Big Bend Park -- "The Basin" (Above) - high up in the rugged Chisos Mountains of the Texas Big Bend country, with the Temporary Park administration Headquarters buildings in the center of the Mile-High valley. Big Bend Park is one of the country's Newest National Parks. It is three years old and occupies some 700,000 acres of cactus covered plains and rocky faces of the Chisos range along the Rio Grande River in west Texas. Extensive developments are planned to make the park more easily accessible with better accommodations for visitors. May 23, 1947. (Photo by Wide World Photos).