The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

South Texas South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 ...

, forming the southeast part of the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihua ...

. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the American Southeast and Southwest. The region represents the very remote rural countryside of Central Texas, but also is home to growing suburban neighborhoods and affluent retirement communities. The region is notable for its

karst topography Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

and tall rugged hills of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

. Many of the hills rise to a height of above the surrounding plains and valleys, with Packsaddle Mountain rising to a height of above the Llano River in Kingsland. The Hill Country also includes the

Llano Uplift The Llano Uplift is a geologically ancient, low geologic dome that is about in diameter and located mostly in Llano, Mason, San Saba, Gillespie, and Blanco counties, Texas. It consists of an island-like exposure of Precambrian igneous and m ...

and the second-largest

granite dome Granite domes are domical hills composed of granite with bare rock exposed over most of the surface. Generally, domical features such as these are known as bornhardts. Bornhardts can form in any type of plutonic rock but are typically composed o ...

in the United States, Enchanted Rock. The terrain throughout the region is characterized by a thin layer of topsoil and many exposed rocks and boulders, making the region very dry and prone to

flash flood A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing ...

ing. Native vegetation in the region includes various

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitis ...

, prickly pear cactus,

desert spoon ''Dasylirion wheeleri'' (desert spoon, spoon flower, sotol, or common sotol) is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae), native to arid environments of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Description ...

, and wildflowers in the Llano Uplift. The predominant trees in the region are

Ashe juniper ''Juniperus ashei'' (Ashe juniper, mountain cedar, blueberry juniper, post cedar, or just cedar) is a drought-tolerant evergreen tree, native from northeastern Mexico and the south-central United States to southern Missouri. The largest area ...

and Texas live oak. Bound on the east by the

Balcones Escarpment The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

, the Hill Country reaches into the far northern portions of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

and the western portions of

Travis County Travis County is located in south central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is n ...

including the cities of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and Lago Vista. As a result of springs discharging water stored in the Edwards Aquifer, several cities such as Austin, San Marcos, and

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

were settled at the base of the Balcones Escarpment. , the region's economy was one of the fastest growing in the United States.

Counties

According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, these 25 counties are included in the Hill Country Wildlife District:

History and politics

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, due to its large, pro-Union, German immigrant population, the Texas Hill Country was opposed to Texas seceding from the Union. Subsequently, in the three quarters of a century following

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, the core of the Hill Country generally provided the solitary support base for the Republican Party in what became a one-party Democratic state. Even when no Republicans were in the Texas Legislature during the 1930s and 1940s, Gillespie and Kendall Counties backed every Republican Presidential nominee barring

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

’s failed 1932 re-election campaign, and Republicans continued to control local government. Guadalupe and Comal Counties were less Republican, but still did not vote for Democratic nominees outside the 1912, 1932, 1936, and 1964 landslides. The region was also the only one in

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern United States ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum ar ...

slave states to back the insurgent candidacy of

Robert La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

in 1924; in fact, Comal was La Follette’s top county in the nation with 73.96% of the vote, and Gillespie and Comal were the only counties south of the

Mason–Dixon line The Mason–Dixon line, also called the Mason and Dixon line or Mason's and Dixon's line, is a demarcation line separating four U.S. states, forming part of the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia (part of Virginia ...

to give a plurality to his “ Progressive” ticket.

Geography

Because of its karst topography, the area also features a number of caverns, such as Inner Space Caverns,

Natural Bridge Caverns The Natural Bridge Caverns are the largest known commercial caverns in the U.S. state of Texas. The name is derived from the 60 ft natural limestone slab bridge that spans the amphitheater setting of the cavern's entrance. The span was left ...

, Bracken Cave, Longhorn Cavern State Park,

Cascade Caverns Cascade Caverns is a historically, geologically, and biologically important limestone solutional cave south of Boerne, Texas, United States, on 226 Cascade Caverns Road, in Kendall County, Texas, Kendall County. It has been commercially operated ...

