Seventy-six years ago today, on June 12, 1944, Big Bend officially became a US national park. The park covers more than 800,000 acres in West Texas along the Mexico border. This vast area—big enough to swallow Rhode Island—contains mountain, river, and desert ecosystems, including the largest protected area of the Chihuahuan Desert in the United States. Far removed from any urban centers and the light pollution that comes with them, Big Bend boasts some of the darkest skies you"ll find in the Lower 48, earning it a designation as an international dark sky park. Even after 76 years, Big Bend still glows.
Big sky at Big Bend
Today in History
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World Penguin Day
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Coral Reef Awareness Week
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This grizzly has Napping Day down
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Bonaventure Cemetery, Savannah, Georgia
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International Polar Bear Day
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Kalalau Beach on the Nā Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii
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International Dark Sky Week
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Keep watching the skies
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Independence Day
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Visiting the Mamanuca Islands for Fiji Day
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The largest American bison around
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International Nurses Day
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National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
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Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
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Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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St. Michaels Mount in Marazion, Cornwall, England
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Dancers perform ‘Revelations’
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World Reef Awareness Day
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Cable car station, Graubünden, Switzerland
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Hoodoos, Sunset Point, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
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The ruins of Italica, Andalusia, Spain
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Native American Heritage Month
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Trullo buildings in Alberobello, Apulia, Italy
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Acadia transformed
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Global commerce in motion
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Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada
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Ski touring in Austria
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Forward-thinking women of history
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Where fire meets water
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

