Comparing and Contrasting Regions of Texas

There are many similarities and differences in a state as large as Texas. The state is divided into 4 geographic regions: Mountains & Basins, the Great Plains, the North Central Plains, and the Coastal Plains. Even in these regions there are enough differences for subdivisions. The Great Plains is divided into the Llano Basin, Edwards Plateau, and the High Plains. The North Central Plains is also divided into 3 sub-regions: Grand Prairie, Cross Timbers, and Rolling Plains. The Coastal Plains includes the Piney Woods, Post Oak Belt, Blackland Prairie, Gulf Costal Plains, and the South Texas Plains. Only the Mountains & Basins Region is not subdivided. There will be the comparing of the Mountains & Basins to the Great Plains and the North Central Plains to the Coastal Plains.

North Central Plains vs. Coastal Plains.

The North Central Plains is made up of three sub regions. These are the Grand Prairie, Cross Timbers, and the Rolling Plains. The Coastal Plains is divided into five sub regions. The Piney Woods, Post Oak Belt, the Blackland Prairie, Gulf Coastal Plain and the South Texas Plains are the sub regions of the Coastal Plains.

The Coastal plains has two more sub-regions than the North Central plains Region. The North Central plains has higher elevations than the Coastal plains. The Gulf Coastal Plains go from below sea level to 1000 feet above sea level. The North Central Plains elevation ranges from 800 to 2000 feet above sea level. The Coastal plains is bigger in size. More people live in the Coastal plains, because of where it is located. The Coastal plains has hundreds of thousands of trees and the North Central plains has very few of them. The Coastal plains is next to the Gulf of Mexico. The Coastal plains soil is sandy and very

wet. The main crop in the North Central plains is cotton and in the Coastal plains it is types of fruits and things that need a lot of water. Also the Rolling Plains is largely a steppe area and in the Coastal Plains none of the sub-regions are a steppe. The Grand Prairies soil is not good for growing trees and in the Coastal Plains you can grow trees anywhere. The Cross Timbers is divided into East Cross Timbers and West Cross Timbers and no sub region in the Coastal Plains is like that. In the Rolling Plains you can ranch and in the Coastal Plains you can grow rice or farm fruit, such as grapefruit and oranges. The Coastal Plains is warmer than the North Central Plains and the growing season is longer in the warmer area. The Growing season in the Coastal Plains is from 230 days to 351 days. The growing season in the North Central Plains ranges from 220 days to 240 days.

Hardwood trees grow in two sub regions in the North Central Plains and in two sub regions in the Coastal Plains. The types

of hardwoods in the North Central Plains are post oaks, hickories, pecans and elms. The Coastal Plains hardwoods include oak, and hickory.

These two regions border Oklahoma to the north. Each region has at least one sub-region that grows vegetation. In the Coastal Plains it is the Blackland Prairie and in the North Central Plains it is the Rolling Plains area that grows grasses with few trees.

Mountains And Basins vs. Great Plains

The Mountains and Basins have no sub-regions. Mountains and Basins have a much higher elevation than the Great Plains. Great plains is mostly plateaus and Mountains and Basins is mostly mountains. The Mountains and Basins have one of the tallest peaks in Texas, while the High plains is one of the

flattest places on the earth. Mountains and Basins mostly grow shrubs and types of trees and the Great Plains grows mainly grasses. The Llano basin is made up of pink granite, the Mountains and Basins is made up of rock and sand.

The Mountains and Basins vegetation is much different from the Llano basin. The High Plains is a major farming area and the Mountains and Basins has no farming areas. The Edwards Plateau is made of limestone and the Mountains and Basins is made up of rock and sand. The Mountains and Basins and the Edwards Plateau both have a popular site. The Llano Basin and the Mountains and Basins both have basins where they are located. Both of these regions border New Mexico to the left. Neither of these regions borders an ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Neither of these two regions are a steppe.

The Mountains and Basins have deserts and the High Plains is one of the flattest places on earth. Deserts are flat with maybe one or two hills. Also in the High Plains the climate is dry and

the Deserts are dry. The Mountains and Basins and the Great Plains yearly rainfall is fairly close.

With four regions there are many differences. This shows the common characteristics and differences in elevation, average rainfall, growing season, and vegetation across the state. Breaking the four regions into sub regions helps point out more differences and similarities. Texas is a large are with many sub regions to help identify and simplify the area.