, Caverns of Sonora and Cave Without a Name. The deeper caverns of the area form several

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials ( gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characte ...

s, which serve as a source of

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

for its residents. Wonder Cave in San Marcos was formed by an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

along the Balcones Fault. From east to west, Texas Hill Country is where the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

ends and the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

begins. Several tributaries of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

in Texas — including the

Llano ''Llano'' is the Spanish word for plain. It may refer to: * Llano, California * Llano Estacado, a region in northwest Texas and eastern New Mexico * Llano, Texas, a small city in Llano County, Texas * Llano County, Texas * Llano River, a Texas r ...

and Pedernales Rivers, which cross the region west to east and join the Colorado as it cuts across the region to the southeast – drain a large portion of the Hill Country. The Guadalupe,

Frio Frío or Frio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Frio River, Texas, United States * Frio County, Texas Frio County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 18,385. The county seat is Pearsall. ...

Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...

, and Nueces Rivers originate in the Hill Country. This region is a dividing line for certain species occurrence. For example, the California fan palm ('' Washingtonia filifera'') is the only species of

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tr ...

that is native to the continental United States west of the Hill Country's Balcones Fault. The region has hot summers, particularly in July and August, and even the nighttime temperatures remain high, as the elevation is modest despite the hilly terrain. Winter temperatures are sometimes as much as 10°F cooler than in other parts of Texas to the east. File:Texas Hill Country Near I-10, 2004.jpg, As seen from near

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally p ...

File:Garnerview3.jpg, View of the Texas Hill Country, from Garner State Park, located in Uvalde County File:Hill Country near Garner State Park IMG_4288.JPG, Another scene from near Garner State Park File:Windmill in the Texas Hill Country IMG_4317.JPG, Windmill in the Hill Country File:House on Hill in TX Hill Country Picture_081.jpg, House atop hill in Texas Hill Country north of

Bandera Bandera - from a Spanish word meaning a ''flag'' - may refer to: Places * Bandera County, Texas ** Bandera, Texas, its county seat ** Bandera Creek, a river in Texas, with its source near Bandera Pass ** Bandera Pass, a mountain pass in Bandera C ...

File:Hays - Hill Country 2.jpg, A view of the Texas Hill Country from a rural road in

Hays County Hays County is located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. Hays County is part of the Austin- Round Rock metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its official population had reached 241,067. The county seat is San Marcos. ...

In popular culture

The area experiences a fusion of Spanish and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

influences in food, beer, architecture, and music that form a distinctively "Texan" culture separate from the state's

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

influences. For example, the

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

was popularized in Tejano music in the 19th century due to cultural exposure to German settlers. Devil's Backbone is an elevated, winding stretch of Ranch Road 12 between San Marcos and Wimberley, then Ranch Road 32 continuing through to Blanco. It has long been the subject of ghost stories. Folklore about it appeared in a 1996 episode of NBC's Robert Stack anthology series ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Ka ...

'', featuring apparitional Spanish monks,

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

and Lipan Apache

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...

s, Confederate soldiers on their horses, and a spirit of a wolf. It later reaired when this series was hosted by Dennis Farina. The region has emerged as the center of the

Texas wine Texas has a long history of wine production. The sunny and dry climate of the major winemaking regions in the state have drawn comparison to Portuguese wines, in addition to other regions in Europe like Spain, France, and Italy. Some of the earl ...

industry. Three

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about t ...

s are located in the areas:

Texas Hill Country AVA The Texas Hill Country AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Texas Hill Country north of San Antonio and west of Austin, Texas. The appellation is the third largest American Viticultural Area in geographic area behind the Upper ...

, Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country AVA, and Bell Mountain AVA. The Hill Country is also known for its tourism. In 2008, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' listed the Hill Country in an article about North American vacation destinations. Hill Country has also made Texas a popular retirement destination in the United States. The region has attracted Baby Boomers as they near retirement age.Bobbi Gage, "Baby boomers being drawn to Hill Country", ''Llano County Journal'', July 2, 2008, pp. 1, 7A Frederick Day, a demographer with Texas State University, said in 2008 that the Hill Country lifestyle reminds one of the small towns of the recent past. "Like old America . . . hecost of living is pretty low. To people who have spent their work life in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, the Hill Country is very attractive."

Notable people

References

External links