The Chinati Mountains of Texas are a small range in the high desert of far West Texas near the city of Presidio. There is a pass through the mountains on Ranch to Market Road 2810, also known as Pinto Canyon Road, which connects to Farm to Market Road 170 at Ruidosa, Texas. The range derives its name from the Apache word ch'íná'itíh, which means gate or mountain pass.

The mountains are primarily composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks, and are believed to be the remains of a number of explosive volcanic caldera-building events in the remote past.

I was able to travel this rugged and winding road in a jeep while I had a part time surgical practice in Alpine. We were rewarded with great scenery on a pretty much deserted road. The are, I am told, springs to life at night when the road is traveled by smugglers, drug traffickers and border patrol agents.