The 41,170-acre Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is a remote desolate area of steeply eroded badlands which offers some of the most unusual scenery found in the Four Corners region. Time and natural elements have etched a fantasy world of strange rock formations and fossils. It is an ever-changing environment that offers the visitor a remote wilderness experience. Translated from the Navajo language, Bisti means “a large area of shale hills” and is commonly pronounced (Bis-tie). De-Na-Zin (Deh-nah-zin) takes its name from the Navajo words for “cranes.” Petroglyphs of cranes have been found south of the wilderness area.

Photo: Raghuveer Makala - Bureau of Land Management 

On the most southern tip of Texas, along the shores of the Laguna Madre, dense patches of thorny brush rise among unique wind-blown clay dunes called “lomas” in the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. In a region of Texas some call the last great habitat, thorn forest intermingles with freshwater wetlands, coastal prairies, mudflats and beaches. Here, the endangered ocelot silently hunts within the brushlands, white-tailed deer browse on a banquet of plants, Aplomado Falcons soar above the grasslands and nearly half of all the bird species (including Green Jays in the photo above) found in the continental United States rest, feed, nest and or migrate.

Photo: C.V. Vick, USFWS 

Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is the oldest national wildlife refuge in Texas, and is one of a chain of refuges in the central flyway. Located on the high plains of west Texas, Muleshoe was established as a wintering area for migratory waterfowl and sandhill cranes. When sufficient water is present, the refuge hosts large numbers of sandhill cranes and a variety of waterfowl.

Photo: Wyman Meinzer - USFWS  

Sometimes considered “three parks in one,” Big Bend National Park in West Texas includes mountain, desert, and river environments. An hour’s drive can take you from the banks of the Rio Grande to a mountain basin nearly a mile high. Here, you can explore one of the last remaining wild corners of the United States, and experience unmatched sights, sounds, and solitude.

Photo: National Park Service 

When Spanish explorers first saw the terraced hills northwest of what is now Austin, Texas, they named the land Balcones. These limestone hills and spring fed canyons make up most of the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge.

Photo: Matthew High