The United States Congress designated the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (map
) in 1984 and it now has a total of 41,170 acres
All of this wilderness is located in New Mexico
and is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
An eerie otherworldliness surrounds Bisti Badlands, especially when the moon casts shadows across the hoodoos, weird rock formations with mazelike passages. Difficult as it is to believe, this stark landscape was once buried beneath an ancient sea. As the water slowly receded, prehistoric animals roamed about, living off of each other and the lush foliage that flourished along the many riverbanks. Eventually, the water disappeared, leaving behind a 1,400-foot-thick layer of jumbled sandstone, mudstone, shale, and coal that lay undisturbed for 50 million years. Then, 6,000 years ago, the last ice age receded, exposing fossils and eroding the rock into the fantastic hoodoos you see today. The soil underfoot now lies soft and yielding, wrinkled like the surface of stale popcorn. But the ominous silence reflects the absence of wildlife, for very few animals--save a handful of cottontail rabbits, coyotes, badgers, and prairie dogs--have taken up residence on this somewhat forbidding land. Researchers believe that dinosaurs passed into extinction around these parts, so keep an eye out for fossils (if you find one, remember that removing fossils is illegal). Precipitation in this Wilderness averages a mere eight inches a year, and that typically holds off until July and August temperatures rise to sweltering highs. When a downpour does occur, the soil, typically baked to ceramic hardness by the sun, softens into a slippery, yielding substance. Elevation averages around 6,300 feet, and the most striking scenery is in the southern two-thirds of the area. The Wilderness boundaries enclose parcels of private Navajo land. Please respect private property. Carry a map, a compass, and plenty of water. Backpacking and horse packing are unrestricted, but campfires are forbidden. Chances are you won't encounter a soul here. For more description of this Wilderness, and for a photo without distortion, please go to the BLM website at: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/wilderness/bisti.html