Chapter 3Mapping Texas Regions

(pages 44-66)

Essential Question:

How were the regions of Texas identified?

Objectives

• Compare places in Texas in terms of their physical characteristics.

• Compare regions of Texas in terms of their physical characteristics.

• Identify the location of each natural subregion of Texas..• Compare the regions and subregions of Texas.• Analyze geographic distributions and patterns in Texas.• Compare places/regions in Texas in terms of their

physical and human characteristics.• Explain ways in which geographic factors have affected

the political, economic, and social development of Texas.

What States Are Adjacent to Texas?

Two Kinds of Geography

• Geography = land and people

• Things that relate to the land (climate, vegetation, rivers, lakes, plains, etc)=

Physical Geography

• Things that people do (how people earn a living, customs, settlements, political systems, etc) =

Human Geography

Vocabulary• Plains: a wide area of flat or gently rolling

land

• Physical Geography: physical features of the earth’s surface

• Human Geography: features of the earth that are created or changed by humans

• Settlement: a place where people live

Weather and Climate

• Weather—condition at a certain time/place

• Climate—expected weather conditions

• Texas has a huge range of climates across the state– How does weather affect human geography?

• See map on page 47

Landform Regions

• Landforms can include mountains, valleys, rivers, seacoasts, lakes, plateaus, and plains

• Read about The Enchanted Rock

(p. 49)• Most of Texas is

made up of Plains (pages 48-49)

– 2 plains regions of Texas also extend into other states

• Gulf Coastal Plain• Great Plains

The Enchanted Rock

Texas Rivers• Important to Texas• Much of Texas border made up of 3 rivers

– Rio Grande: between Texas & Mexico• Begins in Colorado, flows 1900 miles into NM, enters Texas

near El Paso• 2 dams built: Amistad Dam and Falcon Dam

– Water from reservoirs created with dams irrigates crops

– Sabine River: between Louisiana & Texas• Shorter than Rio Grande• Toledo Bend Reservoir created

– Water is used for industry and agriculture

– Red River: between Texas and Oklahoma• Begins in eastern NM and flows to Arkansas• Flows to Gulf of Mexico after flood control system put into

place

Texas Rivers, con’t

• Other important rivers– Canadian River

• In Panhandle of Texas• Begins in NM and crosses Texas to Oklahoma; joins

Arkansas River• Only major Texas River that does not flow into Gulf of Mexico

– Pecos River• Tributary of Rio Grande• Starts in NM and flows south to Texas• Provides irrigation for farms in NM and Pecos, TX

– Others (all flow into Gulf of Mexico)• Neches, Trinity, San Jacinto, Brazos, Colorado,

Guadalupe, San Antonio, & Neuces• Many important Texas cities are located along these rivers

Map of Texas Rivers

Texas Rivers

and Cities

Rio Grande River

The Red River

The Sabine River

Regions of Texas

• Regions are determined by physical geography (landforms)

• Very diverse

• Texas has 4 large natural regions– Coastal Plains– North Central Plains– Great Plains– Mountains and Basins

Vocabulary• Subregion: a smaller division of a geographic region

• Escarpment: a cliff or abrupt break in the land’s surface

• Growing Season: average # of days crops grow based on weather

• Steppe: a vast, treeless plain

• Aquifer: underground layer of porous rock, gravel, or sand that contains water…water can reach surface of land through springs or wells

– (see page 540…This Land of Ours…info about the Ogallala Aquifer)

Regions and Subregions of Texas

Balcones Escarpment

The Balcones Fault Zone extends from Dallas to the north and Del Rio to the southwest. The West Austin Hill Country is part of a larger geographical

area called the Edwards Plateau.

Caprock Escarpment

Where are the Balcones and Caprock Escarpments?

The Edwards Aquifer

Coastal Plains Region

• About 1/3 of Texas• Extends east & south from Balcones Escarpment to Gulf

of Mexico• Most of Texas’ largest cities here• Subregions:

– Piney Woods • area of pine forests• Extends from Texas-Louisiana border west for about 125 miles• Extends from Oklahoma state line south to where coastal prairies

begin…about 25 miles from coast• Rainiest part of Texas• Elevation: 100-400 feet above sea level • Caddo Lake is in Piney Woods

– Only natural lake in Texas– Giant cypress trees, floating lotus, and lots of fish

Coastal Plains Region, con’t

• Subregions, con’t– Post Oak Belt

• West of Piney Woods• Long, narrow zone• Has oak, hickory, and other hardwood trees (not pine)• Elevation: 250-500 feet above sea level

– Blackland Prairie• Long, narrow area—15-70 miles wide, 300 miles wide• Runs from Balcones Escarpment near OK border through

San Antonio to Texas/Mexico border• Elevation: 400-800 feet above sea level• Soil not good for growing trees…most vegetation is prairie

grass with a few hardwood trees

Coastal Plains Region, con’t– Gulf Coastal Plain

• Forms a large arc that follows the coast of Gulf of Mexico from Sabine River to Kingsville

• Goes inland about 30-60 miles• Elevation: below 100 feet, humid climate

– South Texas Plain• Runs from about San Antonio south to Rio Grande• 270 miles long; 250 miles wide• Elevation: sea level to 1000 feet above sea level• Climate warm year round

Coastal Plains Cities and Ways of Making a Living

• Cities– Brownsville, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, San

Antonio, Houston, Beaumont, Waco, Austin, Tyler, Texarkana, Dallas, Galveston

• Ways of Making a Living– Agriculture, tourism, timber industry, oil/gas,

shipping, commercial fishing, manufacturing, food and food products

North Central Plains Region

• Begins at Balcones Escarpment and goes west to Caprock Escarpment

• Area of rolling plains covered by small oak trees, mesquite trees, brush, and scattered grass

