The Guadalupe Mountains and Capitan Reef

Only three hours west of campus are spectacular exposures of the world's largest fossil reef.

El Capitan and Guadalupe Peak are the centerpieces of the Capitan  reef which rims the western margin of the Delaware Basin.

Guadalupe Peak is the highest point in Texas at 8749 feet above sea level.

For an excellent, in-depth website on the Permian reef complex of the Guadalupe Mountains, click here.

Salt Basin and Guadalupe Peak

From a playa in the Salt Basin one can view a spectacular cross-section of the Guadalupe Mountains illustrating the reef/fore-reef relationships during the Permian geological period.

Guadalupe Peak, the highest peak in the mountains, is nearly a mile higher in elevation than the valley floor.

Salt Basin is the beginning of the Basin and Range Province in Texas. Quaternary faulting is prominent on its western flank along Sierra Diablo.

This map shows how the Basin and Range Province trends northwest/southeast through the western part of Texas.

back to top

This page was last updated on July 19, 2006