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Guadalupe Mountains National Park is in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas and contains Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas at in elevation. Located east of El Paso, it also contains El Capitan, long used as a landmark by people traveling along the old route later followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach line. Visitors can see the ruins of an old stagecoach station near the Pine Springs Visitor Center. Camping is available at the Pine Springs Campground and Dog Canyon. The restored Frijole Ranch House is now a small museum of local ranching history and is the trailhead for Smith Spring. The park covers 〔 and is in the same mountain range as Carlsbad Caverns National Park which is located about to the north in New Mexico. Numerous well-established trails exist in the park for hiking and horse-riding. The Guadalupe Peak Trail offers perhaps the most outstanding views in the park. Climbing over to the summit of Guadalupe Peak, the trail winds through pinyon pine and Douglas-fir forests and offers spectacular views of El Capitan and the vast Chihuahuan Desert. The park also contains McKittrick Canyon. During the Fall, McKittrick comes alive with a blaze of color from the turning Bigtooth Maples, in stark contrast with the surrounding Chihuahuan Desert. A trail in the canyon leads to a stone cabin built in the early 1930s, formerly the vacation home of Wallace Pratt, a petroleum geologist who donated the land in order to establish the park. Dog Canyon, on the northern park boundary at the Texas-New Mexico State line is reached by driving through Carlsbad, NM or Dell City, TX. There is a campground which accommodates tent campers, recreational vehicles, and horse trailers. There is a public corral for livestock available by reservation. On the west side of the park near Dell City, TX lie the impressive and beautiful gypsum sand dunes. Another attraction is the Williams Ranch. Inquire about these two features at the visitor center in Pine Springs. ==History== Throughout the last thousands of years, the Guadalupe Mountains have a long tumultuous history. Archaeological evidence has shown that people lived over 10,000 years ago in and among the many caves and alcoves. The first humans to live here were hunter-gathers that followed large game and collected edible vegetation. Artifacts that support this include projectile points, baskets, pottery, and rock art.〔( National Park Service. History of Guadalupe National Park. United States Department of the Interior. )〕 The first Europeans to arrive in the area were the Spanish in the 16th century, but they did not make serious attempts to settle in the Guadalupe Mountains. The Spanish introduced horses into the area; and nomadic indigenous tribes of the area like the Apaches soon found horses to be an asset for hunting and migrating. Mescalero Apaches were nomadic and followed game and harvested the agave (or mescal) for food and fiber. Mescalero is Spanish for mescal-maker. Agave roasting pits and other artifacts of Mescalero culture can be found in the park. The Mescalero Apaches remained in the mountains through the mid-19th century, but they were challenged by an American transportation route at the end of the American Civil War. During the 1840s and 1850s many people immigrating west crossed the area. In 1858, Pinery Station was constructed near Pine Springs for the Butterfield Overland Mail. The Butterfield Overland Mail traveled over Guadalupe Pass located at above sea level. The 9th Cavalry Regiment was ordered to the area to stop Indian raids on settlements and mail stage route. During the winter of 1869, Lt. H.B. Cushing led his troops into the Guadalupe Mountains and destroyed two Mescalero Apache camps and were eventually driven out of the area and into US reservations. Felix McKittrick was one of the first European settlers in the Guadalupe Mountains; he worked cattle during the 1870s. McKittrick Canyon is thought to be named after him. Frijole Ranch was the first permanent ranch house; it was constructed in 1876 by the Rader brothers. Frijole Ranch House was the only major building in the region; it served as a community center and regional post office from 1916 to 1942. Today, the Frijole Ranch House has been restored and operates as a cultural museum. In 1908 Williams Ranch House was built, and it was named after one of its inhabitants, James Adolphus Williams. Judge J.C. Hunter from Van Horn, Texas consolidated most of the smaller ranches in the area into the Guadalupe Mountain Ranch. In 1921, Wallace Pratt, a geologist for Humble Oil and Refining Company, was impressed by the beauty of McKittrick Canyon and bought the land to build two homes in the canyon. Both constructions were used as summer homes by Pratt and his family up until 1960. Wallace Pratt donated about of McKittrick Canyon which became part of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which was dedicated and formally opened to the public in September, 1972.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Guadalupe Mountains National Park」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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