My visit to Oklahoma’s high point was part of a quick winter trip in early 2021.
BLACK MESA STATE PARK FULL
I had a full moon for my nighttime visit to Black Mesa In 1991, the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy purchased the mesa and established the Black Mesa Nature Preserve, which contains 1,600 acres and 60% of the mesa’s top (the remainder of the mesa rests in Colorado).īecause of its remote location, Black Mesa is also known for having some of the darkest nighttime skies on publicly accessible land, which draws astronomy enthusiasts to it each year to stargaze and watch the Perseid meteor shower in August. And so, this unique volcanic material is the basis of the high point’s visually descriptive name. The term “mesa” refers to an isolated, flat-topped hill or ridge bounded on all sides by steep escarpments, which stands distinctively above the surrounding plains. Most mesas are topped by a resistant layer of hard rock (such as shale or sandstone) which acts as a caprock on the flat summit of the terrain feature.īlack Mesa is somewhat extraordinary though because dark pumice and lava rock coated the mesa 30 million years ago. The state contains 10 distinct regions, ranging from grasslands and prairie to mountains and subtropical forests.Īnd in the far western panhandle of the state, the Rocky Mountains meets the shortgrass prairie in an area that’s covered with tall mesas, cones, and domes created by the lava flow from this once volcanically active part of the North American continent. Once you reach the top of the mesa, the final 1-mile stretch across the caprock has very little elevation change.Īncestral Lands: Osage, Apache, Kiowa, Arapaho, ComancheĪlthough located in the Great Plains, Oklahoma is more ecologically diverse than more people imagine.
This climb up the escarpment is fairly moderate and it’s only about 0.7 miles long.
Type of Terrain: The trail is mostly flat, with the exception of a the ascent up the side of the mesa that occurs about 2.5 miles into the journey. Route Taken: Black Mesa Trail from the Black Mesa Trailhead – 8.4 miles roundtrip
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