The Great Plains of Texas

The Great Plains are a broad geographic region that stretches along the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains from Canada into Texas. In Texas, this region includes wide plains, plateaus, escarpments, canyons, and basins. Elevation, rainfall, soil, vegetation, and access to water vary across the region. These differences affect where people live and how land is used for farming, ranching, energy production, and recreation.

High Plains

The High Plains extend across northwestern Texas and cover most of the Texas Panhandle. This area is also called the Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains. It is one of the largest mostly level areas of high land in the United States.

Much of the High Plains is a plateau. A plateau is a broad area of high land with a mostly level surface that rises above the land around it. The elevation of the High Plains gradually increases from about 2,700 feet in the east to more than 4,000 feet near the New Mexico border.

A hard layer of rock called caprock lies beneath much of the area. Along the eastern edge of the High Plains, erosion wore away softer rock and soil. This created the Caprock Escarpment. An escarpment is a long, steep slope or cliff formed by erosion that separates higher land from lower land. In some places, the Caprock Escarpment rises hundreds of feet above the lower plains to the east.

Rivers and streams have also cut canyons into the edges of the High Plains. Palo Duro Canyon, south of Amarillo, is one of the best-known examples. It was carved over time by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. Other canyons and breaks appear along rivers that cross the Panhandle.

The High Plains are often divided into the North Plains and the South Plains. The North Plains produce crops such as wheat and grain sorghum. Ranching and the production of oil and natural gas are also important. Amarillo is the largest city in this part of the region.

The South Plains are an important farming area, especially for cotton and grain sorghum. Because the region receives limited rainfall, many farms have depended on irrigation. Irrigation brings water to crops from underground water supplies or other sources. Lubbock is the largest city in the South Plains and an important center for agriculture and business.

Edwards Plateau

The Edwards Plateau lies south of the High Plains and extends toward the Rio Grande, the Pecos River, and the Balcones Escarpment. Its elevation ranges from about 750 feet along parts of its southern and eastern edges to approximately 2,700 feet in higher areas.

The Edwards Plateau is a high area of land underlain mostly by limestone. Much of the soil is thin and rocky. Water dissolves and erodes limestone over long periods, creating hills, caves, springs, canyons, and underground spaces that hold water.

Vegetation varies across the plateau. Grasses, shrubs, prickly pear cactus, mesquite, oak, and Ashe juniper grow in different parts of the region. These plants support livestock ranching. Cattle, sheep, and goats are commonly raised on the plateau. Farming is more limited because much of the land has thin soil and uneven terrain.

The Edwards Plateau has long been known for the production of wool and mohair. Mohair is a fiber made from the hair of Angora goats. Ranching remains an important part of the region’s economy, although tourism, recreation, and growing communities are also important today.

Hill Country

The Hill Country is the popular name for the eastern part of the Edwards Plateau, west of Austin and north of San Antonio. It has rugged hills, steep slopes, narrow valleys, and thin soil over limestone bedrock.

The region contains many springs, including Barton Springs in Austin, San Marcos Springs, and Comal Springs in New Braunfels. These springs form where groundwater flows naturally to Earth’s surface. Rivers and streams flowing through the limestone have also shaped valleys and canyons.

The steep slopes and rocky ground make the Hill Country visually different from the flatter High Plains. Heavy rainfall can cause water to move quickly down hills and through narrow stream channels. As a result, parts of the Hill Country face a serious risk of flash flooding.

Toyah Basin

The Toyah Basin lies northwest of the Edwards and Stockton plateaus in the Pecos River Valley. A basin is a low area of land that is partly or completely surrounded by higher land. The Toyah Basin is broad and mostly flat.

The region contains layers of sediment that were deposited over a long period of geologic time. Its dry climate and limited rainfall once made farming difficult. Irrigation later allowed farmers to grow crops by bringing water to the land.

Agriculture is now an important activity in parts of the Toyah Basin. Oil and natural gas production also contribute to the region’s economy.

Llano Basin

The Llano Basin lies near the meeting point of the Colorado and Llano rivers in Burnet and Llano counties. Long periods of erosion removed younger layers of rock and exposed much older rocks beneath them. Because many minerals are found in the area, it was once known as the Central Mineral Region.

Some of the rocks visible at the surface are more than a billion years old. Granite domes rise above the surrounding land in several places. Enchanted Rock, north of Fredericksburg, is one of the best-known examples.

A series of dams along the Colorado River has created several reservoirs in and near this region. These include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Lady Bird Lake. Some were built to help control flooding, store water, and produce electricity.

The lakes and surrounding landscape are often called the Highland Lakes region. Today, the area is also used for boating, fishing, hiking, camping, and other forms of recreation.