photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Jerry Pillarelli | profile | all galleries >> Travel and Nature; Sites by State >> US Travel; by Trip, by State >> Texas >> Castner Range National Monument – Texas tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Castner Range National Monument – Texas

Images of Castner Range National Monument – Texas, taken in May 2025.

Castner Range National Monument covers 6,672 acres on the eastern slopes of the Franklin Mountains along the outskirts of El Paso, Texas. Formerly part of the Fort Bliss Army Base, the area served as a military training and missile range beginning in 1926. It was designated a national monument on March 21, 2023 to protect the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem and is the only national monument administered by the US Army.

Currently the area is closed to any activity due to the fact that the possibility of unexploded munitions in the monument still exists. Once Fort Bliss and the US Army completes cleanup of the area, plans are to develop trails through the desert and to some of the many ancestral ruins. For now, visitors must limit their exploration to stops along Texas Highway 375, the Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive.
Rugged mountain range along Texas Highway 375 in Castner Range NM
Rugged mountain range along Texas Highway 375 in Castner Range NM		 Signs at the entrance to Castner Range NM
Signs at the entrance to Castner Range NM		 US Army unexploded ammunition warning signs in Castner Range NM
US Army unexploded ammunition warning signs in Castner Range NM		 Hills along Texas Highway 375 in Castner Range NM
Hills along Texas Highway 375 in Castner Range NM		 Large rock formation in Castner Range NM
Large rock formation in Castner Range NM
Desert plant life around a large boulder in Castner Range NM
Desert plant life around a large boulder in Castner Range NM		 Towering cliffs and rock formations in Castner Range NM
Towering cliffs and rock formations in Castner Range NM		 Desert mountains in Castner Range NM
Desert mountains in Castner Range NM		 Rock outcropping in Castner Range NM
Rock outcropping in Castner Range NM		 Boulders on the side of a hill in Castner Range NM
Boulders on the side of a hill in Castner Range NM
Rock layers in Castner Range NM
Rock layers in Castner Range NM		 Ocotillo plants top a layer formation in Castner Range NM
Ocotillo plants top a layer formation in Castner Range NM		 Prominent mountain top in Castner Range NM
Prominent mountain top in Castner Range NM		 Creosote bush with mountainous desert in Castner Range NM
Creosote bush with mountainous desert in Castner Range NM		 Layered rock mountaintop in Castner Range NM
Layered rock mountaintop in Castner Range NM
Sedimentary rock weathered by erosion in Castner Range NM
Sedimentary rock weathered by erosion in Castner Range NM		 View of towers on a mountaintop from Castner Range NM
View of towers on a mountaintop from Castner Range NM		 Stratified rock layers on a mountain in Castner Range NM
Stratified rock layers on a mountain in Castner Range NM		 Prickly pear cactus and agave plants in Castner Range NM
Prickly pear cactus and agave plants in Castner Range NM		 Former artillery range warning sign in Castner Range NM
Former artillery range warning sign in Castner Range NM

comment | share
Type your message and click Add Comment
It is best to login or register first but you may post as a guest.
Enter an optional name and contact email address. Name
Name Email
help private comment
click on thumbnails for full image