Roping in the Texas Regions
Roping Rascals Robotic Team
The 7 regions
They are South Texas Plains, Gulf Coast, Piney Woods, Big Bend Country, Prairies and Lakes, Hill Country, and Panhandle Plains.
Gulf Coast
The Gulf Coast stretches along the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of miles. Cities such as Corpus Christi ,Galveston and Houston are in the Gulf Coast region. 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. The Gulf Coast is home to many wildlife and plants. People from many cultures have enjoyed living in the Gulf Coast region. The major rivers are San Jacinto, Trinity, Brazos, Nueces, and San Antonio.
South Texas Plains
Most of the land is dry and covered with grasses and thorny bush such as mesquite and prickly pear. The Rio Grande River is very long where it flows through South Texas is called the Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande Valley is an ecosystem found nowhere else in the United States. It is also very humid in the South Texas Plains. Many tropical birds from South America can be found here. Presently there are only 37 acres of protected palm forest compared to approximately 40,000 acres that once covered the Delta region. Bird watchers from across the world come to South Texas to view the many birds along the border and Coastal areas . The worlds birding center is found here.
Panhandle Plains
The northernmost area of Texas is called the Panhandle. This region is mostly flat, grassy land or plains. Sometimes this land is called staked plains. The land is mostly treeless and on a high, flat plateau. The Eastern part of the Panhandle is not quite as flat. It is lower in elevation and called a rolling plain. There is more rainfall in this Eastern part of the Panhandle plains.
Piney Woods
The major rivers are Sabine, Cypress, Sulphur, Red. The land is mostly low-lying wet lands. The Piney Woods region extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. This terrain is rolling with lower, wetter bottom-lands that grow hard wood trees such as elm, mesquite, and ash. The Piney Woods Region is home to a variety of plants and animals that like woodlands and shore lands. Swamps are common particularly in the Southern most area of the region which is called the big thicket.
Big Bend
West Texas has wide opened rugged plateaus and desert mountains. This desert area is part of the great Chihuahuan Desert of Mexico. The only mountains are found here. Big Bend is the region of extremes. The desert here is hot and dry in the day and cool at night. In this region it rarely ever snows. They say it snows once every 3 years. The Rio Grande River runs along the southern part of the Big Bend Country. It forms the border between Texas and Mexico. The Rio Grande River is one of the longest rivers in North America. This Region is called '' Big Bend'' because the Rio Grande River turns here in a ''Big Bend''.
Prairies and Lakes
This area of Texas is a mixture of the Panhandle and the Piney Woods. You will see rolling hills, prairies and woodlands. The soil is rich, black and fertile. Ranching and crop production is a primary way of living here. There are many lakes here than people travel to fish in. Lake Fork, Lake Ray Roberts, and Cedar Hill State Park are popular state parks here. You will even see fossils from times gone by in the Dinosaur Valley State Park at Glen Rose. Some common wildlife found here are the raccoon, beaver, deer, mocking bird, and bass. Some of the vegetation found here are red oak, cottonwood, pecan, post oak, sycamore trees.
Hill Country
This area of Texas is located in the central part of the state. The land ranges from rolling hills to grasslands. There are many springs and deep canyons that were caused by erosion over the years. There is an underground spring still to be found at the bottom of a lake near San Marcos. Enchanted Rock is a large granite dome coming from the rocks that was once a sacred place for the Native Americans that once lived here. Some of the vegetation found here are cypress, mesquite, willow, and pecan. Some of the wildlife that calls this area home is muskrat, white-tail deer, cricket frogs and bass.
Credits:
Photos courtesy Texas Parks and Wildlife Department