The Seven Regions of Texas: Prairies and Lakes
The Prairies and Lakes region in central and north central Texas rivals the Hill Country region in strong economic growth, cultural diversity and natural beauty. It lies between the Panhandle Plains in west Texas and the Pineywoods in east Texas. The Prairies and Lakes region is the second largest region in Texas at 45,000 square miles and has an average yearly rainfall of 26–40 inches. Farming and ranching continue to be the major agricultural industries in this region in addition to oil production, another primary enterprise. This region has three sub-regions: Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah.
Cross Timbers is so named because sections of woodland stretch north and south across bands of prairie grassland. This sub-region starts at the Oklahoma border west of Lake Texoma and stretches down to the southeastern portion of Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge and Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge are popular destinations for those looking to experience this eco-region as it once was. The Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge lies northwest of Fort Worth and consists of 3,621 acres with over 20 miles of hiking trails. The Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1946 around the Big Mineral arm of Lake Texoma just south of the Texas Oklahoma border. This 12,000 acre refuge provides a variety of habitats for birds, fish and other wildlife.
The Blackland Prairie extends south from the border of Oklahoma east of Lake Texoma to just north of Austin. The name comes from the soil which is rich, fertile and black. Tall prairie grasses grew all across this part of Texas before settlers came to build farms and grow crops of corn, wheat, sorghum, cotton, pecans and soybeans. Much of the wildlife in this area depends upon these prairies for survival, so conservation biologists are working hard to restore them.
Between the Blackland prairies to the west and the Pineywoods to the east lies the third sub-region — the Post Oak Savannah. This sub-region is home to native grasses and scattered post oaks, live oaks, blackjack oaks and black hickory trees. According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, “this ecosystem is part of an historic oak belt, which travels south from Canada towards Central America.” Cattle ranching, hay production and residential property development have led to the reduction of true old-growth Post Oak Savannah in Texas.
North central Texas has one of the largest concentrations of horse farms in the United States. A variety of breeds and disciplines are available including Arabians, Appaloosas, Paints, miniature horses, quarter horses, thoroughbreds and many more. Breeding farms, training facilities and equine specialists make this area very attractive to horse enthusiasts.
The three major rivers in this region are the Red, Brazos and Trinity. The Red River rises in the Texas Panhandle and runs east for 680 miles while acting as the border between Oklahoma and Texas before entering Arkansas and Louisiana. The Brazos River is 1,280 miles long from it’s headwater source in Blackwater Draw, New Mexico to it’s mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. The Trinity River is 710 miles long, flowing from extreme northern Texas all the way to Trinity Bay in Chambers County. It has four branches: the West Fork, Clear Fork, Elm Fork and East Fork.
Millions of years ago enormous dinosaurs lived in this region. Thus far, the fossils of 21 different dinosaurs have been found including the Alamosaurus, a 50-foot long titanosaur weighing 30 tons. A great place to find more information about these prehistoric animals is at Dinosaur Valley State Park, 59 miles southwest of Forth Worth in Glen Rose, Texas.
There are 50 counties that make up this region: Austin, Bastrop, Bosque, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Collin, Colorado, Comanche, Cooke, Dallas, Delta, Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Franklin, Freestone, Gonzales, Grayson, Grimes, Hamilton, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Montague, Navarro, Parker, Rains, Red River, Robertson, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, Van Zandt, Washington and Wise.
The cultural and economic hub of this region is the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the largest metropolitan area in the south and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States — home to almost seven million people. Dallas has a large concentration of corporate headquarters and Fort Worth leads the pack in the farming and ranching industry. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has the largest Information Technology industry base in the state, as well as numerous major defense manufacturers.
Other smaller cities and towns in this region include Addison, Brenham, Denton, Gonzales, Greenville, Irving, La Grange, Mesquite, Paris, and Waco. Some of our most honored Texas Veterans reside at the Clyde W. Cosper Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, which lies in Fannin County.
There are several top-rated universities in this region including the University of Texas at Arlington, University of North Texas in Denton and Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station.
In their latest publication, Rural Land Value Trends for 2014, the Texas Chapter of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA) states that “the demand for pasture land in the Southern Grand Prairie (which includes Erath and Comanche counties) has improved with slightly higher sales prices noted for productive improved pasture land and for wooded pasture. In general, land values tend to increase as one moves from west to east, with the higher values being associated with properties in counties nearer to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Erath county enjoys the benefits of its proximity to Fort Worth, but also has support provided by buyers within the Stephenville area seeking recreational home sites.”
ASFMRA also researched land values in the North Texas sub-region which includes Cooke, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Montague, Rains, Somervell and Van Zandt counties. “In that there is almost a total lack of rural lands in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Wise, Parker, Rockwall, Hood and Johnson counties, these counties were not considered in the development of the sub-region’s value trends. These fringe counties are becoming an extension of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.” This latest report shows slight to moderate increases in sales activity in this sub-region, where the motivation of buyers is “typically rural residential on either a permanent or temporary basis, and investment.”
A great place to look for land for sale in the Prairies and Lakes Region are the Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) Forfeited Land Sales. The VLB offers Quarterly Type I Forfeited Land Sales available to Veterans only and an Ongoing Type II Forfeited Land Sale available to all Texas residents. If there are no forfeited land tracts that interest you, please consider property search websites that list land for sale in Texas, or contact a real estate professional.
If you have questions or need assistance with a land loan, our Veterans Benefits Counselors at the VLB Veterans Call Service Center are happy to help. Please call us at 1–800–252-VETS (8387) or send us an email at vlbinfo@glo.texas.gov.
Stay tuned for our next blog post in this series featuring the Gulf Coast region! Read our previous blog post about the Hill Country Region.