• Subregions– Grand Prairie

• Long narrow belt extends from Red River south to Temple and Killeen

• Elevation: 800-1700 feet above sea level• Vegetation: tall grasses and a few hardwood trees by

streams

North Central Plains Region, con’t

• Subregions, con’t– Cross Timbers

• Area surrounds Grand Prairie– Eastern Cross Timbers and Western Cross Timbers

• Good area for growing trees—post oak, hickory, pecan, elm• Elevation: 900-1500 feet

– Rolling Plains• Largest subregion of North Central Plains• Begins west of the Cross Timbers and ends at Caprock Escarpment• Elevation: 900 feet in east; 2000 feet in west• Region is a steppe (vast, treeless plain)• Vegetation: short grasses, brushy plants, some mesquite trees• Mostly used as grazing lands for large ranches

North Central Plains Cities and Ways of Making a Living

• Cities– Ft. Worth, Abilene, Wichita Falls, San Angelo,

Arlington

• Ways of Making a Living– Agriculture, Oil/Gas, Tourism

Great Plains Region

• Made up of 3 subregions– 2 are large plateaus (High Plains and Edwards Plateaus)– 1 is different than any other part of Texas (Llano Basin)

• Subregions– Llano Basin

• Almost in center of Texas• Egg-shaped area south of North Central Plains; west of Balcones

Escarpment• Made up of granite (very hard rock formed when molten rock cools

slowly under earth’s surface)– Pink granite from Llano Basin was used to build Texas Capitol Building

• Elevation: 1000-1800 feet above sea level• Vegetation: mesquite, live oak & post oak trees, short grasses.

Pecan and oak trees grow along streams

Great Plains Region, con’t

• Subregions, con’t– Edwards Plateau

• Southern part of Great Plains region• North and west of Balcones Escarpment• Elevation: 1000-3000 feet above sea level• Mostly made of limestone…some limestone has

dissolved and formed caves and underwater streams

• Has Edwards Aquifer which supplies water for San Antonio and other towns

– See Texas Tidbits on page 56

Great Plains Region, con’t

• Subregions, con’t– High Plains

• Extends west from rolling plains to Pecos River in NM

• Also known as Llano Estacado– One of flattest places on earth

• Very dry climate• Elevation: 3000-4000 feet above sea level• Vegetation: short grasses, like a steppe• Major farming area in Texas

Great Plains Region Cities and Ways of Making a Living

• Cities– Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, Amarillo

• Ways of Making a Living– Agriculture, Oil/Gas

Mountains and Basins Region

• No subregions• Made up of tall mountains separated by basins

or closed valleys• Vegetation in Mountains: forests of oak, pinon,

and ponderosa pine trees• Vegetation in Basins: (desert like area) cactus,

shrubs, short grasses• Very little rain• Elevation: varied…from 2500-8700 feet above

sea level• Guadalupe Peak: highest point in Texas

Guadalupe Peak

Mountains and Basins Cities and Ways of Making a Living

• Cities– El Paso

• Ways of Making a Living– Manufacturing, Oil/Gas, Agriculture

Where People Live in Texas

• Most Texans live in cities or urban areas• Largest cities in Texas—Houston and

Dallas• Most of largest cities are east of Balcones

Escarpment – Separates Central and East Texas from West

Texas– Out of 27 major cities in Texas, only 7 of them

are west of Balcones Escarpment

Vocabulary

• Metropolitan Area: a city and all the areas around it that depend on the central city

• Suburb: smaller community just outside a city

• Industry: making or preparing products to sell

• Per Capita Income: average amount of money a person makes a year in a certain area

• Heritage: beliefs and customs that people get from their ancestors

Why Cities Grow

• People go where there are jobs– Houston: oil industry, space program– Dallas: financial, telecommunications,

electronics, fashion, DFW airport,– Ft. Worth: cattle town, airplane/helicopter

production– San Antonio: military base, tourism:

Alamo/River Walk– Austin: state capital, UT (largest state

university), computers (Dell)

Why Haven’t Other Areas Grown?

• Attracted less industry—except for Oil– West Texas: further away from major cities…

higher transportation, shipping, labor, and living costs

• Dry climate• Not much farming (not as much water)• Land mostly used for ranching

– Workers don’t make as much money

Farming in Texas

• Agriculture—still major industry in Texas• Texas has 2nd largest farm income in US (CA

has more)• Approximately 225,000 farms• Rice (Houston), Citrus fruit and sorghum (Rio

Grande Valley), • Texas produces more cotton than any other

state– High Plains: largest cotton growing area in US

Rich and Poor in Texas

• Per Capita Income

• Highest incomes in Texas? Big Cities

• Oil industry helps Texas per capita income

• Lowest incomes in Texas? Along Rio Grande River, inner cities

Diverse Names of Texas Cities and Towns

• Names can reflect state’s heritage– Spanish or Mexican influence– Names of Settlers– Native Americans– Heroes of Texas Revolutions– Politicians– Immigrants and immigrant groups of people

Picture Sources• blog.travelpod.com • care2.com • innerenergies.org• thefullwiki.org • outdoors.webshots.com • tpwd.state.tx.us • city-data.com • texasescapes.com • blog.oregonlive.com • resortbay.com • pubs.usgs.gov • esi.utexas.edu • http://www.beg.utexas.edu/UTopia/contentpg_images/central/central_

7708.jpg• http://www.freeworldmaps.net/united-states/texas/map.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprock_Escarpment