Soil survey of San Saba County, Texas Page: 8 of 72
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6 FIELD OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU OF SOILS, 1916.
be regarded as a rather maturely dissected plateau. The topography
varies in detail from nearly level plains, rolling upland, and valley
areas, having smooth slopes, to deeply and sharply dissected areas
in which the streams occupy canyonlike valleys. In viewing the
country from a distance, however, the local details are unnoticed and
the surface presents an even sky line.
The elevation of the upland plain or plateau surface varies from
about 1,500 to 1,950 feet above sea level, and the larger streams have
cut their valleys 100 to 400 feet deep. The extreme difference in elevation
in the county is about 900 feet. The general slope of the
country is eastward.
The county may be divided into several distinct minor topographic
divisions, which deserve description here on account of their relation
to the soils and agriculture of the county.
The San Saba River basin, lying in the central part of the county,
forms an interesting physiographic feature. The San Saba River
enters the county from the southwest and follows a fairly direct
course through a narrow, canyonlike valley in a limestone plateau.
About 12 miles west of San Saba it enters a broad valley basin,
through which it flows in a meandering course to the Colorado
River. The valley attains a maximum width of nearly 5 miles, and
consists of nearly level, alluvial plains, occurring as terraces 20 to
75 feet above the present stream channel. This valley area lies 100
to 150 feet below the plateau levels to the north and south. It is
bordered on the south by well-defined escarpments and is fairly well
delineated on the north, although the slopes here are less abrupt,
because of the softer character of the rock formations.
The river and tributary streams were enabled to cut out a broader
valley in this part of the county because of the presence here of a
formation consisting mainly of soft black shale. This valley was
subsequently filled in with detritus carried down from the plateaus,
disgorged at the mouths of the streams entering the basin, and
spread out as alluvial plains or outwash plains.
Filled-in valleys on a smaller scale but similar in origin exist as
tributaries of the San Saba Valley proper, reaching as armlike extensions
into the plateaus, and also appear in other parts of the
county. The lithologic character of the valley filling differs slightly
in the smaller basins, because of the derivation of detritus from local
formations and through indigenous streams, while the debris carried
down by the San Saba River has a more diverse origin and was
transported greater distances.
Nearly all the southern half of the county and the central-western
part is a high plateau underlain by hard Paleozoic limestones. The
topography in the interior varies from nearly level to deeply rolling,
but with rounded slopes, while near the rim of the plateau and near
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Soil map, Texas, San Saba County sheet (Map)
Map displays soil types along with creeks, rivers, tanks, towns, schools, churches, fairgrounds, ranches, crossings, roads, and railroads. Includes legend and symbols.
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Veatch, J. O. (Jethro Otto); Rogers, R. F.; Beck, M. W. (Miles Walter) & Lewis, H. G. (Henry Guy). Soil survey of San Saba County, Texas, book, 1917; Washington D.C.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth19839/m1/8/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.