A Classic Hueco Problem

Hueco Tanks State Historic Park preserves the area’s unique natural and archeological resources. The park, lying in the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem, has long sheltered humans, from the ancient Archaic hunters thousands of years ago to the Mescalero Apache Indians. These Native Americans relied on the area’s natural rock basins which filled with rain water to slake their thirst in this arid climate. The presence of these ancient ones remains in their remarkable legacy of rock art, primarily pictographs, drawn and painted on cliff faces throughout the park. They also left deep grinding holes under shady overhangs, where they gathered to grind seeds into flour. Historic remains here include the stone walls of an old ranch house and the ruins of a stage station from the old Butterfield Stage Line which ran across the southern United States in the mid-1800s. Evidence of the park’s earliest visitors are found on many of the boulders below The Front Side cliff. Look at the Mushroom Boulder’s north side and notice its glassy, smooth finish. This “mammoth rub” was caused by mammoths rubbing against the boulders to dislodge lice during the moist Pleistocene Period over 10,000 years ago. The park’s primary mission is to protect these and other natural features. Recreational activities like rock climbing are secondary and managed so they don’t conflict with the historic preservation.