Llano Estacado

Coordinates: 33°N 102°W / 33°N 102°W / 33; -102
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Llano Estacado
"Staked Plains"
Panhandle. The western edge is on the New Mexico side of the border, with the Texas–New Mexico border running considerably closer to the western edge of the Llano than to the eastern.
Coordinates: 33°N 102°W / 33°N 102°W / 33; -102
Country United States
StateNew Mexico and Texas
Area
 • Total83,000 km2 (32,000 sq mi)
Population
 (2013)
 • Total1,230,000
 • Density15/km2 (38/sq mi)

The Llano Estacado (Spanish: [ˈʝano estaˈkaðo]), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains,[2] is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North American continent,[2] the elevation rises from 3,000 feet (900 m) in the southeast to over 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in the northwest, sloping almost uniformly at about 10 feet per mile (2 m/km).[3]

Naming

The Spanish name Llano Estacado is often interpreted as meaning "Staked Plains", although "

Francisco Coronado and other European explorers described the Mescalero Ridge on the western boundary as resembling "palisades, ramparts, or stockades" of a fort, but does not present the original Spanish.[2]
In Beyond the Mississippi (1867), Albert D. Richardson, who traversed the region from east to west in October 1859, wrote that "the ancient Mexicans marked a route with stakes over this vast desert, and hence its name."[5] Other sources refer to "stakes" used to mark routes on the featureless plain, often meaning piles of stone, bone, and cow dung. According to Place Names of New Mexico, others have speculated that "stakes" refers to the yucca plants that dot the plains.[6]: 89  Leatherwood opines in the Handbook of Texas that such way markers could plausibly explain the origin of the name, but that the "comparison of cliff formations and palisades made by explorers argues more convincingly for the geological origin".[2] In his Roadside Geology of Texas, Geologist Darwin Spearing also prefers the geological solution to the etymology:

The 'Staked Plains' tale is deeply entrenched in Texas mythology, but the real interpretation of Llano Estacado is sensible geologic: it means 'stockaded' or 'palisaded' plains - which is precisely how the edge of the plains appear when viewed from below the caprock.[4]: 355 

Geography and climate

The northern edge of the Llano Estacado in New Mexico

The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of the

waterfowl.[10][11]

The Llano Estacado has a cold semiarid climate (Köppen BSk), characterized by long, hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is relatively low; the entire region receives fewer than 23 in (580 mm) of rainfall annually, and the western part receives as little as 14 in (360 mm). High summer temperatures (average high July temperature above 90 °F or 32 °C) mean that most of the small amount of precipitation is lost to evaporation, making dryland farming difficult.[2]

The Texas State Historical Society states it covers all or part of 33 Texas counties, six fewer than as depicted by a US Geological Survey map, and four New Mexico counties.[2]

As depicted by a US Geological Survey map, the Llano Estacado includes all or part of these Texas counties:[12][13]

It also includes all or part of the following New Mexico counties:

Several interstate highways serve the Llano Estacado.

Interstate 20 passes through the southern portion of the Llano Estacado west of Midland and Odessa.[14]

History

Spanish

Francisco Coronado
, the first European to traverse this "sea of grass" in 1541, described it as follows:

I reached some plains so vast, that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I traveled over them for more than 300 leagues ... with no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by the sea ... there was not a stone, nor bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by.[2][15]

In the early 18th century, the Comanches expanded their territory into the Llano Estacado, displacing the Apaches who had previously lived there. The region became part of the Comancheria, a Comanche stronghold until the final defeat of the tribe in the late 19th century.[16] The Comanche war trail extended from Llano Estacado to the Rio Grande into Chihuahua, "the trail ran southwesterly through Big Spring to the Horsehead Crossing of the Pecos River, then forked southward to the Comanche Springs where it divided, one part of the trail crossing the great river near Boquillas and the other at Presidio."[17]: 122 

Rachel Plummer, while a captive of the Comanche in 1836, mentioned the "table lands between Austin and Santa Fe".[18]

California Gold Rush, "... travelling across an elevated plateau almost covered by rock ..."[17]
: 114 and 121 

