Guadalupe Mountains National Park | Texas, Summary, & Facts

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref756773"></span>Guadalupe Mountains National Park</strong>, rugged mountain mass of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="uplifted" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/uplifted" data-type="EB">uplifted</a> marine fossil reef in the Chihuahuan Desert of western <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Texas-state" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Texas</a>, U.S., just southwest of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Carlsbad-Caverns-National-Park" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Carlsbad Caverns National Park</a>. The park, authorized in 1966 and established in 1972, has an area of 135 square miles (350 square km).</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="264271" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/220324-050-EDB130BB/El-Capitan-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/247603/264271"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/220324-050-EDB130BB/El-Capitan-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/220324-050-EDB130BB/El-Capitan-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park.jpg?w=300" alt="Guadalupe Mountains National Park: El Capitan" data-width="1600" data-height="1067" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/24/220324-050-EDB130BB/El-Capitan-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park.jpg" data-href="/media/1/247603/264271">Guadalupe Mountains National Park: El Capitan</a><span>El Capitan in Guadalupe Mountains National Park, western Texas.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The Guadalupe Mountains, a division of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sacramento-Mountains" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sacramento Mountains</a>, are part of the ancient horseshoe-shaped Capitan Reef that formed beneath a tropical ocean some 250 million years ago. The huge <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/limestone" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">limestone</a> reef, extending across portions of what is now <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Mexico" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New Mexico</a> and Texas, was buried by sediment; portions were later uplifted to form a number of features, including the Guadalupe Mountains. (Carlsbad Caverns National Park also is located in this formation.) In the park the exposed reef, with striking <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="drop-offs" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/drop-offs" data-type="EB">drop-offs</a> on its east and west sides, rises to a massive promontory called El Capitan, with an elevation of 8,078 feet (2,462 metres). Nearby is <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Guadalupe-Peak" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Guadalupe Peak</a>, at 8,749 feet (2,667 metres) the highest point in Texas.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="98153" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/71/94171-050-E8831D86/McKitrick-Canyon-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park-Texas.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/247603/98153"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/71/94171-050-E8831D86/McKitrick-Canyon-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park-Texas.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/71/94171-050-E8831D86/McKitrick-Canyon-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park-Texas.jpg?w=300" alt="Guadalupe Mountains National Park: McKittrick Canyon" data-width="1600" data-height="590" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/71/94171-050-E8831D86/McKitrick-Canyon-Guadalupe-Mountains-National-Park-Texas.jpg" data-href="/media/1/247603/98153">Guadalupe Mountains National Park: McKittrick Canyon</a><span>McKittrick Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Cacti, agaves, yuccas, lizards, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/mule-deer" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">mule deer</a>, and coyotes are found in the desert surrounding the mountain uplift. In the sheer-sided canyons of the range, especially McKittrick Canyon, the transition from desert to highland forest can be seen. Forests of ponderosa pine, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/aspen-plant" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">aspen</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/Douglas-fir" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Douglas fir</a> thrive in the high country; animal life there includes mule deer, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/elk-mammal" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">elk</a> (reintroduced), pumas (mountain lions), black bears, raccoons, and such birds as golden eagles and peregrine falcons. The area was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="inhabited" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/inhabited" data-type="EB">inhabited</a> some 12,000 years ago by hunting peoples, whose pictographs and fire pits still dot the mountains. Access to the park is largely by hiking and horse trails.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/national-parks-and-landmarks-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/86/174886-131-2C377F29/Mount-Rushmore-National-Memorial-sculpture-George-Washington.jpg" alt="Gutzon Borglum. Presidents. Sculpture. National park. George Washington. Thomas Jefferson. Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">National Parks and Landmarks Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":247603,"pageLength":266,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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