1. Ecoregions of Texas

2. What Is An Ecoregion?
Ecoregion – a major ecosystem with distinctive geography, characteristic plants and animals, and ecosystems that receives uniform solar radiation and moisture
Sometimes called an ecological region or bioregion
Smaller than a biome

4. Where Are They? Region 1: Pineywoods
Region 2: Cross Timbers or Oak Woods and Prairies
Region 3: Blackland Prairies
Region 4: Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
Region 5: Coastal Sand Plains
Region 6: South Texas Brush Country

5. Where Are They? (cont.) Region 7: Edwards Plateau
Region 8: Llano Uplift
Region 9: Rolling Plains
Region 10: High Plains
Region 11: Trans Pecos
Region 12: Marine Environment

6. Region 1
Piney Woods
Climate: The average annual rainfall is 36 to 50 inches; the humidity and temperatures are typically high.
Soil: Largely acidic and typically pale to dark gray sands or sandy loams
Elevation: Ranges from 200 to 500 feet above sea level
Geography: Rolling terrain
Vegetation: Pine and oak; tall hardwood forests; areas of cropland, planted pastures, native pastures, and rich bottomlands

7. Cross Timbers or Oak Woods & Prairies
Region 2
Cross Timbers or Oak Woods & Prairies
Climate: Average annual rainfall 28 to 40 inches per
year.
Soil: Upland soils tend to be light colored, acidic sandy loam or
sands. Bottomland soils tend to be light brown to dark gray and
acidic ranging from sandy loams to clays.
Elevation: Ranges from 300 to 800 feet above sea level
Geography: Gently rolling to hilly terrain
Vegetation: Oak savannah; patches of oak woodland
alternate with grassland

8. Region 3 Blackland Prairies
Climate: The average annual rainfall is from 28 to 40 inches. The northern end of the region has its peak rainfall during the
month of May. Rainfall is fairly uniform over the south-central
region throughout the year.
Soil: Uniformly dark-colored alkaline clays interspersed with some
gray acidic sandy loams
Elevation: Ranges from 300 to 800 feet above sea level
Geography: Gently rolling to nearly level terrain
Vegetation: Food and forage crops

9. Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
Region 4
Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes
Climate: Rainfall annually ranges from 30 to 50 inches per year;
high humidity and warm temperatures
Soil: Acidic sands and sandy loams. Clays are present in the
river bottoms.
Elevation: Nearly level, less than 150 feet above sea level, cut
by streams and rivers flowing into the Gulf of Mexico
Geography: Coastal barrier islands, marshes near the
bays and estuaries, prairies
Vegetation: Salt grass, tallgrass prairies, live oak woodlands,
mesquite and acacias, oaks dispersed along the coast, tall
woodlands in the river bottoms

10. Region 5 Coastal Sand Plains
Climate: Rainfall averages 24 to 28 inches per
year
Soil: Mostly sands
Elevation: Elevations are mainly level; less than 150 feet
above sea level
Geography: Windblown sands and unstable dunes with
grasslands, stands of oak, and salt marshes
Vegetation: Tallgrass prairie and live oak woodlands,
mesquite savannah, and salt marshes

11. South Texas Brush Country
Region 6
South Texas Brush Country
Climate: Average annual rainfall of 16 to 35 inches increases
from the West to East. High temperatures with very high
evaporation rates are typical of summer.
Soil: Alkaline to somewhat acidic clays, clay loams and
shallow caliche soils
Elevation: Ranges from sea level to 1000 feet
Geography: Flat plains to gently rolling terrain
Vegetation: Thorny shrubs, trees, and cactus dispersed with
patches of palms and subtropical woodlands

12. Region 7 Edwards Plateau
Climate: Rainfall averages vary from 15 to 34 inches
Soil: Underlying limestone; mostly shallow with an assortment of
surface textures
Elevation: Ranges from somewhat less than 100 feet to over
3,000 feet above sea level
Geography: Several springs, stony hills, and steep canyons and
caves; many river systems separate the surface which creates a
rough but well-drained landscape
Vegetation: Grasslands, juniper/oak woodlands, and plateau
live oak or mesquite savannah

13. Region 8
Llano Uplift
Climate: Rainfall averages from 24 to 32 inches per year
Soil: Coarse textured sands, produced from weathered
granite over thousands of years
Elevation: Ranges from 825 to 2,250 feet above sea
level
Geography: Hilly to rolling landscape. With some of the
oldest rocks in Texas, the region contains unique
minerals, rock formations, and large granite domes.
Vegetation: Oak-hickory or oak-juniper woodlands,
mesquite-mixed brush savannah, and grasslands

14. Region 9
Rolling Plains
Climate: Rainfall averages 20 to 28 inches, dry
summers with high temperatures and high evaporation rates
Soil: Varies from coarse sands alongside outwash terraces by
streams to clays and shales
Elevation: Ranges from 800 to 3,000 feet above sea level
Geography: Gently rolling hills and broad flats are cut by
several rivers and their tributaries.
Vegetation: Mesquite and shortgrass savannah, various
hardwood species along streams, juniper on steep slopes along
rivers

15. Region 10
High Plains
Climate: Multiple extended droughts have occurred several
times over the last 100 years.
Soil: The texture of surface soils varies from clays in the
North to sands in the South; caliche can be found beneath
surface soils at depths that range from two to five feet.
Elevation: Ranges from 3,000 to 4,500 feet above sea
level
Geography: Relatively level high plateau
Vegetation: Irrigated cropland. Mesquite and juniper are
native vegetation.

16. Region 11
Trans Pecos
Climate: 9–15 inches of rain; semi-arid, warm, dry winters
Soil: Generally shallow, saline, and unproductive
Elevation: 2,000 feet to mountain ranges. The highest peak is 8,751 feet above sea level.
Geography: Salt basins, sand hills, rugged plateaus, mountain slopes
Vegetation: Desert grassland, desert scrub, coniferous and mixed hardwood forests at mountain peaks

17. My Ecoregion Which region do you live in?
Have you ever visited another region?
Source: