Scientists from around Texas attended the annual Christmas Mountains Symposium at the Terlingua Ranch Lodge in southern Brewster County May 18-20.

Faculty from Sul Ross State University and other members of the Texas State University System (TSUS) participated with presentations and field trips on the geology, biology and water resources of the area.

The Christmas Mountains are a small range next to Big Bend National Park. The 9,270 acre tract is owned by the TSUS and is open to the public and to academic researchers. It is characterized largely by marine sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous age that have been intruded by much younger (40 to 44 million years) igneous rocks forming a complex caldera system.

The area supports a desert grassland ecosystem comprising several distinctive plant community types.

The symposium included presentations and field trips to view the geology, ecology and history of the property.

Photo: Dr. Liz Measures, a professor of geology at Sul Ross State University, points out the features of the Christmas Mountains on a field trip at the Christmas Mountains Symposium.