Geology
A type of extrusive rock that comprises the La Cueva, Squaw Mountain, and Achenback rock formations.
What is tuff?
a 29-mile trail that stretches from the Dripping Springs Natural Area to the eastern side of the Franklin Mountains.
What is the Sierra Vista Trail?
A prominent historical figure who shaped much of Dripping Springs' history.
Who is Eugene Van Patten?
A common plant found across the Chihuahuan Desert. Gives off the classic "desert rain" smell after rainstorms.
What is creosote?
A geologic formation of stretching and thinning crust, responsible for the north-south oriented mountain chains found in much of New Mexico.
What is the Rio Grande Rift?
Long-handled pruning shears designed to snip thick brush and small branches.
What are loppers?
The last known occupant of La Cueva. Discovered dead in the cave on April 30, 1869. Bonus points if you know his full name!
Who is The Hermit/ Giovanni Agostini?
An endemic rodent species found only in the Organ Mountains.
What is the Organ Mountains Colorado Chipmunk?
This mineral reaches the Earth's crust when volcanic eruptions bring mantle rocks and magma upward, often appearing as small green crystals or nodules inside basalt lava flows.
What is olivine/peridot?
The main walking surface on the constructed portion of a trail.
What is tread?
This site hosts over 21,000 petroglyphs carved into rocks by the Jornada Mogollon people between 900 and 1400.
What is the Three Rivers Petroglyph site?
This animal lived over 300 million years ago and was an ancestor to all modern mammals.
What is a dimetrodon?
A shallow tropical sea that covered much of Southern New Mexico during the early Permian. Responsible for the ichnofossils that can be found at Prehistoric Trackways National Monument.
What is the Hueco Seaway?
A versatile combination tool featuring a wide, flat hoe blade on one side for moving dirt and an array of rake tines on the other for clearing debris and tamping soil.
What is a McLeod?
This wilderness study area includes the site of the earliest known cultivated corn in the United States, a primitive variety with eight rows of kernels.
What is Pena Blanca WSA?
A small amphibian that can survive a 40% loss of body water. Extremely well adapted to living in desert environments.
What is the red-spotted toad?
A geologic formation in west Texas and southern New Mexico that preserves fossils of the Pliocene-Pleistocene epoch.
What is the camp rice formation?
The excavated earth wall on the uphill side of a trail that connects the walking surface to the natural hillside above.
What is backslope?
In 2017, a NASA field team visited this natural landmark to test various instruments that were used in future space missions.
What is Killbourne Hole?
A common desert succulent in the family Fouquieriaceae. More closely related to blueberries than cacti.
What is Ocotillo?