Abstract: Land Resources of Texas

R. S. Kier, L. E. Garner, L. F. Brown, Jr.

Concern over the environmental effects of land and water use has sparked considerable interest in delineating optimum uses of natural resources consistent with their natural suitabilities and inherent limitations. Essential to this effort is comprehensive knowledge of physical, chemical, and biological characteristics, limiting parameters, and interrelations of the various land and water areas in Texas. Because no environment or group of environments is isolated, a regional perspective is necessary to ascertain the diversity of land and water resources, to assess their natural carrying capacities, and to identify critical areas where more detailed studies are needed.

An inventory of Texas lands, classified and mapped according to natural suitability and use considerations, has been completed by the Bureau of Economic Geology; 71 land-resource units are depicted on a single map at a scale of 1:500,000. Original mapping from which the land-resource units were derived was at scales of 1:24,000 and 1:62,500.

Classification of the land-resource units was based on assessment of geologic, pedologic, biologic, hydrologic, and mineral-resource data and on current land use as it pertains to the capability of land and water areas to sustain present and potential uses. Eight major categories were defined on the basis of their fundamental environmental significance.

A brief explanation on the map describes each unit in such terms as substrate material, topography, vegetation types, active processes, and known or potential resources. A table presents natural suitability and recommended use considerations. In addition, 11 small maps depict specific aspects of land resources in Texas that could not be shown on the large map.

The land resources map and accompanying text are designed to serve as an integrated basis for regional, interregional, and statewide planning. Thematic maps can be prepared easily by focusing on special aspects of land capability; for example, a map to serve as a guide to natural suitability of land areas in Texas for solidwaste disposal already has been prepared. This approach emphasizes positive aspects of natural capability as well as constraints on land and water use.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90967©1977 GCAGS and GC Section SEPM 27th Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas