• Sierra del Carmen

    Big Bend

    National Park Texas

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  • PANTHER JUNCTION VISITOR CENTER TEMPORARY CLOSURE

    The Panther Junction Visitor Center will be closed Tuesday May 28 and Wednesday May 29 for needed maintenance. Information, backcountry permits, and entrance fee payments can be taken care of at the Chisos Basin Visitor Center.

Historic Photos

Natt N. Dodge Photographs
Natt Dodge, a park service biologist, visited the Big Bend a number of times between 1944 and 1949, and took a number of photographs while he was here. These color images provide a glimpse of the appearance and condition of Big Bend in its early years as a National Park.

All photographs by Natt N. Dodge, courtesy of the National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection.
 
Civilian Conservation Corps
From 1934-37 and 1940-42, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operated a camp in the Chisos Basin, developing facilities for the future national park. These photographs capture the life and work of the men who served in the camp.
 

Robert T. Hill Photographs, 1899
In October 1899, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) geologist Robert T. Hill led a six man expedition to explore and document the canyons of the Rio Grande. Hill's photographs capture Big Bend just before the twentieth century.

All photos are in the collection of the U.S. Geological Survey Photographic Library.

 

Did You Know?

A vast desert landscape

In 1535, prior to settlement, the Spanish adventurer Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca is credited with being the first European to visit the Big Bend Country. The Spanish had a name for such an area - despoblado, or unpopulated land. More...