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Terrell County, Texas

Map by Joseph E. Forks
Text by Troy Hibbitts
Edited by Robert T. Haase


click to enlarge

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Terrell County is a rural county consisting of 2,391 square miles located on the western edge of the Stockton Plateau. Its landscape is predominated by Limestone Plateaus dissected by numerous canyons and intermittent streams. The exposed limestone layers within Terrell county are almost universally of Cretaceous origin. In the southeastern portion of the County, areas of underlying Cretaceous sandstones have also been exposed.

CLIMATE

Terrell County is typified by desert grassland that includes a variety of grasses along with cacti, sotol, lecheguilla, and desert shrubs such as juniper, mesquite, creosote, and acacia. Oaks and cottonwoods occur along permanent or semi-permanent streams with scrub oaks on higher slopes of the plateaus.

POPULATION

Terrell County is dedicated ranching country with a local economy dominated primarily by the sheep and goat industry and is accordingly sparsely populated. Most of the county population resides in Sanderson, which is the county seat. A few hardy individuals also live in the county's only other town of Dryden, which is nearly a ghost town at present.

POPULAR LOCALITIES

Palma Draw and Lozier Canyon
US Hwy 90 passes through approximately 10 miles of L. alterna habitat in the eastern edge of Terrell County extending to the west from the Val Verde County line. Palma Draw (or Canyon) and Lozier Canyon are the prominent landscape features of this area with Cretaceous limestones and sandstones as the primary geologic formations present. L. alterna is often considered as more common here than anywhere else with road access within Terrell County.

Lozier Canyon - US 90
Habitat

Specimens

Palma Draw - US 90
Habitat

Specimens

Sanderson
The town of Sanderson is located near the western edge of Terrell County. US 90 passes through a series of low, limestone road cuts 4 to 12 miles East of Sanderson that produce a number of L. alterna every year. US 90 west of Sanderson only has a total of three road cuts within about ten miles, making collecting this area problematical despite alterna being present. Along US 285 seven to ten miles north of Sanderson there are some spectacular road cuts, but alterna seem to be more difficult to find here than anywhere else in the Sanderson area. Both local residents and collectors passing through town have actually found several L. alterna within the city limits of Sanderson.

Sanderson - in Town
Several L. alterna have been collected right in town!

Specimens

Sanderson - US 90 West

Habitat
Specimens

Sanderson - US 90 East

Habitat
Specimens

Sanderson - US 285 North

Habitat
Specimens

Dryden - US Hwy 90

Habitat

Specimens

Tx 349 - extending from Dryden north to Sheffield (in Pecos County)
This road passes through a few areas of concentrated habitat where several L. alterna have been found.

Habitat

Specimens

FM 2400 - extending from the Tx 349 west to US 285 (in Pecos County)
This road passes through a few areas of habitat where only a very few L. alterna have been found.

Habitat

Specimens

FM 2886
This road has been recently paved. One specimen of L. alterna is known from this road to the north (in Pecos County).

 

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