Pinto Canyon Road begins amid open plains and rolling grasslands near Marfa, then descends abruptly into craggy volcanic peaks and steep mountains roughly 32 miles southwest of Marfa. The canyon occupies part of an ancient caldera created by a volcanic eruption far more powerful than Mount Saint Helens. Erosion and tectonic uplift over millennia sculpted rough volcanic ridges and a giant chasm with views extending toward Mexico. The roadway passes geological formations and traces of human occupation, including Native American strongholds—especially Apache—and later ranching settlements established under the 1905 Eight Section Act. Generational struggles and dramatic events unfolded across the arid, rugged terrain.
The rolling hills seem endless-but drive far enough, and the landscape shifts. Suddenly, around 32 miles southwest of Marfa, the pavement ends, the ground drops away precipitously, and the gentle plains give way to craggy rocks and steep, dramatic mountains. If you keep driving, you'll descend into Pinto Canyon along the Pinto Canyon Road, one of the most stunning drives in the state of Texas.
"You're winding around those hills up above the canyon, which was a part of an ancient caldera ... and then you drop down into it and the land opens up," says David Keller, author of " In the Shadow of the Chinatis," a book that chronicles the history of the canyon. "You can see from there all the way into Mexico. It's a giant chasm, and you descend into it. It's kind of otherworldly."
The volcano set the stage for the landscape of rough volcanic peaks, which have since been shaped by millennia of erosion and tectonic activity. As it winds past geological wonders, Pinto Canyon Road also passes through evidence of the canyon's human history. Once a stronghold for Native American communities (especially the Apache) the land was later settled by ranchers who staked a claim under 1905's Eight Section Act, which doubled the amount of land one could homestead.
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