Texas Natural Regions: Mountains and Basins, Coastal Plains, North Central Plains, Great Plains

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and definitions related to Texas natural regions, their features, subregions, and economic activities from the Mountains and Basins, Great Plains, North Central Plains, and Coastal Plains chapters.

Basins

A basin is a lowland surrounded by higher land.

Guadalupe Peak

The highest point in the Mountains and Basins subregion and in Texas.

Tourism

The business of attracting visitors to a region or place.

Big Bend National Park

Park named for its location in the bend of the Rio Grande; about 800,000 acres; protects a wide variety of plants and animals including the peregrine falcon and Mexican long-nosed bat.

Mountains and Basins

Texas region with dramatic landscape and a dry desert climate; natural features affect human activity.

Natural region

An area with a common physical environment defined by physical features.

Perceptual region

A region with vague boundaries based on human characteristics (includes cultural and political regions).

Coastal Plains

One of Texas’s four natural regions along the coast, with five subregions and varied landscapes and economies.

North Central Plains

A Texas region containing subregions such as the Grand Prairie, Cross Timbers, and the Rolling Plains.

Four Natural Regions of Texas

Coastal Plains, North Central Plains, Great Plains, and Mountains and Basins.

Piney Woods

A Coastal Plains subregion known for pine forests, lakes, creeks, and rivers (also described as a dry climate and farming in notes).

Gulf Coast Plain

Coastal Plains subregion with prairie, bayous, farming, ranching, fishing, ports, oil, and petrochemicals.

South Texas Plains

Coastal Plains subregion with warm, dry climate and year-round farming and ranches.

Post Oak Belt

Coastal Plains subregion with sandy soils, prairies, farming, and energy resources.

Blackland Prairie

Coastal Plains subregion with rich soil, large population, manufacturing, and farming (cotton, grains).

Padre Island

133-mile-long island in the Coastal Plains; features the longest sand beach in the United States and dunes.

Padre Island National Seashore

Protection area preserving Padre Island’s natural beauty and resources.

Houston

A city in the Coastal Plains known for petrochemicals, shipping, and manufacturing.

Dallas

A major city associated with banking, manufacturing, and corporate headquarters in the Coastal Plains.

Caprock

A hard bed of rock beneath the soil in the Great Plains.

Escarpments

Cliffs formed by the erosion of rock.

Fault

A break in Earth’s crust; noted fault crosses southwestern Texas through San Antonio and Austin and is linked to earthquakes.

Balcones Escarpment

Escarpment associated with the Edwards Plateau area in Texas.

Great Plains

Texas region divided into the High Plains and the Edwards Plateau; modified for ranching and oil industries.

High Plains

Part of the Great Plains; a high, flat area with caprock, eastern escarpments, Red River forming Palo Duro Canyon, little rainfall, and oil and gas.

Edwards Plateau

High, hilly limestone plateau with Balcones Escarpment and Fault; many springs; rocky, thin soil; grasses, trees, rivers, streams, canyons.

Red River

River that helps form the Palo Duro Canyon area in the High Plains region.

Palo Duro Canyon

Canyon formed in the High Plains by the Red River region.

Lignite

A soft brown coal used for fuel.

Petrochemicals

Industries producing chemicals from petroleum.

Ports

Harbors used for shipping and trade.

Cotton

A major crop in the Post Oak Belt (and part of Blackland Prairie farming).

Rice

A crop grown in the Gulf Coast Plain near the Rio Grande Valley.

Lignite mining

Extraction of lignite coal for fuel.

Transportation Center

A place where goods arrive to be shipped to many destinations.

Grand Prairie

A subregion of the North Central Plains.

Cross Timbers

A subregion of the North Central Plains.

Rolling Plains

A subregion of the North Central Plains.

North Central Plains

Region with subregions Grand Prairie, Cross Timbers, and Rolling Plains; physical features influence industry.