Guadalupe+Mountains+National+Park

By: MacKenzie M.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is a great place to explore. With eighty miles of trails, this park is a hikers paradise. If you love to get up close to mother nature, this is a park you'll enjoy!

Location, Distance, & Size
Guadalupe Mountains National Park is located in far West Texas, and is 86,415.95 acres. From Oskaloosa, IA to the park is 1217.80 miles. By car, the trip takes 19 hours and four minutes to get there.

Park Hours
The park is open year round, seven days a week, and has a fee of $5.00 per person sixteen and up. The fee is good for a week.The visitors center is open daily from eight a.m. to four-thirty p.m., but is closed on Christmas Day.

Climate
Spring- In the spring (February- April) the temperature range is 50-70 degrees F and precipitation is less than an inch with high winds. Summer- In the summer (May-July) the temperature range is 75-90 degrees F and precipitation is a high of 2.75 inches with thunderstorms. Flash flooding can occur but summer can bring some hot and dry months. Fall- In the fall (August-October0 the temperature range is 70-85 degrees F and precipitation isan average 2.45 inches. Fall is a great time to visit the park because of the mild weather. Winter- In the winter (-January) the temperature range is 50-65 degrees F and precipitation is an averageof .92 inches. Snow will mostly last a few days in the low country, but in the high country the snow may last longer.

History
Guadalupe Mountains National Park became a National Park in September, 1972. The people who helped establish the park were Judge J.C. hunter, and the person who made the idea for the park reality was Wallace Pratt. The Mescalero Apaches were Indians who lived in the Guadalupe Mountains before it became a National Park. But, the earliest inhabitants were hunter gatherers who followed available game and farmed. They lived in the Guadalupe Mountains more than 1,000 years ago.

Fun Facts
1.) More than 300 species of birds are frequent to Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 2.) With it's good weather and abundant amount of sunshine, 90 species of butterflies have been spotted at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. 3.) The park has at least 8 species of humming birds, 4 that nest in the area.

Things to see
Some things you can see at the park are: 1.)Dog Canyon 2.)McKittrick Canyon 3.)Frijole Ranch History Museum 4.)The Pinery 5.) Williams Ranch

Things to do
1.)Hiking 2.)Camping 3.)Bird Veiwing 4.)Wildlife Veiwing 5.) Nature Photography 6.) Star Gazing

Resources
[|**http://www.guadalupe.mountains.national-park.com/**] [|**http://www.us-parks.com/alphabet-g.html**] [|**http://www.nps.gov/index.htm**]
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