Rural Interstates, Highways, and Roads in the Prairies and Lakes Region

Of course, the big freeways are in the big cities. But any true road enthusiast also likes to take a look at the rural roads and the surrounding landscape. I'll slowly add photos to this section

The Prairies and Lakes Region includes the following counties:       Austin Falls Lamar Bastrop Fannin Lavaca Bell Fayette Limestone Bosque Franklin McLennan Brazos Freestone Milam Burleson Gonzales Montague Caldwell Grayson Navarro Collin Grimes Parker Colorado Hamilton Rains Comanche Henderson Red River Cooke Hill Robertson Coryell Hood Rock Wall Dallas Hopkins Somerviulle Delta Hunt Tarrant Denton Johnson Van Zandt Dewitt Kaufman Washington Ellis Lee Wise Erath

Features of the Prairies and Lakes Region
Topography and Characteristics	Major Cities / Rainfall / Elevation	Common & Rare Vegetation	Common & Rare Wildlife
Size: Oak Woods and Prairies:19,500  sq mi. Blackland Prairies: 25,500 sq mi. Av. Rainfall: 28-40 in./yr Characteristics: The Oak Woods and Prairies region is a transitional area for many plants and animals, whose ranges extend northward into the Great Plains or eastward into the forests. This region, sometimes called the Cross-Timbers, was named by early settlers, who found belts of oak forest crossing strips of prairie grassland. Average annual rainfall averages 28-40 inches per year. May or June usually brings a peak in monthly rainfall. Upland soils are light colored, acidic sandy loam or sands. Bottomland soils may be light brown to dark gray and acidic with textures ranging from sandy loams to clays. The landscape of the region is gently rolling to hilly and elevations range from 300 to 800 feet above sea level. The region can be described as oak savannah, where patches of oak woodland are interspersed with grassland. Cattle ranching the major agricultural industry in the Oak Woods and Prairies. Introduced grasses such as bermudagrass are grazed along with forage crops and native grasslands. The Blackland Prairies region is named for the deep, fertile black soils that characterize the area. Blackland Prairie soils once supported a tallgrass prairie dominated by tall-growing grasses such as big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, and switchgrass. Because of the fertile soils, much of the original prairie has been plowed to produce food and forage crops. The average annual rainfall ranges from 28-40 inches. May is the peak rainfall month for the northern end of the region; however, the south-central part has a fairly uniform rainfall distribution throughout the year. Typically, soils are uniformly dark-colored alkaline clays, often referred to as "black gumbo", interspersed with some gray acidic sandy loams. The landscape is gently rolling to nearly level, and elevations range from 300 to 800 feet above sea level. Crop production and cattle ranching are the primary agricultural industries.	Albany-25.53 in / 1,429 ft Brownwood- 29.69 in / 1,342 ft Burnet- 32.02 in / 1,319 ft Carrollton- 34.20 in / 470 ft Comanche-36.33 in / 1,358 ft Cresson- 31.64 in / 1,047 ft Gatesville- 32.88 in / 795 ft Glen Rose 33.12 in / 680 ft Marlin-36.75 in / 383 ft Mexia-40.33 in / 534 ft Mineola-36.85 in / 414 ft Mineral Wells-32.15 in/ 925 ft Seguin-21.52 in / 520 ft	Pecan Black hickory Black walnut Sycamore Burr oak Eastern cottonwood Post oak Persimmon Wax myrtle Buckeye Mexican plum Sugarberry Green ash Red oak Flameleaf sumac Green hawthorne Black cherry American elderberry Bald cypress Buttonbush Rare Plants and Habitat Large-fruited sand verbena: Openings within oak woodlands on deep sands Navasota ladies-tresses: Openings and drainages in post oak woodlands Tall grass prairie plant community has become rare in the Blacklands Prairie	Plains pocket gopher Beaver Racoon Porcupine Texas kangaroo rat Hispid cotton rat Ornate box turtle Green-winged teal Bobwhite quail Red-shouldered hawk Scissortail flycatcher White-tailed deer Brazilian freetail bat Ringtail Nine-banded armadillo Texas horned lizard Eastern hognose snake Tarantula Golden cheeked warbler Black-capped vireo Northern mockingbird Guadalupe bass Rare Animals and Habitat Houston toad: Pine/oak woodland or savannah on deep, sandy soils
"Features" information from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.