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The Regions of Texas (Mix and Match) NORTH CENTRAL PLAINS BASIN AND RANGE GREAT PLAINS GULF COASTAL PLAINS Original Graphics ®SAISD Social Studies Department Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact. Regions of Texas Page 1 The Regions of Texas (Quick Reference) The Great Plains region includes the Llano Estacado, the Panhandle, Edwards Plateau, Toyah Basin, and the Llano Uplift. It is bordered on the east by the Caprock Escarpment in the panhandle and by the Balcones Fault to the southeast. The North Central Plains is bound by the Caprock Escarpment to the west, the Edwards Plateau to the south, and the Eastern Cross Timbers to the east. This area includes the cities of Abilene, Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, and Dallas. Cities in this region include Austin, San Angelo, Midland, Odessa, Lubbock, and Amarillo. The Hill Country is a popular name for the area of hills along the Balcones Escarpment and is a transitional area between the Great Plains and the Coastal Plains. With about 35 to 50 inches annual rainfall, gently rolling to hilly forested land is part of a larger pine-hardwood forest of oaks, hickories, elm, and gum trees. Soils vary from coarse sands to tight clays or red-bed clays and shales. With about 15 to 31 inches annual rainfall, the southern end of the Great Plains are gently rolling plains of shrub and grassland. The Coastal Plains includes the barrier islands off the coast of Texas. This region stretches from Paris to San Antonio to Del Rio. This region has about 20 to 58 inches annual rainfall making a wide variety of vegetation plentiful. The area is a nearly level, drained plain dissected by streams and rivers flowing into estuaries and marshes. Sand, dunes, grasslands and salt marshes make up the areas nearest to the sea. The Mountains and Basins region is in extreme western Texas, west of the Pecos River beginning with the Davis Mountains on the east and the Rio Grande to its west and south. The region is the only part of Texas regarded as mountainous and includes seven named peaks in elevation greater than 8,000 feet. With less than 12 inches annual rainfall, this region includes sand hills, desert valleys, wooded mountain slopes and desert grasslands. The vegetation diversity includes at least 268 grass species and 447 species of woody plants. Adapted from wikipedia.com/geography of texas ®SAISD Social Studies Department Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact. Regions of Texas Page 2 The Regions of Texas (Mix and Match) Panhandle Plains The northernmost area of Texas is called the Panhandle. This region has mostly flat, grassy land or plains. Sometimes this land is also called the Llano Estacado or “Staked Plains.” The land is mostly treeless and is on a high, flat plateau. South Texas Plains This region has plains and brush country that stretches from the edges of the Hill Country into the subtropical regions of the Lower Rio Grande valley. Much of the area is dry and covered with grasses and thorny brush such as mesquite and prickly pear cacti. Gulf Coast This region stretches along the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of miles. Near the gulf waters you can see marshes, barrier islands, estuaries (where salty sea water and fresh river water meet), and bays. As you travel west, you can see prairies and grasslands. Piney Woods This East Texas region is primarily a thick forest of pines. The terrain is rolling with lower, wetter bottomlands that grow hardwood trees such as elm, mesquite and ash. This region is home to a variety of plants and animals that like woodlands and shorelines. Prairies and Lakes This region is in north central and central Texas. The land is gently rolling to hilly. This region is sometimes called “cross timbers” because these patches of treed areas cross strips of prairie grassland. Big Bend Country West Texas has wide-open spaces with rugged plateaus and desert mountains. The plateaus have short grasses and brush. The desert area is part of the great Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico. The only mountains in Texas are found here. Hill Country This region is located in Central Texas. The land is rolling to hilly grassland. It sits on the Edwards Plateau. A plateau is high, flat land. There are many springs and some steep canyons in this area. There are also hidden, underground lakes in the Edwards Aquifer. Original Graphics - Information adapted from: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/kids/about_texas/regions/ ®SAISD Social Studies Department Reproduction rights granted only if copyright information remains intact. Regions of Texas Page 3