Fra z ie r C a n yon
Sh or t Ca n yon
Blue Mt. Trail
Marfa90
67
9067
9067
17
17
17
17
2810F M
P
int
o Canyon Road
118
118
118
166
166
Fort Davis
Alpine
505
PaisanoPeak
CathedralMountain
Ramse
y Dra
w
Arkansas Mesa
x 1599
PolksPeak
P R E S I D I O C O U N T Y
B R E WS T E R C O U N T Y
Scobee Mountain
WhitetailMountain
BrooksMountain
WhiteMountain
BrownMountain
D a v i s M o u n t a i n s
HighPoint
McDanielMountainSawtooth
MountainBear
Mountain
Blue SeepMountain
BuckMountain
SheepPasture
Mountain
PinePeak
BrownMountain
TinajaHaley’s Peak
BigHill
Lizard Mountain
TwinSisters
Black Peaks
CrenshawMountain
The Haystack
Castle Rock
Antelope Peak
Twin Mountains
Blue Mountain
CasketMountain
Mano PrietoMountain
PuertacitasMountain
Blue PastureHills
CarpenterMountain
ArabellaMountain
Mt. Locke
LimpiaMountain
MineMountain
R Y A N F L A T
D U N C A N D R A W
G R E E N L E E D R A W
F
OU
RM
I LE
D
RA
W
Aragon
B UR
RO
DR
AW
BI G
TR
ES
TL
E D
RA
W
L O N G D R A W
PO
ND
ER D R A W
A N T E L O P E D R A W
SUL ROSSSTATE
UNIVERSITY
Marfa Lights Viewing Center
ChinatiFoundation
6800 ft.
STOP 2
STOP 3
STOP 4
STOP 1
SPUR 78
Da
vi s
Mo u n t a i n s S c e n i c L o o p
K E E S E Y C A N Y O N
MA D E R A C A
NY
ON
10
290Toyahvale
BalmorheaHouston St.
La Calera Chapel
Balmorhea State Park
City of Balmorhea
Balmorhea Lake
RE
EV
ES C
OU
NT
Y
P EC
OS C
OU
NT
Y
J E F F D A V I S C O U N T Y
J E F F D A V I S C O U N T Y
North
0
0
1
1
2
2
3
3
4 5 Miles
4 5 Kilometers
See detailed map on reverse side
.
The t
iny c
hurc
h of
Cale
ra w
as b
uilt
two
mile
s ea
st of
the f
amou
s San
Sol
omon
Sprin
gs in
Ba
lmor
hea S
tate
Par
k. Th
e litt
le str
uctu
re se
rved
th
e com
mun
ity. Th
eir w
ebsit
e say
s it w
ell: “
Caler
a is
a sto
ry o
f how
hum
ans m
igra
te to
area
s with
re
sour
ces f
or li
fe, a
stor
y of m
issio
narie
s who
fo
llow
the p
eopl
e and
tend
to th
eir sp
iritu
al ne
eds,
and
the m
oder
niza
tion
that
com
es w
ith
time a
nd fi
nally
peo
ple m
ovin
g on
when
the
reso
urce
s of l
ife d
isapp
ear.”
Bef
ore t
he sp
rings
we
re co
ntain
ed an
d us
ed fo
r ran
ches
, the
nat
ive
peop
les re
lied
on th
e wat
er, a
nd se
ttled
her
e. Th
is ch
urch
is a
rem
inde
r of t
he h
ealth
y eco
syste
m an
d co
mm
unity
that
exist
ed h
ere b
efor
e dev
elopm
ent.
www.
caler
atex
as.o
rg
Bal
mor
hea
Stat
e P
ark
STO
P 1
City
of B
alm
orhe
a
STO
P 2
STO
P 3
Cale
ra C
hape
l In th
e cor
ner o
f thi
s sm
all st
ate p
ark
is th
e lar
gest
in a
serie
s of a
rtesia
n an
d gr
avity
sp
rings
form
ed b
y sub
surfa
ce ge
olog
ic fa
ults
in th
e Balm
orhe
a are
a: fa
mou
s San
Sol
omon
Sp
rings
. Abo
ut 2
0 m
illio
n ga
llons
of c
lear
crys
talli
ne w
ater
flow
s fro
m th
e spr
ing e
ach
day.
In a
dese
rt en
viro
nmen
t, th
is wa
ter i
s far
m
ore t
han
utili
taria
n: it
susta
ins a
div
ersit
y of
uni
que l
ife fo
rms t
hat w
ould
not
oth
erwi
se
exist
.
From
193
4 to
194
0, th
e enr
ollee
s of C
ompa
ny
1856
, (th
e nam
e of t
he gr
oup
of C
ivili
an
Cons
erva
tion
Corp
s wor
kers
loca
ted
here
,) bu
ilt ro
ads,
build
ings
, brid
ges,
and
irrig
atio
n co
ndui
ts th
roug
hout
this
forty
-six
-acr
e pa
rk. P
rojec
ts in
clude
d bu
ildin
g the
ov
erni
ght a
ccom
mod
atio
ns o
f San
So
lom
on C
ourts
(dist
inct
ive
one-
story
, red
tile-
roof
ed,
The C
ity o
f Balm
orhe
a (p
rono
unce
d Ba
l-mor
e-ay
) is
a am
algam
atio
n of
Balc
om,
Mor
row,
and
Rhea
, the
surn
ames
of
its f
ound
ers.
