The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961 Page: 317
574 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Physiography of the Texas Panhandle
The examination of Panhandle physiography, then, may be said
to center around two basic subdivisions and two lines: the first
and most important line is the High Plains escarpment which
divides the High Plains from the secondary plains, the two basic
subdivisions. The second line is the Canadian River which cuts
through both the High and secondary plains, but which is most
conspicuous where it crosses the High Plains because of the con-
trast between the broken nature of the river valley and the flatness
of the surrounding plain. The portions of the High Plains lying
on either side of the Canadian River are referred to as the North
Canadian Plains and the South Canadian Plains.
GEOLOGY
In order to make the physiographic characteristics of the Texas
Panhandle more meaningful, a brief review of the geologic proc-
esses which created the Great Plains region will be valuable.2
The basic formation upon which the Great Plains rest is a marine-
rock sheet which stretches eastward from the base of the Rocky
Mountains. The surface of the Great Plains was built upon this
marine-rock sheet by the action of streams flowing eastward from
the Rockies. These streams were fed by the more humid condi-
tions of the mountains and, within the waters derived from rain
and melted snow, brought away eroded materials from the moun-
tain slopes. When these streams hit the more arid area occupied
by the marine-rock sheet, they lost their beds, spread out, and, as
they pushed their way eastward, deposited the materials eroded
from the mountains. These streams were numerous and as their
courses became more filled, they spread out and interlaced so
that, after a time, a great, flat debris apron was built up into a
vast plain. These streams, then, rather than continuing to erode
after they left the mountains, became aggrading streams-a condi-
tion produced by the dry climate which they encountered after
leaving the mountains. Thus, aggrading, interlacing streams built
up the Great Plains.
2The basic work on the geology of the Great Plains is Willard D. Johnson, "The
High Plains and their Utilization," Twenty-first Annual Report of the United States
Geological Survey, Part IV (1899-1900oo), 609-741; and Twenty-second Annual Report
of the United States Geological Survey, Part IV (xgoo-1go1), 635-669. The classic
exposition of Johnson's rather technical work is to be found in Webb, The Great
Plains, 10-17, from which the following summary is taken.317
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 64, July 1960 - April, 1961, periodical, 1961; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101190/m1/352/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.