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Natural Texas
Regions and Climates
 Two Kinds:
 Physical geography
 Climate, vegetation, rivers, lakes, oceans, plateaus, plains, and mountain
ranges
 Human geography
 Economic activities
 How we earn a living
 Farming or mining
 Weather and Climate
 Weather
 Condition of the atmosphere at a specific time and place.
 Example: The forecast today is high of 100 and a low of 85.
 Climate
 Expected weather conditions at a place based on what has happened in the
past.
 Example: The average rainfall for the area is 25 inches.
 Being in the middle latitudes, Texas has warm summers and
cool winters.
 Temperatures vary in which part of the state that you live in.
 For example in the Panhandle the winters are cooler then in the
south region of Texas.
 Temperatures also vary depending on elevation.
 Landforms
 Include mountains, valleys, rivers, seacoasts, lakes, plateaus and
plains.
 Texas
 Mostly made up of plains regions.
 2 of the nation’s plains regions reach into Texas.
o The Great Plains
o Gulf Coastal Plains
 Rivers are very important in Texas, they supply much of the water
in the state. Also, three of Texas’ borders are rivers.
 Separates Texas and Mexico.
 Begins in Colorado, then flows about 1900 miles through New Mexico before
entering Texas
Texas can be divided into 4 large natural regions.
(The first 3 large natural regions can be divided into sub regions.)
Coastal Plains
1.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
North Central Plains
2.
1.
2.
3.
Grand Prairie
Cross Timbers
Rolling Plains
Great Plains
3.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Piney Wood
Post Oak Belt
Blackland Prairie
Gulf Coastal Plain
South Texas Plain
Llano Basin
Edwards Plateau
High Plains
Mountains and Basin regions
 Makes up about 1/3 of Texas
 Extends East and South from the Balcones Escarpment (Cliff)to
the Gulf of Mexico.
 Home to more people than any other part of Texas.
 About 2 out of every 3 Texans live in the Coastal Plains.
 Can be divided into 5 sub regions
 Piney Woods, Post Oak Belt, Blackland Prairie, Gulf Coastal
Plain and South Texas Plain.
Piney Woods and Post Oak Belt
 Piney Woods
 Area of Pine forest
 Extends from Texas-Louisiana border to the west about 125 miles.
 About 25 miles away from the coast.
 Rainiest part of Texas
 45-60 inches per year
 Post Oak Belt
 West of the Piney Woods
 Instead of pines there are oak, hickory and other hard wood trees.
 Drier than the Piney Woods.
 Blackland Prairie
 Long, narrow area following the Balcones Escarpment from
about Oklahoma to San Antonio and beyond.

15-70 miles wide and 300 miles long
 Gulf Coastal Plain
 Large area that follows the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the
Sabine river to Kingsville.
 If you were to draw a line from San Antonio to Kingsville, the
STP would fall between that and the Rio Grande.
 Growing season for the sub region ranges from 265 day to about 341days.
 Longest growing season in Texas
 Average rain fall is about 30 inches max.

The minimum is less than 20 inches
 Begins at the Balcones Escarpment and extends west as far as
the Caprock Escarpment.
 It is an area of rolling plains often covered by small oak trees, mesquite,
brush and scattered grasses.
 NCPR can be divided in to 3 smaller sub regions.
o Grand Prairie
o Cross Timbers
o Rolling Plains
 Starts near the Red River and extends southward almost to
Temple and Killeen.
 Soil in the Grand Prairie sub region is not good for growing trees, due to
the little rainfall that area receives per year.
 Mostly made up of tall grasses and scattered hardwood trees (especially
along streams in the area).
 This regions surrounds the Grand Prairie.
 Because of this it is divided into the Eastern Cross Timbers and
the Western Cross Timbers.
 Grand Prairie – no trees
 Cross Timbers – yes trees
o (Post Oaks, Hickories, Pecans and Elms)
 Largest sub region of the North Central Plains.
 Mostly a steppe (vast, treeless plain)
 Vegetation generally consists of mixed short grasses along
with mesquite and other brushy plants.
 Makes this sub region great grazing ground for large ranches.
 The Great Plains has 3 sub regions
 2 of the sub regions are plateaus.
 High Plains
 Edwards Plateau
 The third sub region is an area that is very different from any
other part of Texas.

Llano Basin
 Lies almost in the center of Texas
 Land is made up of granite


Granite-very hard rock that is formed when molten rock cools slowly
under the earth’s surface.
The pink granite that was used to build the Texas Capitol building in
Austin came from this area.
 Pecan and Oak trees populate the area.
Edwards Plateau
 Makes up the southern part of the Great Plains region.
 Made up of limestone, which has dissolved in many spots to
form a number of caves and underwater streams.
 The Edwards Aquifer is a large bed of water-bearing rock that supplies
water for San Antonio and many other communities in the area.
 Also known as the Llano Estacado.
 One of the flattest places on earth.
 Was once covered by vast stretched of short grasses.
 Today it is a large farming area.
 Climate is very dry, one of the driest in Texas.
 Made up of tall mountains separated by large basins (closed
valleys).
 Higher elevations receives just enough rainfall to support
forests of oak, pinon and ponderosa pine trees.
 In contrast the lower regions are desert country.

Vegetation that can survive long periods without water grow here.
 This region contains the highest point in Texas.
 Guadalupe Peak -8,749 feet tall.