Last updated: June 23, 2025
Place
Volcanic Origins Exhibit
NPS/CA Hoyt
Quick Facts
Location:
Big Bend National Park
Amenities
5 listed
Accessible Sites, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible
This exhibit tells the story of the volcanic activity that formed the Chisos Mountains.
The text reads, "Volcanic eruptions between 17 million and 38 million years ago formed the Chisos Mountains. Geologists believe that some mountain peaks, including Emory Peak and Casa Grande, may have been volcanic vents that spewed gases, rocks, ash, and lava in violent eruptions. In other areas, thick lava oozed up slowly through huge fissures and hardened into enormous rounded mounds known as lava domes.
Following the volcanic activity, millions of years of erosion wore down these mountains and partially filled the Basin with sediments. Now the sediments are being eroded and carried out of the Basin through the Window.Caption: Volcanic activity similar to that of Mount Saint Helens formed the Chisos Mountains. Places identified: Casa Grande, Toll Mountain, Emory Peak, Ward Mountain, Window, and Vernon Bailey Peak.
The text reads, "Volcanic eruptions between 17 million and 38 million years ago formed the Chisos Mountains. Geologists believe that some mountain peaks, including Emory Peak and Casa Grande, may have been volcanic vents that spewed gases, rocks, ash, and lava in violent eruptions. In other areas, thick lava oozed up slowly through huge fissures and hardened into enormous rounded mounds known as lava domes.
Following the volcanic activity, millions of years of erosion wore down these mountains and partially filled the Basin with sediments. Now the sediments are being eroded and carried out of the Basin through the Window.Caption: Volcanic activity similar to that of Mount Saint Helens formed the Chisos Mountains. Places identified: Casa Grande, Toll Mountain, Emory Peak, Ward Mountain, Window, and Vernon Bailey Peak.