican drug traffickers plaguing national parks in California, authorities said.
August 18, 2008 - 4:16pm
Next year will be a big celebration for Zion National Park and all who value the majestic views that can be seen within this natural landmark. Zion didn't receive national park status until 1919, but it was recognized for its beauty in 1909, when it was designated as Mukuntuweap National Monument. According to "A History of Washington County: From Isolation to Destination," by Doug Alder and Karl Brooks, The monument designation came after a survey report by St. George resident Leo A. Snow shared the secret of what has become a place of sanctuary befitting its name.
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