Texas Almanac, 1996-1997 Page: 64
672 p. : col. ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this book.
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Texas Almanac 1996-1997
Physical FeaturesNATURAL REGIONS
OF TEXASA special thanks to Dr. William M. Holmes, chairman of the
Department of Geography at the University of North Texas, for
his review of this section.
Physical Regions
The principal physical regions of Texas are usually
listed as follows (see also Vegetational Areas and Soils.):
The Gulf Coastal Plains
Texas' Gulf Coastal Plains are the western extension
of the coastal plain extending from the Atlantic to beyond
the Rio Grande. Its characteristic rolling to hilly surface
covered with a heavy growth of pine and hardwoods
extends into East Texas. In the increasingly arid west,
however, its forests become secondary in nature, consist-
ing largely of post oaks and, farther west, prairies and
brushlands.
The interior limit of the Gulf Coastal Plains in Texas is
the line of the Balcones Fault and Escarpment. This
geologic fault or shearing of underground strata extends
eastward from a point on the Rio Grande near Del Rio. It
extends to the northwestern part of Bexar County where it
turns northeastward and extends through Comal, Hays
and Travis counties, intersecting the Colorado River imme-
diately above Austin. The fault line is a single, definite geo-
logic feature, accompanied by a line of southward- and
eastward-facing hills. The resemblance of the hills to bal-
conies when viewed from the plain below accounts for the
Spanish name, balcones. North of Waco, features of the
fault zone are sufficiently inconspicuous that the interior
boundary of the Coastal Plain follows the traditional geo-logic contact between upper and lower Cretaceous rocks.
This contact is along the western edge of the Eastern
Cross Timbers.
This fault line is usually accepted as the boundary
between lowland and upland Texas. Below the fault line
the surface is charactenstically coastal plains. Above the
Balcones Fault the surface is characteristically interior roll-
ing plains.
Pine Belt or "Piney Woods"
The Pine Belt, called the "Piney Woods," extends into
Texas from the east 75 to 125 miles. From north to south it
extends from the Red River to within about 25 miles of the
Gulf Coast. Interspersed among the pines are some hard-
wood timbers, usually in valleys of rivers and creeks. This
area is the source of practically all of Texas' large commer-
cial timber production (see "Forest Resources" in index). It
was settled early in Texas' history and is an older farming
area of the state. This area's soils and climate are adapt-
able to production of a variety of fruit and vegetable crops.
Cattle raising is widespread, accompanied by the develop-
ment of pastures planted to improved grasses. Lumber
production is the principal industry. There is a large iron-
and-steel industry near Daingerfield in Morris County
based on nearby iron deposits. Iron deposits are also
worked in Rusk and one or two other counties.
A great oil field discovered in Gregg, Rusk and Smith
counties in 1931 has done more than anything else to con-
tribute to the economic growth of the area. This area has a
variety of clays, lignite and other minerals as potentials for
development.30 nl
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Ramos, Mary G. Texas Almanac, 1996-1997, book, 1995; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162514/m1/64/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.