Land of the Desert Sun: Texas' Big Bend Country

The Big Bend region, outlined by the snakelike curve of the Rio Grande, is a land of deserts and mountains. The lowlands of the region, dominated by the desert sun, are the eastern margin of the Chihuahuan Desert, one of the most arid regions of the world. Rising above the desert floor are numerous mountain ranges, part of the Southern Rockies. These mountain islands of cooler and moister terrain above the sere desert give the Big Bend an incredible wealth of diverse biological communities. Together, the deserts and the mountains of the Big Bend are the largest and last wild area remaining in Texas.
In Land of the Desert Sun, D. Gentry Steele explores this fascinating region with his camera, leading the reader to enjoy the Big Bend through the eyes of a naturalist and historian. Taken in black and white to emphasize light, shadow, and texture, Steele's photographs present the Big Bend in a way that appeals to the sense of awe at the grandeur of the region's geological scale and at the detail of life that hangs on determinedly in that harsh place.
In addition to his fifty photographs, taken over the course of four years, Steele shares firsthand experiences and provides a brief natural and cultural history of the Chihuahuan Desert and the Big Bend National Park, placing the photographs in context. His descriptions provide an intellectual experience of the Big Bend country, as the photographs provide an emotional experience of the land.
Big Bend enthusiasts and photography fans alike will find that Steele's breath-taking portrait provides a richer understanding of this unique region.

D. Gentry Steele is a professor emeritus of anthropology at Texas A&M University. He is the co-author of The Anatomy and Biology of the Human Skeleton, also published by Texas A&M University Press.