This
small
town
hos
ts a w
ide
varie
ty o
f bird
life.
Bird
ing
oppo
rtuni
ties a
re es
pecia
lly ri
ch
durin
g the
win
ter a
nd d
urin
g m
igra
tion.
The t
own’s
mat
ure
trees
are a
grea
t plac
e to
spot
un
usua
l neo
tropi
cal b
irds t
hat
pass
thro
ugh
and
take
adva
nce
of th
e hab
itats
crea
ted
by Sa
n So
lom
on Sp
ring’s
wat
er.
A O
NE
-DA
Y E
XC
UR
SIO
N F
RO
M
MA
RFA
A O
NE
-DA
Y E
XC
UR
SIO
N F
RO
M
TO
TH
E N
OR
TH
WA
TE
RS
OF
BA
LM
OR
HE
A
Illustration in progress
Hub
bsCi
éneg
a
Highway 17
Reco
nstr
ucte
dD
eser
t Wet
land
s
Cam
pgro
und
PO
OL
Nort
h
white
-plas
tere
d ad
obe b
rick
cabi
ns
that
had
gara
ges i
n ea
ch o
f the
eigh
teen
un
its) a
nd th
e two
-ac
re sw
imm
ing
pool
. Unf
ortu
nate
ly,
when
the p
rojec
ts we
re co
mpl
eted
in
1935
, the
rem
ainin
g de
sert
wetla
nd, o
r cie
nega
, tha
t orig
inall
y su
rrou
nded
the s
prin
g’s h
eadw
ater
s wer
e de
stroy
ed.
Resto
ratio
n eff
orts
toda
y are
recr
eatin
g a
ciene
ga ec
osys
tem
, so
after
leav
ing t
he p
ool,
sprin
g wat
ers n
ow p
ass t
hrou
gh th
e cat
tails
, ru
shes
and
reed
s in
San
Solo
mon
Cien
ega.
This
dese
rt we
tland
serv
es as
a ho
me f
or ab
unda
nt
aqua
tic li
fe in
cludi
ng tw
o sm
all, e
ndan
gere
d de
sert
fishe
s: th
e Pec
os G
ambu
sia an
d th
e Co
man
che S
prin
gs P
upfis
h. O
ccur
ring a
t no
othe
r plac
e in
the w
orld
, the
sole
rem
ainin
g po
pulat
ion
of th
e pup
fish
relie
s upo
n th
e sp
rings
and
cana
ls of
the B
almor
hea a
rea f
or
surv
ival.
Oth
er an
imals
, inc
ludi
ng re
siden
t and
m
igra
nt b
irds,
depe
nd u
pon
this
wate
r and
lush
ve
geta
tion
for f
ood,
wat
er an
d sh
elter
. Loc
al fa
rmer
s rely
on
San
Solo
mon
wat
er to
irrig
ate
crop
s tha
t wou
ld o
ther
wise
not
surv
ive t
he
blist
erin
g des
ert s
umm
ers.
Don
’t m
iss th
e opp
ortu
nity
to en
joy t
his
wond
erfu
l Wes
t Tex
as tr
easu
re. Th
e cry
stal-
clear
wat
er is
the w
orld
’s lar
gest
sprin
g-fe
d sw
imm
ing p
ool. M
ore t
han
15 m
illio
n ga
llons
of
wat
er fl
ow th
roug
h th
e poo
l eac
h da
y, gu
shin
g fro
m th
e San
Sol
omon
Sprin
gs. Th
e po
ol is
up
to 2
5 fe
et d
eep,
cove
rs 1
.75
acre
s, an
d ho
lds 3
.5 m
illio
n ga
llons
of w
ater
. The
wate
r tem
pera
ture
stay
s at 7
2 to
76
degr
ees
year
-rou
nd. S
wim
, scu
ba d
ive,
or ju
st re
lax
unde
r the
tree
s at t
his h
istor
ic pa
rk in
arid
W
est T
exas
.
tpwd
.texa
s.gov
/stat
e-pa
rks/b
alm
orhe
a
STOP
4B
almorhea Lake
Drive out to Balm
orhea Lake, two miles east of
Balmorhea, for one of the greatest bird watching
areas around. This body of water attracts a rich
variety, documented in the checklist available
online or at the park’s visitor center.
Watch for wading birds like the green heron,
unusual pelegic migrants like the herring gull, a
wide variety of ducks, like this hooded mer-
ganser, and colorful migrants and neotropical
species, like the vermillion flycatcher. Since the
lake functions as a storage facility, water level fluctuates greatly. Th
e southern edge of the lake is excellent for shorebirds in dry years when wa-ter levels are low. Th
is end of the lake is favored by loons, diving ducks and Clark’s and W
estern G
rebes in fall and winter.
Green Heron
Hooded Merganser
Herring Gull
Vermillion Flycatcher
Photos by Mark Lockwood