Chisos

The Chisos Mountains rise as an isolated highland in the Big Bend country of Trans-Pecos Texas. Volcanic activity built the range during the Eocene, 35 to 44 million years ago, and erosion has cut deep canyons into it. Emory Peak, the highest point, stands at about 2,385 metres above the desert. The name may come from the Spanish word hechizos, 'enchantment', or from an Indigenous word meaning 'ghost' or 'spirit'.

The mountains offered game, plant foods and shelter, but their rough ground made permanent settlement hard. Around 1700 Mescalero Apache groups entered the Big Bend and gradually displaced or absorbed the Chisos. The Jumano, who traded and travelled across western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, were at times enemies of the Chisos. Comanche bands also passed through the region on the Great Comanche Trail, on their way to raids deep into Mexico.