1. Natural Resources of Texas
Created By
Carmen Phillips
Krimmel Intermediate

2. Texas is the 2nd largest state in the U. S. behind Alaska
Texas is the 2nd largest state in the U.S. behind Alaska. The area of Texas is 267,277 square miles. #2

3. Texas makes up 7% of the total land area of the United States.

4. Natural Resources
In the south we are mostly on a level plain and along the coast are barrier islands and protected bays.
Padre Island

5. Cutting across Texas is an escarpment, or a great curving arc or cliff, named the Balcones Escarpment. It was formed by a long ago earthquake.
This marks the beginning of the Hill Country. This is a plateau, or tableland.
Balcones Escarpment

6. As you travel northwest the land gets flatter and higher with an abrupt change at the Caprock Escarpment along with the Palo Duro Canyon and Tule Canyons.
Palo Duro Canyon
Caprock Escarpment

7. In the west is the only place where mountains can be found in Texas
In the west is the only place where mountains can be found in Texas. The highest point is the Guadalupe Peak.
Guadalupe Peak 8,749 feet

8. Texas Water Resources
Texas’s Water Resources include the Gulf of Mexico, bays and rivers. Rivers of Texas are called the wrong way rivers because they take needed water away from the dry areas of the state due to the higher elevation in the northwest.

9. To control floods and keep needed water from flowing into the Gulf, rivers have been dammed to form lakes.
Proctor Dam – Courtesy US Army Corps of Engineers

10. The only natural lake in Texas is Caddo Lake.

11. Aquifers are underground water reservoirs used for irrigation.

12. Edwards Aquifer in the Hill Country supplies water for San Antonio and for farms to the west and is refilled by rainfall.
Barton Springs
Guadalupe River

13. Cotton Farmers of the Texas High Plains
Ogallala Aquifer in the Texas High Plains has declining water levels and can not be refilled easily, but it irrigates 5 million acres.
Cotton Farmers of the Texas High Plains
Optional Ogallala Video Clip. First 30 seconds ONLY.

14. Can you guess how many gallons of water it takes to grow ONE pound of cotton?=
That’s about 20 water coolers!

15. Soil is a valuable resource for both farming and ranching.

16. 3 Vegetation Regions of Texas
Grasses and small shrubs of the Savannas grow in Central and West Texas.
Forests located in the East provide one of the top cash crops in Texas.
Stretching from Dallas to San Antonio and around Houston, the Grasslands are the most heavily settled regions.

17. Texas’s Natural Economic Resources$ $
Main Minerals are:
Natural Gas
Petroleum
Sand and Gravel
Coal

18. Building Stones
Gypsum
(Drywall)
Some of Texas’ natural materials are used in building. Do you have any of these natural stones in YOUR home?
Granite
(Countertops)
Limestone
(Floors)

19. Texas Energy
1/4 of all the energy in the history of the United States has been produced in Texas.

20. Come in quietly and open your INB:
In your Interactive Notebook Pg 11 create a Postcard of ONE Natural Resource we visited today! Front and Back! You must use COLOR!
Palo Duro Canyon
Wishing you were here…

21. Interactive NB Page 10:
Brainstorm: Create a bubble map of Natural Resources found in Texas and explain how the resources are used. You must have 6 resources!
Pre AP Assignment