Burro Mesa is part of the Chisos Mountains where it is set in Big Bend National Park and the Chihuahuan Desert.

[4] This climate supports shrubland plants on the slopes such as lechuguilla, creosote bush, ocotillo, and cacti.

[5] 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 1,200 feet (366 m) above Javelina Wash in one mile (1.6 km).

The volcanic rocks exposed at the south end of the mesa include rhyolite, tuff, Bee Mountain Basalt and conglomerate of the Chisos Formation.