The Most Scenic Areas at Big Bend
The Most Scenic Areas at Big Bend, When you enter Big Bend National Park they give you a map and a guide of the most scenic areas to visit in the park. You can visit all these areas in one day by vehicle, they have a loop that travels around the park to each one of these spots. Make sure to go early because this first one draws a crowd.
It is Santa Elena Canyon, an experience of nature that is beyond ones imagination and a photographer’s dream to photograph in the right conditions.
This narrow canyon is cut by the Rio Grande River. Texas is on the right side of the picture and Mexico on the left. Here the Rio Grande separates the limestone outcrops of the Mesa de Anquila, on the Texas side, from the Sierra Ponce, on the Mexican side. In places, the canyon walls tower 1,500 ft (457 m) above the river.
The photos do not do the canyon walls justice, if I was standing next to the wall in this photo I would look like a speck of dust.
Santa Elena Canyon is 8 miles (13km) long and 1,500 feet (450 m) deep. In some places the canyon walls are only 30 feet (9 meters) wide. The Rio Grande established its present course on basin-filling sediments that covered the rocks and faults we see exposed today. The river eroded through the surface layers and cut steep-sided canyons in the more resistant Lower Cretaceous limestones.
Today you can see those ancient limestone formations exposed in the canyon walls. A popular way to explore the length of Santa Elena Canyon is on a two or three-day river rafting trip that begins in the town of Lajitas,
The Most Scenic Areas at Big Bend
49 Replies to “The Most Scenic Areas at Big Bend”
Amazing shot.
Thank you 😊
It looks wonderful.
Thank you 😊
Gorgeous Pictures ✨
Thank you very much 😊
Nice
Thank you 😊
Looking nice
Thank you 😊
Hoping to go there before I die .
It is a wonderful place, go early spring or late fall, not as hot then. 😊
Really nice place.. 😍
Thank you Kartik 🙂
Amazing and I can see how you would feel very small in the enormity of these massive structures.
It was so amazing Linda, the size of it all is just breathtaking 🙂
https://youtu.be/Qsphkd5dsgg
Your photos are beautiful representations Sandra, but true, you can never capture the full wonder and enormity of it all.
Thank you so much, 🙂 have a wonderful evening
Magnificent! beautiful images!
Thank you very much 😊
We think Santa Elena Canyon is one of the prettiest sights in Texas. Thanks for sharing, Sandra!
I agree, it was bigger than what the photos can show. Have a great day Kellye. 😊
Magnificent! I’m so grateful for the National Park system which preserves views such as these from being developed or destroyed. Happy 4th of July!
Yes, thousands of acres left to their natural beauty. Happy 4th of July to you as well Beth.
It’s embarrassing to admit I’ve lived here in Texas all my life and never been to this national park. I’m glad you got to see it, though! 🤠
Well, you live in a big state. It would take a lot to visit all your parks. When I lived in Iowa I wanted to see all the state parks. Never did get them all in. 😊
As usual Sandra – amazing. Thanks!
You are very welcome, thank you and have a wonderful day.
Looking t your photos on this 4th of July, I hear the words of Woody Guthrie: ‘This land was made for you and me,’
Yes, so very true Don, a beautiful land it is. 😊
Excellent photos Sandra. Thank you. The Rio Grande is truly the Rio Grande. 1500 feet! One wonders how long it’s been since the river first began coursing over the upper layers of the canyon walls and how long it took to reach its current level.
It would be something to see how time has changed a place like that. The importance of water and how it has carved our landscapes into the beauty they are today. Water alone amazes me, rain from above and all the water on this earth. Where we live, we do not have a water well. We live out in the boonies you could say. We thrive on rain water collection. It is like going back in time. We do not buy water either, I don’t like plastics. But learning to conserve water and use it when it is bountiful is a joy for me to do. I still use a wringer wash machine as well. Most young people don’t know what that is. 😊
That’s great Sandra. You must have a great place. Rain water is excellent. Have a great 4th!
You also 😊
Impressive ! Great photos!àThanks Sandra
Have a wonderful day
You to Francine, thank you.
Your photos do a wonderful job of highlighting the majesty and immense size of these walls and this place!
Thank you very much 😊
Very impressive site !
It was quite the place to see 🙂
fabulous!
Thank you very much 😊
Wow! Stunning!
Thank you 🙂
top serie et infos bonne journée
Thank you Patrick 🙂