Burro Mesa

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Burro Mesa

| photo = Burro Spring Trail 2.JPG

| photo_caption = Southwest aspect

| elevation_ft = 4434

| elevation_ref ={{cite peakbagger|pid=117399|name=Burro Mesa, Texas|access-date=2024-11-12}}

| prominence_ft = 562

| prominence_ref=

| isolation_mi = 3.37

| isolation_ref ={{cite web|url=https://listsofjohn.com/peak/93991|title=Burro Mesa - 4,431' TX|website=listsofjohn.com|access-date=2024-11-12}}

| length_mi= 5

| length_orientation= North-South

| width_mi= 4

| width_orientation= East-West

| parent_peak =

| etymology = Burro

| range = Chisos Mountains

| country = United States

| state = Texas

| region = Brewster

| region_type = County

| part_type = Protected area | part = Big Bend National Park

| map = Texas#USA

| map_caption = Location of Burro Mesa in Texas

| label_position = top

| coordinates = {{coord|29.2471772|N|103.4126099|W|type:mountain_region:US-TX_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref ={{cite gnis|id=1377838|name=Burro Mesa|access-date=2024-11-12}}

| topo = USGS Cerro Castellan

| age = Oligocene

| rock = Igneous rock

| type = Mesa

| easiest_route = {{YDS|2}} hiking

}}

Burro Mesa is a {{convert|4434|ft|meter|adj=mid|-elevation|abbr=off|sp=us}} summit in Brewster County, Texas, United States.

Description

Burro Mesa is part of the Chisos Mountains where it is set in Big Bend National Park and the Chihuahuan Desert. Based on the Köppen climate classification, the mesa is located in a hot arid climate zone with hot summers and mild winters.{{cite journal | author = Peel, M. C. |author2=Finlayson, B. L. |author3=McMahon, T. A. | year = 2007 | title = Updated world map of the Köppen−Geiger climate classification | journal = Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. | volume = 11 | issn = 1027-5606}} This climate supports shrubland plants on the slopes such as lechuguilla, creosote bush, ocotillo, and cacti.[https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/burro-mesa Burro Mesa], Texas State Historical Association, Retrieved 2024-11-12. Any scant precipitation runoff from the slopes drains to the Rio Grande via Alamo, Cottonwood, and Terlingua Creeks. Topographic relief is modest as the summit rises {{convert|1200.|ft|m}} above Javelina Wash in one mile (1.6 km). The mountain's toponym has been officially adopted by the United States Board on Geographic Names and it is so named for the herds of wild burros which once roamed here.

Geology

The mesa is composed of Quaternary sediments overlaying 29-million-year-old Oligocene Burro Mesa Formation which includes Burro Mesa Rhyolite overlaying Wasp Spring Tuff. The volcanic rocks exposed at the south end of the mesa include rhyolite, tuff, Bee Mountain Basalt and conglomerate of the Chisos Formation.[https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1327/pdf/Circular_1327.pdf Gray, J.E., Geological, Geochemical, and Geophysical Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey in Big Bend National Park, Texas], U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1327, p. 31, Retrieved 2024-11-12.[https://prism-redfern.org/bbvirtualtrip/burropouroff/burropouroff.html High And Dry: The Burro Mesa Pouroff], Francis Redfern, Retrieved 2024-11-12. The Burro Mesa fault is exposed on the northeast flank of Burro Mesa, forming one of the notable faults in this area of the park.