Natural Regions of Texas

1. Physical Geography – the physical features of the earth’s surface. (What does the earth look like…mountains, plains, oceans, vegetation, climate, etc..) Plains (a wide area of flat or gently rolling land) are also part of our physical geography.

2. Human Geography – the features of the earth that is created or changed by humans. (What humans do such as farming, mining, building, digging ditches, creating a hill to jump over on a 4-wheeler, etc…) People who study human geography also analyze transportation and settlements (a place where people live) and other things people have created.

SECTION 1

What kind of climate does Texas have?

Since Texas is in the middle latitudes, it has warm summers and cool winters. As you would expect, winters are colder in the northwestern part of the state known as the Panhandle. Winters are milder in

South Texas.

Rivers are important to Texas.

*Much of the Texas border is made up of three rivers:

Rio Grande – separates Texas and Mexico

Sabine River – separates Texas and Louisiana

Red River – separates Texas and Oklahoma

The Pecos River is an important tributary (a stream that flows into a larger stream or other body of water) of the Rio Grande. The Pecos River provides irrigation water for farms in New Mexico and Pecos, Texas.

The Four Regions of TexasNatural regions are determined by physical geography

features such as landforms, climate, and vegetation.

The four regions are:Coastal Plains

North Central Plains

Great Plains

Mountains and Basins

Mountains and Basins

• Tall mountains separated by large basins (closed valleys)

• Forests on mountains• Lower elevations (basins) are deserts with

cactus, short grasses, and shrubs• Very little rain• Contains the HIGHEST POINT IN TEXAS:

Guadalupe Peak ~ 8,751 feet

Mountains and Basins Region

• This region is located in West Texas.• This region has all of Texas’ mountains and valleys.• This land is very dry.• Rio Grande Valley runs along this region.• El Paso and Big Bend National Park• High number of Hispanics• Many factories• Cactus, shrubs, and cotton

Coastal Plains

• Most flat region in Texas• Plentiful water supply, like the Gulf, rivers, and lakes• Good for farming• Flat lands makes it easy to build, so there are many large cities,

like: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Laredo. This region has the highest population.

• The coast and flat land make it easy to transport goods to other places

• A lot of cattle because lots of dry grass to graze on• Oil is an important industry in this region

• Largest region in Texas

The Great Plains

Great Plains Region

Llano Estacado: -One of the flattest places on earth. A major farming place today.

Edwards Plateau: -primarily of limestone -caves and underwater streams

Edwards Aquifer - large bed of water bearing rock that supplies water for San Antonio

Balcones Escarpment – Separates lower regions of Texas from regions with higher elevations.

• Very high land• Plateaus, land that is high and flat• This region is dry and has little water supply

• Cooler weather because land is higher

• Major Cities: Lubbock and Amarillo• Important crops are cotton and wheat because the land is dry.

• Escarpments separate the plains regions.

Central Plains

• The Central Plains are cooler in the winter and hotter in the summer

• Many large cattle ranches are located in the NCP

• It is a rural region, not high population

• North Central Plains is slightly higher than the Coastal Plains

• Not much rain

• Fort Worth, Abilene, and military bases are in this region

• Learning to identify different regions in Texas can be difficult.

• The Balcones Escarpment is important because it divides the lowest parts of Texas from the higher areas. (East and south are lower and flatter, while the land west of the Balcones Escarpment is more varied.)

• The Great Plains is largely an elevated plateau – very flat and contains some deep canyons.

• The Mountains and Basins region is the only area where there are mountain ranges separated by flat-bottomed valleys called basins.

INTERACTIVE MAP

• Why do so many people live in Central and East Texas and so few in West Texas?

• People tend to live where the jobs are.

• For example, Houston began to grow in its early years because of its oil industry (the activity of making or preparing products for sale).

• Dallas – large number of companies, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (one of the busiest airports in the US).

• San Antonio – military bases, scenic (Alamo, River Walk)

• Austin – Capital, largest university in the state, high-tech industry

• NO big industry in West Texas

• Even though most Texans live in cities, agriculture is still one of the state’s most important industries.

• Only the state of California earns more money from farming than Texas.

• Texas produces more cotton than any other state.• Other important crops include: peanuts, black-eyed peas,

pecans, wheat, potatoes, corn, rice, hay, soybean, and citrus fruit.

• Texas is also an important livestock producer – mainly cattle, sheep, and goats.

Diverse Names of Texas Cities and Towns

• Texas has a number of cities and towns whose names reflect the various people that make up our state.

• Many Texas city names are taken from Spanish words that honor a certain place, an individual, or a characteristic of an area. (San Antonio is the largest city in Texas with a Spanish name.)

• Many other Texas city names reflect the state’s varied heritage (beliefs and customs that people get from their ancestors). An example of this would be New Braunfels and its German heritage.

Texas can be divided into regions of similar landforms, climate, and precipitation.

Mapping Texas Lands

People are drawn to some regions more than others because of climate, natural resources, or the availability of jobs.

Mapping Texas People

Identifying the Four Regions of TexasThree of the four regions can also

be divided into subregions with similar vegetation, rainfall, and

other physical features.

I hope you enjoyed your tour!

I’ll see y’all later!Listen carefully as your teacher gives you your

assignment!