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The Wichita Mountains are comprised of two separate ranges which are situated in an East-West direction just north of the towns of Lawton and Cache Oklahoma. These ranges, with their huge granite walls and numerous canyons, created a vast protected prairie where many species of endangered wildlife now roam. The area where the mountains formed has had much volcanic and seismic activity which dates back to some 600 million years ago. The area spanning from what is now Northern Texas to lands just North of the refuge itself sank and then ascended several times, on each occasion that the land would sink, a basin was formed which allowed for the accumulation of millions of years of sediment. In addition to the rising and falling of the land, far beneath, volcanic activity was causing vast deposits of sandstone to become compact quartzite. Much of this can be seen today throughout the refuge as a dark-colored igneous rock called gabbro. Somewhere between 500 and 550 million years ago, during Middle Cambrian time, more lava from far beneath the surface was forced up through volcanic vents which formed a red granite that is still noticeable throughout the refuge today. Interestingly, a portion of the granite now exposed was found to be more crystalline than some of what is contained in Mt. Scott, the highest point on the refuge, and, after being sent to the Carnegie Institution of Washington, was dated between 500 and 550 million years old. Fast forward to some 300 million years ago, during the Pennsylvanian period, there was a tremendous uplifting which produced faults and folds leading to the creation of the mountains that are now visible when driving through the refuge on "The Scenic Highway". On a side note, there have been several people who have gone to the mountains with the intention of hiking and exploring the beauty of these natural events but found themselves caught up in the lure of buried treasure. It has been speculated that Jesse James and his gang, while on the run from Old Mexico, stopped in the Wichita Mountains to hide some of the gold they had stolen from the Mexican Army. A number of clues have been found that substantiate the rumors and both the History Channel and the Travel Channel have done a number shows exploring the area. Although some of the clues which were left behind have been found, the actual gold coins have yet to be discovered. Ironically, several years before Jesse James and his gang rode into the mountains, small deposits of natural gold were found throughout the mountains which brought prospectors and gave birth to many small mining operations which would become some of the area's first settlements. No substantial amounts of gold were ever found and the prospector's moved West but the towns remained and soon after, the territory would become a state.

These past events, as well as those processes that are still occurring today, are a testament to the powerful forces which shape our planet. Although there is so much more science and history to this area than I can cover here in this post, I hope that I've done enough to provide you with something interesting to think about. Have a great week and thank you for stopping by.

Sources:

https://www.fws.gov

https://www.travelok.com