Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway

Caprock Canyons State Park
View from Haynes Ridge
Caprock Canyons
Location	Briscoe County, Texas
Nearest city	Quitaque
Coordinates	34°26′37″N 101°03′08″W / 34.44361°N 101.05222°W / 34.44361; -101.05222Coordinates: 34°26′37″N 101°03′08″W / 34.44361°N 101.05222°W / 34.44361; -101.05222
Area	15,314 acres (6,197 ha)
Established	1982
Governing body	Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/caprock-canyons TPWD

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway is a Texas state park located along the eastern edge of the Llano Estacado in Briscoe County, Texas, United States, approximately 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Amarillo. The state park opened in 1982 and is 15,314 acres (6,197 ha) in size, making it the third-largest state park in Texas.^[1]^[2]

Trailway

In 1993, a hiking, biking, and equestrian rail trail opened that stretches through the park through Floyd, Briscoe, and Hall counties. The trailway was created after the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department acquired 64.25 miles (103 km) of right-of-way from the abandoned Fort Worth and Denver Railroad's lines between Estelline and South Plains.^[2]

Isolated butte, an erosional remnant of the Llano Estacado.
Side canyon carved by erosion.

Climate

The park is located in West Texas and has a semi-arid climate. The average January minimum temperature is 19 °F (−7 °C) and the average July maximum is 91 °F (33 °C). The park receives 20.4 inches (520 mm) of precipitation annually.^[2]

Flora and fauna

The area contains badlands with mesquite, cacti and junipers with tall grasses, plums, hackberries and cottonwoods in the canyons.^[2]

The Park hosts the Texas state bison herd. At the urging of his wife, Charles Goodnight preserved several plains bison from those that were being slaughtered. This herd became one of the genetic sources from which current bison herds descend. The state herd only contains plains bison which have no cattle DNA.^[3]^[4]

African aouodad sheep (Barbary sheep), mule deer, white-tailed deer, coyotes, opossums, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, porcupines, numerous species of snakes and lizards, and over 175 species of birds including golden eagles are found within the park. Lake Theo contains bass, catfish, and rainbow trout.^[2]^[5] In the summer of 2012 black-tailed prairie dogs were reintroduced to a 200-acre (81 ha) area within the park.^[6]

Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)
Texas plains bison (Bison bison bison)

References

↑ Caprock Canyons State Park from the Handbook of Texas Online
1 2 3 4 5 "Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 31 May 2009.
↑ "Texas State Bison Herd – Preservation of the Bison". Austin, TX: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Archived from the original on 2012-02-21.
↑ McCorkle, Rob (Nov 2011). "Home on the Range". Austin, TX: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
↑ "2013-2014 Trout Stocking Schedule". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
↑ "New Residents Arrive at Caprock Canyons State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 28, 2014.

External links

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway from Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD)
Facilities and Fee Information from TPWD
Caprock Canyons Facility Map (PDF) from TPWD
Caprock Canyons Trailway Map and Guide (PDF) from TPWD
Public domain photos of the Llano Estacado

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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