Llano Estacado "Staked Plains"[1] | |
|---|---|
Southwestern United States | |
 Northwestescarpment of the Llano Estacado | |
 Shaded relief image of the Llano Estacado. Theescarpments marking the eastern edge of the Llano are visible, running roughly in a north–south line through the middle of thePanhandle. 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°N102°W / 33°N 102°W /33; -102 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State | New Mexico andTexas |
| Area | |
• Total | 32,000 sq mi (83,000 km2) |
| Population (2013) | |
• Total | 1,230,000 |
| • Density | 38/sq mi (15/km2) |
TheLlano Estacado (Spanish:[ˈʝanoestaˈkaðo]), sometimes translated into English as theStaked Plains,[2] is a region in theSouthwestern United States that encompasses parts ofeastern New Mexico and northwesternTexas. One of the largestmesas or tablelands on theNorth 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]
The Spanish nameLlano Estacado is often interpreted as meaning "Staked Plains", although "stockaded" or "palisaded plains" have also been proposed,[2][4]: 355 in which case the name would derive from the steepescarpments on the eastern, northern, and western periphery of the plains. Leatherwood writes thatFrancisco Coronado and other European explorers described theMescalero Ridge on the western boundary as resembling "palisades, ramparts, or stockades" of a fort, but does not present the original Spanish.[2] InBeyond 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, andcow dung. According toPlace Names of New Mexico, others have speculated that "stakes" refers to the yucca plants that dot the plains.[6]: 89 Leatherwood opines in theHandbook 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 hisRoadside 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 thecaprock.[4]: 355
The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of theWestern High Plains ecoregion of theGreat Plains of North America; it is part of what was once called theGreat American Desert. TheCanadian River forms the Llano's northern boundary, separating it from the rest of the High Plains. To the east, theCaprock Escarpment, a precipitous cliff about 300 feet (100 m) high, lies between the Llano and the redPermian plains of Texas; while to the west, theMescalero Escarpment demarcates the eastern edge of thePecos River valley. The Llano has no natural southern boundary, instead blending into theEdwards Plateau nearBig Spring, Texas. This geographic area stretches about 250 miles (400 km) north to south, and 150 miles (240 km) east to west,[7] a total area of some 32,000 square miles (83,000 km2),[2] larger thanIndiana and 12 other states. It covers all or part of 33Texas counties and fourNew Mexico counties.[2] The area is susceptible to frequentdust storms because of its low relief, frequent turbulent winds, lack of vegetation, and loose topsoil.[8][9] The landscape is dotted by numerous smallplaya lakes, depressions that seasonally fill with water and provide habitat forwaterfowl.[10][11]
The Llano Estacado has acold semiarid climate (KöppenBSk), 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, makingdryland farming difficult.[2]
As the Llano Estacado lies on the western edge ofTornado Alley, supercell thunderstorms capable of producing large, violenttornadoes and destructivehailstorms are common in spring and autumn.
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]
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It also includes all or part of the following New Mexico counties:
Several interstate highways serve the Llano Estacado.Interstate 40 crosses the northern portion from east of Amarillo to Tucumcari, New Mexico.Interstate 27 runs north-south between Amarillo and Lubbock, whileInterstate 20 passes through the southern portion of the Llano Estacado west of Midland and Odessa.[14]
SpanishconquistadorFrancisco 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 300leagues ... 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, theComanches expanded their territory into the Llano Estacado, displacing theApaches who had previously lived there. The region became part of theComancheria, a Comanche stronghold until the final defeat of the tribe in the late 19th century.[16] TheComanche war trail extended from Llano Estacado to the Rio Grande intoChihuahua, "the trail ran southwesterly throughBig Spring to theHorsehead Crossing of thePecos River, then forked southward to the Comanche Springs where it divided, one part of the trail crossing the great river nearBoquillas and the other atPresidio."[17]: 122
Rachel Plummer, while a captive of theComanche in 1836, mentioned the "table lands between Austin and Santa Fe".[18]
Robert Neighbors andRip Ford, guided byBuffalo Hump, blazed the "upper route" trail from San Antonio to El Paso in 1849 for emigrants during theCalifornia Gold Rush, "... travelling across an elevated plateau almost covered by rock ..."[17]: 114 and 121
After his 1852 expedition to explore the headwaters of theRed andColorado Rivers, GeneralRandolph 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 theUnited 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 greatSahara ofNorth 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 themountain 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 theApache in 1870 and described the Llano Estacado as "open, but not exactly a desert".[21]
Robert G. Carter described it in 1871 while pursuingQuanah Parker withRanald 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 theBattle of the North Fork of the Red River.[23]
Billy Dixon described the area while huntingbuffalo 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 novelThe 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 ofKiowas and Comanches who did not wish to be confined to reservations inIndian Territory, in present-dayOklahoma. One of their last battles against the US Army was fought on 28 September 1874 in theBattle 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 ofAmarillo,Lubbock,Midland andOdessa, Texas. The vast majority of the area isrural, covered by large ranches and irrigated farms. Several small- to medium-sized towns do exist, however, includingAndrews,Hereford,Plainview,Levelland, Big Spring, andLamesa, Texas, andHobbs,Clovis, andPortales, New Mexico.
TheOgallala Formation is a wedge of sediments built up eastward of theRocky Mountains as they were uplifted in theMiocene, with the consequentalluvial fans referred to as the "Gangplank".[4]: 356 TheOgallala Aquifer is the main freshwater source for the region and consists of braided stream deposits filling in valleys during humid climatic conditions, followed by a sub-humid to arid climate and thickeolian (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 calledplaya 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 poroussandstones just below the surface to add to thegroundwater 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
ThePecos andCanadian rivers have eroded the Llano Estacado region down to theTriassic andPermianredbeds resulting in a distinctive color contrast besides separating it from source rocks in the Rocky Mountains.[26]
The economy of the Llano Estacado is predominantly agricultural, with farming of various crops prevalent, as iscattle ranching. Oil and gas production is also intense throughout the Llano Estacado making it one of the most productive petrochemical areas in the United States.[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]
"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'sagribusiness economy."[28]
One of the largest economic drivers on the Llano Estacado is in energy production, with the region experiencing significant activity for producingoil andnatural gas associated with thePermian Basin. Additionally,solar andwind farms have proliferated on the Llano Estacado due to the region's dry and windy climate making it a favorable location for the production ofrenewable energy.[citation needed]
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