From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central
Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to
the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to
the north, and the Pecos
River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west[1]. San Angelo,
Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly
outline the area.
Geology and natural
history
The bedrock consists primarily of limestone, with elevations ranging between
100 ft. and 3000 ft. Caves and springs (in wet years) are numerous.
The Plateau mostly lacks deep soil suitable for farming, though
some cotton, grain sorghum and oats are grown. Thin soil and rough
terrain areas are primarily grazing regions, with cattle, sheep and Angora goats
predominant[2].
Several rivers cross the region, which generally flow to the south
and east through the Texas Hill Country toward the Gulf of Mexico;
however, permanent surface water supplies are sparse throughout the
area, except for man-made reservoirs. The area is well drained;
rainwater flows into the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone at the
south of the plateau to feed rivers to the south. Rainfall varies
from 15 to 33 in. per year, on average, from northwest to
southeast.
The Balcones
Fault is associated with the Edwards Plateau formation. This
fault line is an ecological demarcation for the range definition of
a number of species. For example, the California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera, is
known to occur only west of the Edwards Plateau or Balcones
Fault.
Human
history
Earliest human settlement of this are was by Native
Americans.[3] First
it was used and wandered about by Jumano and Coahuiltecan groups, than after the
Apacheria extends into the Southern Plains by the forrunners of the
Lipan and Mescalero Apaches. After the expulsion of the Apachean
groups from the Plains by the Comanche, this area was dominated by the Penateka
band of the Southern Comanche.
References
External
links
Coordinates: 30°18′N 99°36′W / 30.3°N
99.6°W / 30.3;
-99.6
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