Balmorhea State Park
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Balmorhea State Park
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 1930s swimming pool in Balmorhea State Park |
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| location | Reeves County in Texas (USA) | |
| surface | 19 ha | |
| Geographical location | 30 ° 59 ′ N , 103 ° 45 ′ W | |
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| administration | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | |
The Balmorhea State Park Six kilometers southwest of Balmorhea toward Fort Davis at the Texas State Route 17 in Reeves County of the US state of Texas . In the 977-meter high 19 hectares large State Park is located at the San Solomon Spring an artesian spring with a daily fill 35,000 to 44,000 hectoliters per hour.
history
Native American artifacts found in the area suggest that the spring water was used by white settlers long before it was discovered. In 1849 the spring was named Mescalero Spring because the Mescalero Indians watered their horses there. As early as the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built a 7000 m² swimming pool that is fed by the spring. The original source swamp (Ciénaga) was badly damaged when the basin, the associated sanitary facilities, a motel and other buildings were built in the Spanish colonial style. In 1968 the state park was opened.
Infrastructure
More than 200,000 visitors a year (as of July 2006) use the Balmorhea State Park with its opportunities for swimming and diving, its playgrounds and picnic areas or for nature observation on barrier-free paths. There are places to stay in the motel and the campsite. The clear spring water, whose catchment area extends into the Davis Mountains , has only small temperature fluctuations between 22 and 24 ° C all year round. An observation platform facilitates the view over the area, and a special system allows a view like in an aquarium through three thick panes laterally under the water surface of the San Salomon Ciénaga.
Flora and fauna
The excess water from the swimming pool is channeled into several channels, some of which were previously created by farmers for irrigation. In 1995, the San Salomon Ciénaga, a wetland area fed by the canal network, was created. Two endangered species of fish, Comanche Springs pupfish ( Cyprinodon elegans ) and the Pecos gambusia ( Gambusia nobilis ) inhabit the waters, as do Astyanax mexicanus , grass perch , red-bellied swimming snake and softshell turtles .
Creosote bush , mesquites , umbrella acacias , cottonwood and the trumpet tree Chilopsis linearis provide additional habitat for ruby tyrant , black-headed phoebetyrant , bullock trupial , belt fisherman , Carolina moorhen and green heron .
At night, foxes, coyotes, lynx and umbilical pigs can approach each other from the area .
To the southeast of Balmorhea lies Balmorhea Lake , which is fed by other artesian springs in the area. The water level in the lake is subject to strong fluctuations there due to evaporation and a network of biotopes is provided via the canal network. In total, over 300 species of birds can be observed in this area.
Web links
- Official site of the park in Texas Wildlife and Parks (Engl.)
- Balmorhea State Park on the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/balmorhea/
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from January 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4501_0002b.pdf
