Map by Jeff Barringer |
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Physical Geography
Culberson county is a rural county in the Northwestern Trans-Pecos
Area. The County consists of 3,851 square miles. Geologically, Culberson
County is highly varied, but dominated by several mountain ranges: the
Apache, Baylor, Beach, Delaware, Guadalupe, Sierra Diablo, Van Horn, and Wylie
Mountains, including the highest point in Texas - Guadalupe Peak, at 8,749 feet.
However, much of the county and most of the roadways lie in a broad, sandy
valley interspersed with salt flats which lies between the Sierra Diablo and
Delaware mountains, and only very few roads actually traverse the mountainous
habitat favored by Lampropeltis alterna.
Culberson County can be considered a desert or desert grassland, with
an average rainfall of 11.10 inches (as compared to the 21.0 inch average for
the rest of the state). Much of the plant life consists of grasses, cacti,
and desert shrubs (including creosote, acacia, and mesquite). In the higher
reaches of the Delaware Mountains, juniper is common. In the Guadalupe Mountains,
a much more diverse flora can be found, with Bigtooth Maple, Texas Madrones,
and many varieties of Oaks dominating the canyons, and with Ponderosa Pine,
Douglas Fir, and Aspen predominating in the higher elevations.
Culberson is a small county in terms of population, with an estimated
population of 3,660 - most of whom live in Van Horn (the county seat and largest
town). Pine Springs in Guadalupe National Park is the next most populous area
in the county, and Kent is the only other town (virtually a ghost town).
Very few Gray-banded Kingsnakes have ever been collected in Culberson
County. The only museum records which exist are from US Hwy 62/180 where the
Highway passes over the northern reaches of the Delaware Mountains near
Guadalupe National Park. One other specimen was collected on private land in
the Beach Mountains in 1993, and possibly other snakes have been collected in
the Van Horn mountains. Certainly no more than ten alterna have ever been
collected in this county, probably fewer than five. The following are road-accessible localities where L. alterna should
occur, based upon habitat and the occurance of other species typically found
with L. alterna, principally the Trans-Pecos Ratsnake and Rock Rattlesnake:
As the road skirts the edge of the Baylor Mountains. Rocks here are predominately Permian Limestones. Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes are common here. FM 2185, approximately 28 miles NE of Van Horn As 2185 passes through the Northern edge of the Apache Mountains. Rocks here are Permian shales and limestones, Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes are common; however, less than 2 miles of habitat exists here. FM 2424, approximately 5-10 miles north of Kent On the eastern edge of the Apache Mountains. Rocks are predominately Permian and Cretaceous Limestones and Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes are common; however, the habitat here is relatively flat and lacks much of the fractured rock structure that L. alterna prefer. Interstate 10, west of Van Horn Passes through mixed formations of metamorphic, sedimentary, and igneous rocks of Cambrian origin. Although road collecting along the interstate is not recommended, the wide right-of-way could be walked to collect possible Kingsnakes. Interstate 10, near Kent Habitat similar to on FM 2424. Again, walking the extensive road right-of-way could produce an alterna. |
