Olympus Systems, OM-1; f/8, 1/80, ISO 250, 76mm equivalent
“Remnants of forested areas still occur on the north slopes of some canyons in the Chisos Mountains, especially Pine and Juniper Canyons and the northern slopes of Mt. Emory.
Warnok, BH. Wildflowers of the Big Bend country, Texas. Photos by Peter Koch. Sul Ross University Press. 1970.
The Window View Trail in Chisos Basin is a brief, 0.3-mile path that's accessible and features gentle slopes. It leads to one of the park's iconic vistas: The Window, anchored by wooded slopes descending to the gap between Amon Carter and Vernon Bailey Peaks, before opening up to the desert landscape beyond.
The watershed of the central Chisos Mountain range is directed through Oak Creek towards the gap between Amon Carter and Vernon Bailey Peaks. The closer areas. The basin is not a caldera (the collapsed throat of an extinct volcano) as might be thought, but a wide intra-mountain valley following jointing or weak lines in the Chisos Mountains pluton. The pluton has almost completely weathered away along these joints to create the central Basin revealing Cretaceous rocks, where not covered by alluvium.
The edges of this pluton remain and comprise Ward Mountain, Carter Peak, followed by The Window. Continuing on around to the right and behind the camera are Bailey Peak, Pulliam Peaks, and Mount Hoffman, followed by Panther Pass and the road into The Basin. Facing the other side of the road is Casa Grande, Toll Mountain, and Emory, competing the circle.