After his 1852 expedition to explore the headwaters of the

Randolph Marcy wrote: "[not] a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the vision ... the almost total absence of water causes all animals to shun it: even the Indians do not venture to cross it except at two or three places."[2] In his report for the United States Army
:

When we were upon the high table-land, a view presented itself as boundless as the ocean. Not a tree, shrub, or any other object, either animate or inanimate, relieved the dreary monotony of the prospect; it was a vast-illimitable expanse of desert prairie . ... the great Sahara of North America. it is a region almost as vast and trackless as the ocean—a land where no man, either savage or civilized permanently abides ... a treeless, desolate waste of uninhabitable solitude, which always has been, and must continue uninhabited forever.[19]

During the 1854 Marcy-Neighbors expedition, Dr. George Getz Shumard noted, "Beyond the mountain appeared a line of high bluffs (the Llano Estacado) which in the distance looked like clouds floating upon the horizon."[20]: 145 

Herman Lehmann was captured by the Apache in 1870 and described the Llano Estacado as "open, but not exactly a desert".[21]

Robert G. Carter described it in 1871 while pursuing Quanah Parker with Ranald S. Mackenzie, "... all were over and out of the canyon upon what appeared to be a vast, almost illimitable expanse of prairie. As far as the eye could reach, not a bush or tree, a twig or stone, not an object of any kind or a living thing, was in sight. It stretched out before us-one uninterrupted plain, only to be compared to the ocean in its vastness."[22]

In August 1872, Mackenzie was the first to successfully lead troops across the Staked Plains preparatory to the Battle of the North Fork of the Red River.[23]

Billy Dixon described the area while hunting buffalo in June 1874: "All of us hunters acquainted with the habits of the buffalo knew that the herds would soon be coming north from the Staked Plains region where they had spent the winter ... moved by that strange impulse that ... caused them to change their home and blacken the Plains with their countless, moving forms."[24]

Zane Grey, in his novel The Thundering Herd (1925), offered the following explanation for the name Llano Estacado: "Thet name Llano Estacado means Staked Plain," said the Texan. "It comes from the early days when the Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to San Antone was marked by 'palos,' or stakes. There was only two trails across in them days an' I reckon no more now. Only the Indians know this plain well an' they only run in heah to hide awhile. Water an' grass are plentiful in some parts, an' then there's stretches of seventy miles dry an' bare as a bone."

In the latter part of the 19th century, the Llano was a refuge for the bands of Kiowas and Comanches who did not wish to be confined to reservations in Indian Territory, in present-day Oklahoma. One of their last battles against the US Army was fought on 28 September 1874 in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon.

Charles Goodnight described what it takes to be a scout: "... the trained ear should be able to tell the sound, whether it was made by man or beast or bird ... as a human voice echoes more than all others ... of course, on the Staked Plains we have not this advantage as there is nothing to create an echo."[25]

Today, most of the area's population is localized in the principal cities of

rural, covered by large ranches and irrigated farms. Several small- to medium-sized towns do exist, however, including Andrews, Hereford, Plainview, Levelland, and Lamesa, Texas, and Hobbs, Clovis, and Portales
, New Mexico.

  • Map of Texas counties with population density
    Map of
    Texas counties
    with population density
  • Lubbock, Texas, the largest city on the Llano
    Lubbock, Texas
    , the largest city on the Llano
  • A shot of downtown Amarillo, Texas
    A shot of downtown Amarillo, Texas
  • Midland, "The Tall City" of West Texas
    Midland, "The Tall City" of West Texas
  • Downtown Odessa
    Downtown Odessa

Geology

Caprock Escarpment south of Ralls, Texas
Agricultural land and canyons on the eastern side of the Llano Estacado

The

eolian (wind-blown) sand and silt.[4]: 356  Caliche layers cap the Ogallala, which reflect today's arid conditions.[4]: 356  Pleistocene rainfall over the flat terrain caused water to pond at the surface, resulting in a High Plains characteristic, innumerable round ponds called playa lakes.[4]
: 357  Spearing goes on to say,

