Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, United States Jun 12, 2025

Chisos Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Texas, United States

They say everything"s bigger in Texas, United States—and Big Bend National Park has been living up to the slogan since forever. Spread over more than 320,000 hectares and originally part of Mexico, it became a part of the United States in 1848. Efforts to preserve its beauty began in the 1930s, culminating in its official designation as a national park on June 12, 1944. Big Bend remains one of the most remote and least-visited national parks in the country. It"s not just one landscape, it"s three: the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountains (pictured here) and the Rio Grande. Big Bend sits on the United States–Mexico border, and its history reflects that blend. Indigenous peoples, Spanish explorers, ranchers, miners and modern travellers have all left their footprints. Petroglyphs, ruins and old trails show the land"s story began long before it became a park.

© Dean Fikar/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Jun 12, 2024Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA
June 12, 2026European bee-eater, Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, Cádiz, Spain

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr 8, 2024European hedgehog
Nov 30, 2025Christmas market in Leipzig, Germany
Sep 10, 2023Walruses in Svalbard, Norway
June 29, 2026Bora Bora and its lagoon, South Pacific, French Polynesia
Jan 29, 2025Prioro, Castile and León, Spain
Aug 30, 2024Whale shark
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
Mar 31, 2025Ostuni, Apulia, Italy
Jan 16, 2026Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
Dec 16, 2025Medieval Aqueduct, Perugia, Italy
Sep 29, 2023Jiaxiu Tower, Guiyang, China
June 22, 2026Quinault rainforest, Olympic National Park, Washington state, USA
Aug 9, 2026Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, New Caledonia
Mar 7, 2024Roques de Benet, Catalonia, Spain
Dec 29, 2024Borobudur temple, Java, Indonesia
Mar 3, 2025Yellow-billed hornbills in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Feb 5, 2026Salt evaporation ponds on the island of Gozo, Malta
Apr 17, 2026Grey-headed flying fox carrying her pup, Australia
Feb 13, 2024Saint-Pierre-Quiberon, France
Feb 23, 2025Mount Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, Japan
Nov 15, 2024Chiang Mai, Thailand
Jun 21, 2025Masai giraffes in the Serengeti
Jan 12, 2024Bukhansan National Park, South Korea
July 7, 2026Plate-billed mountain toucan with orchids, Ecuador
Dec 31, 2025Oberbaum Bridge, Berlin, Germany
Oct 23, 2024Madame Sherri Forest, New Hampshire, United States
Dec 16, 2024Salzburg, Austria
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
May 13, 2026Arch and Milky Way, Alabama Hills, Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Dec 24, 2023Town Hall Square, Tartu, Estonia