Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park occupies the large southward bend of the Rio Grande in southwest Texas, encompassing the Chisos Mountains, the Chihuahuan Desert, and more than 300 kilometers of river frontage along the US-Mexico border. Santa Elena Canyon cuts through a limestone mesa with walls rising 450 meters above the river, producing one of the most dramatic river canyon vistas in the region. The park's extreme remoteness and elevation diversity support over 450 bird species, making it one of the top birding destinations in the continental United States.