You’ll Never Believe What Used To Exist In This Massive Desert In Texas
Big Bend is easily the most breathtaking natural wonder in Texas. Its mountains extend seemingly up to the heavens, and its vastness is almost mystical. Easy as it may be to assume something this magnificent has always existed, that isn’t the case. Scientists have recently discovered something unbelievable about Big Bend’s past, and you’re about to find out what it is.
Big Bend is over 1,000 miles of dry, mountainous desert. It's been this way for so long that we can't imagine it ever looking any different.
Recently, researchers have been scouring the area looking for fossils to learn more about the creatures that lived here in the lush greenery and rich soil. Among the ones they found are the Mescalerolemur, similar to a lemur...
Many rainforests are known for volcanic activity, and Big Bend was no exception. An eruption created Langford Hot Springs, a 105 degree spring that you can still visit today.
Despite the arid climate, Big Bend is one of the most biologically and ecologically diverse places in America. It has over 450 species of bird and 1200 plant species.
The park has several water pools formed from years of erosion during the rainforest times. They're one of the only water sources in the area - oases in the middle of a desert.
It's crazy to think that these dry, dusty mountains were once covered in lush greenery and saw more rain monthly than they currently do in a year. Evolution is a beautiful thing.
If you want to learn more about Big Bend’s interesting past, a Fossil Discovery Exhibit featuring life-sized replicas and real fossils is debuting next month. You can find more information on that here.
What do you think about this? Can you believe the driest place in Texas used to be a lush rainforest? I sure would’ve loved to see it.
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Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and changed her major twice (psychology, computer science, and finally criminal justice) before taking a leap of faith and dropping out to pursue a career in freelance writing.
Today, Katie writes for the Texas and Arizona pages of OnlyInYourState.com and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, watching a crime TV show or scary movie.
