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Texas
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Texas State Parks

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USA Parks
Texas
Big Bend Country Region
Seminole Canyon State Park
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Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Bake Oven
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Lizard Condo-112 degrees that day.
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Statue of an Indian Shaman
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © CAROLYN JOHNSON
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
downstream snake in the canyon
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
beautiful red cactus beside trail
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
a bend in the canyon
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
a distand view of the visitor center and canyon
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State PArk © Chris Walters
Good advice along the trail
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
old railway bed for southern pacific railway
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
A view over the canyon upstream of the visitor center
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
more good advice along the trail
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
overhang and visitor center
Seminole Canyon State Park Seminole Canyon State Park © Chris Walters
visitor center and shamen statue
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SEMINOLE CANYON STATE PARK
SEMINOLE CANYON STATE PARK
PO Box 820
Comstock, Texas   78837

Phone: 432-292-4464
Reservations: 512-389-8900
Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site in Val Verde County, west of Comstock, contains 2172.5 acres; the park was acquired by purchase from private owners in 1973 - 1977 and opened in February 1980.
Nature of the Area
Diverse flora and fauna throughout the park include white-tailed deer, raccoons, armadillos, and squirrels. There is sparse vegetation, the terrain is rocky, and there are deep canyons.
History of the Area
Early man first visited this area 12,000 years ago, a time when now-extinct species of elephant, camel, bison, and horse roamed the landscape. The climate at that time was more moderate than today and supported a more lush vegetation that included pine, juniper, and oak woodlands in the canyons, with luxuriant grasslands on the uplands. These early people developed a hunting culture based upon large mammals, such as the mammoth and bison. No known evidence exists that these first inhabitants produced any rock paintings.

By 7000 years ago, the region had undergone a climatic change that produced a landscape much like today's. A new culture appeared in this changed environment. These people were increasingly dependent on gathering wild plants and hunting small animals and less dependent on hunting big game. They lived in small groups since the land would not support larger social units for long periods.

Despite the struggle for survival, some of these prehistoric people found the creative energy to paint the pictographs found in Fate Bell and other rock shelters of the Lower Pecos River Country. The distribution of this distinct style is limited to a district which includes a portion of the Rio Grande, Pecos, and Devils River. More than 200 pictograph sites are known to contain examples of their style of rock paintings ranging from single paintings to caves containing panels of art hundreds of feet long. Although numerous figures or motifs are repeated in different locations, the exact meaning of the paintings is buried with the people who painted them.

The first known European in this area was Castano de Sosa, who set out from Monciova Mexico, in 1590 and traversed much of present Val Verde County en route to New Mexico. The U. S. Army was the first American presence in the Lower Pecos. In 1851, Lieutenant Nathaniel Michler made a reconnaissance of the Rio Grande above and below its junction with the Pecos for the United States and Mexico Boundary Commission. After the Civil War, Lieutenant Bullis and his Seminole-Negro scouts operated in the area, and Bullis blasted a wagon road into the Pecos Canyon near the Rio Grande to provide the military with a shorter route between Forts Clark and Davis.

In 1882, construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad reached the present park location. The route to connect El Paso with San Antonio was begun after the merger of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroads with the Southern Pacific. The section of railroad in the canyon of the Rio Grande was finally abandoned in 1892, when a new bridge spanning the entire breadth of the Pecos River Canyon was completed. The present bridge was built at the same site during World War II.


Location
Seminole Canyon State Park is


Visitor Comments, Memories and Reviews
March 27 An Amazing Place
park review stars; one to five Beautiful ancient pictographs and an interesting canyon as well. Such wide open spaces are rare.
May 3 An unique, amazing park! by SMS
park review stars; one to five This is an amazing park, one of my favorite desert parks. Camping can be a bit windy due to the open flat spaces so make sure your tent is well staked down. Lots of beautiful hiking. Take a tour to see the pictographs!
June 19 MY FAVORITE PARK by LINDA
park review stars; one to five THIS PARK HAS EVERYTHING: GREAT VIEWS, INFORMATIVE TOURS, WONDERFUL MUSEUM/HEADQUARTERS, AND GREAT CAMPING. THE PERSONNEL ARE FUN, COURTEOUS, AND HELPFUL THANKS TP&W.
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Directions
Located 9 miles west of Comstock on US Highway 90, just east of the Pecos River Bridge. Current conditions and fire bans can vary from day to day. For more details, contact the park.

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Texas
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Texas State Parks

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