Among the groups transiting this area were the Conchos, the Jumano, the Chisos and Apaches, the Chiricahua, the Mescaleros and Lipanes.

The colonial government established the Rio Grande as a line of defense, where it built small fortifications, which were guarded by a garrison of soldiers.

The first council of municipality of Ojinaga was built in 1824, and was annexed in 1831, as a section of San Carlos, which bears the name of Manuel Benavides.

It has great diversity of vegetation types because of the large differences in altitude, from 700 to 2,400 m (2,300 to 7,900 ft) above sea level.

[1] The Santa Elena Canyon is the state of Chihuahua, bounded on the north by the Rio Grande and on the east by Coahuila.

[6] The main villages of the area are Manuel Benavides, which is the county seat, Loma de Juárez, El Mulato, Area Montoya, Paso Lajitas, New Lajitas, Santa Elena, Altares, Paso de San Antonio, San Antonio Alamos, Providence, Jars of Wizards and Alamos Marquez.

In addition, the towns of Ojinaga, La Mula, Mahijoma and Morita are located in the area of influence.

[2][note 1] In the desert scrub microphyll, various species such as Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), hojasén (Flourensia cernua), mariola (Parthenium incanum), mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), ocotillo (Founquieria splendens) and reed (Koeberlinia spinosa), among others may be found.

[6] There are also birds of prey like peregrine falcon (Falcao peregrinus), the kestrel (Falco sparverius) and the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).

After some meetings with villagers and local authorities, the region was declared a Protected Area of Flora and Fauna in 1994.

[7] The Federal government of the United States had pushed, since 1934, for the creation of a protected area in Mexico to be the counterpart of Big Bend National Park.

These may be environmental, due to the excesses committed by the settlers on the resources of pasture, with an overload of ranching and cattle.

[4] A study of Autonomous University of Chihuahua conducted in 1994 also argues that the region should be protected because it has a considerable amount of endangered species (13 species of flora and 66 of fauna) and a large geological, hydrological and historical heritage, and a striking contrast between the ecosystems of desert and forest.