The walls along the river are 1,500' tall!
This photo is from the Santa Elena Canyon in southwest Texas. This was a wild paddle for a few reasons. One reason was that the United States was on one side and Mexico was on the other. So, in this photo the land on the left is Mexico and the land on the right is the United States. This was a shallow area of the river where we had to get out and walk our canoes. The canyon walls are 1,500’+ of sheer limestone. This canyon having been created by the waters of the Rio Grande River. These rock formations were much larger than I was anticipating.
I was fortunate to explore Big Bend National Park in 2021. I was traveling with a group of friends (including Ben and Nick from WBP). We were camping in the desert for a few days and were developing a foul stench from the lack of bathing. The day we did this canoe trip, we all jumped in the Rio. It was an incredible relief from the heat and smell that weighed on us.
We did a one-day paddle, where you paddle upriver and eventually turn around and ride the river back. While we were paddling up river, we came across an aoudad on the banks of the river. What is an aoudad? There is a reason you haven’t heard of them. They are not found naturally in the United States. These invasive horned sheep are actually native to North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Asia.
Aoudad are a problem in this part of the world because they compete with the native desert bighorn sheep. So how did they get to Texas? Aoudad were brought to private game ranches in Texas. They believe aoudad have been in this area since the 1970’s. Since that time, the population has grown and spread. The aoudad we saw on the banks of the Rio had recently fallen off the sheer cliffs above, and died upon impact. This looked like a fresh scene, as the vultures were just starting to gather. Here is a photo I took as we paddled by.
Aoudads were brought to Texas in the 70s
Did You Know?
- The Rio Grande is over 1800+ miles long!
- This long river actually runs all the way from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico! Depending on how you are measuring, the Rio Grande is 4th/5th largest river in the United States, and ~20th longest river on earth!
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