When the weather is dry, they are dusty, round, gray, usually unvegetated flats, as observed from the highway. But after a High Plains thunderstorm, water quickly fills the ponds, only later soaking into the underlying porous

sandstones just below the surface to add to the groundwater in the Ogallala aquifer. Early pioneers depended dearly on water from these surface ponds for themselves and their livestock, considering how few streams are on the High Plains. But rains didn't always come, and the ponds dried up frequently. The 20th century has witnessed a concerted effort to tap the more reliable Ogallala water sands. Predictably, the consequent high dependency on groundwater has removed more water than is naturally replaced, raising concern for Panhandle citizens and planners as to future water supplies.[4]
: 357 

The

redbeds resulting in a distinctive color contrast besides separating it from source rocks in the Rocky Mountains.[26]

Economy

The economy of the Llano Estacado is predominantly agricultural, with farming of various crops prevalent, as is

cattle ranching. Oil and gas production is also prevalent on the Llano Estacado.[citation needed
]

Overuse of the aquifer in the past has persuaded some farmers to return to dryland crops, leading to less rainwater reaching the playas.[27]

Wind turbines

"Cotton, grain sorghum, corn, wheat, peanuts, sunflowers, grapes, vegetables, and cattle produced in the region literally go around the world. Their economic impact on our area is in the billions of dollars ... and the availability of water is a key factor influencing the region's agribusiness economy."[28]

One of the largest economic drivers on the Llano Estacado is in energy production, with the region experiencing significant activity for producing

wind farms have proliferated on the Llano Estacado due to the region's dry and windy climate making it a favorable location for the production of renewable energy.[citation needed
]

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ Cummins, W.F., 1892. Report on the geography, topography, and geology of the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains with notes on the geology of the country west of the Plains. In: Dumble, E.T. (Ed.), Third annual report of the Geological Survey of Texas 1891. Austin: Henry Hutchings, State Printer, pp. 129-223.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Leatherwood, Art (June 15, 2010). "Llano Estacado". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  3. ^ Wendorf, F., 1961. Paleoecology of the Llano Estacado, Vol. 1, Santa Fe: NM, The Museum of New Mexico Press, Fort Burgwin Research Center Publication
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-8784-2265-X
    .
  5. ISBN 9780598277770
    . Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. ISBN 0-8263-0082-0
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-85109-603-9
    .
  8. doi:10.1306/0BDA5852-16BD-11D7-8645000102C1865D
    .
  9. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.06.013
    .
  10. JSTOR 1311091
    .
  11. JSTOR 2845189
    .
  12. ^ "Texas Conservation Action Plan Ecoregions" (PDF). As depicted by the southern half of the High Plains--in conjunction with an aerial map of the region: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  13. ^ "Ecoregions of Texas" (PDF). As depicted by items 25i,25j,25k on the map in conjunction with a county names map: U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 1 October 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)[permanent dead link]
  14. ISBN 978-0528942488
    .
  15. ^ 300 Spanish leagues ≈ 780 mi or 1,255 km
  16. ISBN 978-0-300-12654-9. Online at Google Books
  17. ^
    ISBN 0292770340
  18. ASIN B0006CIXBU
    .
  19. ^ William T. Hagan, Charles Goodnight: Father of the Texas Panhandle (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007), pp. 30-31
  20. ^ Neighbors, K.F., 1975, Robert Neighbors and the Texas Frontier, 1836-1859, Waco: Texian Press
  21. ISBN 0826314171
  22. ^ Carter, R.G., On the Border with Mackenzie, 1935, Washington D.C.: Eynon Printing Co., p. 187
  23. ISBN 978-0876112465
    .
  24. ASIN B000ZBYIZM
    .
  25. Panhandle Plains Historical Museum
    , Canyon, Texas
  26. ^ Calvert, J.B., The Llano Estacado, University of Denver, 1999
  27. ^ Playa Lakes United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved: 2012-10-15.
  28. ^ Llano Estacado Regional Water Planning Group
  29. ^ "Lyrics". The Panhandlers. Retrieved 2022-04-05.
  30. ^ Gonzales, María Dolores. "Atop the Windmill I Could See Forever". Amazon.
  31. ^ Wall, Colter. "Lyrics". genius.com. Retrieved 24 April 2024.

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