Guadalupe Mountains: Bowl and Springs

[This post describes things that occurred before the interruption.]

The Guadalupe Mountains have a Bowl, or high valley, in a way that is similar to Big Bend's Basin. Because the location is further north, the Bowl contains a pinon/juniper forest, rather than the slightly more desert-like conditions at the Big Bend Basin.

Since the mountains are all limestone, all of the water arriving in the mountains drains through them, and comes out near the bottom. (This means there are no water sources up at higher elevations, making multi-day treks an interesting challenge.) Local ranchers took advantage of the relatively plentiful springs in the area to eke out a living.