Kiowa-Rita Blanca National Grassland

The grasslands in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas are characteristically flat with some rolling low hills. The exception is the 136,417-acre Kiowa National Grassland, which is bisected by the Canadian River Canyon west of Mills, N.M.

This canyon is about 800 feet deep and one to two miles wide. Rim rock is exposed at the upper rims, while steep slopes fall away to the narrow, slow-running river below.

It forms a wildlife island in the prairie for Rocky Mountain mule deer, antelope, bear, barbary sheep, ducks and geese. Early settlers removed most of the game, but mule deer were reintroduced in the 1940s. Barbary sheep, native to Africa, were introduced in 1950 and have flourished.

There are no established or marked trails in the grassland.

The western portion of the Kiowa is off Hwy. 39.

The grasslands are part of the Cibola National Forest.