Texas Ecoregions

Climate - extended droughts

Soil - Clay & Sand

Elevation - 3,000 - 4,5000 feet above sea level

Geography - high plateau

Vegetation - irrigated cropland, mesquite & juniper

High Plains

Climate - average rainfall 20-28 inches, dry summers

with high temperatures & high evaporation rates

Soil - coarse sands, clays & shales

Elevation - 800 - 3,000 feet above sea level

Geography - rolling hills, broad flats, rivers & tributaries

Vegetation - mesquite, short grass savanah, hardwood trees,

juniper,

Rolling Plains

Blackland Prarie

Pineywoods

Climate - average annual rainfall 36-50 inches,

humidity & temperatures high

Soil - generally acidic, pale to dark gray sands or

sandy loams

Elevation - 200-500 feet above sea level

Geography - rolling terrain

Vegetation - pine & oak trees, cropland, native &

planted pastures, bottomlands

Climate - annual average rainfall 28-40 inches

Soil - dark-colored alkaline clay, gray acidic sandy loam

Elevation - 300-800 feet above sea level

Geography - gently rolling to nearly level terrain

Vegetation - food & forage crops

Oak Woods & Praries

Climate - average annual rainfall 28-40 inches

Soil - acidic sandy loam, sand, acidic soil, clay

Elevation - 300-800 feet above sea level

Geography - gently rolling to hilly terrain

Vegetation - oak savannah, oak woodland & grasslands

Climate - 9-5 inches of rain, semi-arid (dry), dry winters

Soil - shallow, saline, unproductive

Elevation - 2,000 feet to mountain ranges

Geography - salt basins, sand hills, rugged plateaus,

mountain slopes

Vegetation - desert grassland, desert scrub, coniferous

& mixed hardwood forests

Trans Pecos

Llano Uplift

Climate - annual average rainfall 24-32 inches

Soil - coarse textured sand produced from weathered granite

Elevation - 825-2,250 feet above sea level

Geography - some of oldest rocks in Texas, unique minerals &

rock formations, large granite domes, hilly, rolling

landscape

Vegetation - oak-hickory or oak-juniper woodlands, mesquite-mixed

brush savannah, grasslands

angosturatopaz

Edwards Plateau

Climate - annual average rainfall 15-34 inches

Soil - shallow with variety of textures, limestone underneath

Elevation - less than 100 feet - 3,000 feet above sea level

Geograph - many springs, stony hills, steep canyons, caves, river systems,

Vegetation - grasslands, juniper/oak woodlands, plateau live oak or mesquite

savannah

Gulf Coast

Praries &

Marshes

Climate - annual rainfall 30-50 inches, high

humidity, warm temperatures

Soil - acidic sands, sandy loam, clays in rivers

Elevation - nearly level, less than 150 feet above

sea level, cut by streams & rivers

Geography - barrier islands along coast, marshes,

praries

Vegetation - salt grass, tallgrass praries, live oak

woodlands, mesquite, acacias, oaks,

tall woodlands in river bottoms

South Texas Brush

Country

Climate - annual rainfall 16-35 inches, high summer temperatures,

very high evaporation rates

Soil - alkaline to slightly acidic clays, clay loams, shallow caliche soil

Elevation - sea level - 1,000 feet

Geograph - flat plains, gently rolling terrain

Vegetation - thorny shrubs, trees, cactus, patches of palms,

subtropical woodlands

Coastal Sand

Plain

Climate - average annual rainfall 24-28 inches

Soil - primarily sands

Elevation - less than 150 feet below sea level

Geography - windblown sands, unstable dunes with grasslands,

stands of oak, salt marshes

Vegetation - tallgrass prarie with live oak woodlands, mesquite

savannah, salt marshes