In terms of both population and size, Texas is the second-largest state in the US. It borders the US states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico and is situated in its south-central region. Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico both border Texas.
Due to its enormous area, Mexico has a diverse range of landforms, including deserts, prairies, grasslands, coastlines, and woods. The Texas national parks and other state-protected natural places are mentioned here.
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1. Amistad National Recreation Area
The Amistad National Recreation Area is the region around the Amistad Reservoir at the point where the Devils River, the Pecos River, and the Rio Grande converge near Del Rio in Texas. The National Park Service looks after the park unit.
The Amistad Dam, situated on the Rio Grande, produced the Amistad Reservoir. Recreational options include fishing, swimming, boating, water skiing, scuba diving, camping, hiking, picnics, and more in the Amistad National Recreation Area.
You may also see rock art and archaeological relics in the recreation area. The fall migration of monarch butterflies is another notable event in the region.
2. Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
The Lake Meredith National Recreation Area is a popular destination for travelers in the US state of Texas and is situated there in the Texas Panhandle, 48 km north of Amarillo. The centerpiece of this leisure area is the 10,000-acre Lake Meredith.
The Sanford Dam on the Canadian River creates the lake. The Lake Meredith National Recreation Area welcomes visitors who want to go swimming, boating, hiking, fishing, and other activities. Five boat launch ramps and one marina provide access to the lake.
The neighboring Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument is open to visitors of the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area.
3. Padre Island National Seashore
Off the coast of South Texas, on the island of Padre, there is a national seashore known as the Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS). The 110 km long national seashore has 105.4 km of Gulf Beach and serves as a place for environmental preservation.
Clean beaches, dunes, and tidal flats may be found in the PAIS. In the national seashore, the Laguna Madre is a well-known windsurfing location.
The seashore’s beaches serve as an important nesting location for Kemp’s ridley sea turtles. Additionally, a significant bird migration path passes via the national seashore.
Birds that may be seen on this island include brown pelicans, redheads, least terns, piping plovers, reddish egrets, and peregrine falcons.
4. National Monument to the Waco Mammoth
The Waco Mammoth National Monument, a paleontological site and museum, is a well-liked tourist destination in the US state of Texas. The location is home to 24 Columbian mammoth remains and those of other Pleistocene-era creatures.
The location was also the location of the greatest herd of mammoths ever found to have perished in a single catastrophe, likely a flash flood.
5. National Park of the Guadalupe Mountains –
The Guadalupe Mountain, Texas’ tallest peak at 8,749 feet, is located in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, one of Texas’ national parks.
The Guadalupe Peak Trail gives the greatest views of the park out of all the hiking and horseback riding paths in the 86,367-acre national park.
The Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which includes the McKittrick Canyon, bursts with color in the fall, contrasting with the neighboring Chihuahuan Desert terrain. The Williams Ranch, gypsum dunes, Dog Canyon, and more are among the other attractions.
6. Big Thicket National Preserve
Southeast Texas is home to the Big Thicket National Preserve, which spans over 3,350,000 acres over 14 different Texas counties.
The National Preserve’s limits are not precisely defined, though. The National Preserve was founded in 1974 and named a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1981.
Three hundred species of migratory and breeding birds live in the preserve now, along with over 100 kinds of plants and trees. The Big Thicket National Preserve is home to all four species of poisonous snakes and alligators native to North America.
7. Big Bend National Park, to start
One of Texas’s most well-known national parks is the Big Bend, National Park. The Chihuahuan Desert’s largest protected area is there. There are 1,200 plant species, 450 bird species, 56 reptile species, and 75 animal species.
The Big Bend National Park occupies an area of 801,163 acres. The park is home to many Cenozoic and Cretaceous age fossils.
The national park is home to several well-known creatures, including cougars, kangaroo rats, coyotes, golden eagles, Mexican black bears, Mexican wolves, black-tailed jackrabbits, etc.