Northwest Escarpment Llano Estacado 2003

The Caprock Escarpment is a term used in

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betw ...

and

Eastern New Mexico Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within the U.S. state of New Mexico. The region is sometimes called the "High Plains," or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)," and was historically referred to as part of the " Great American Desert". T ...

to describe the geographical transition point between the level

High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: * High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains *High Plains (Australia) The High Plains of south-eastern Australia are a sub-region, or more strictly a string of adja ...

of the

Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, 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 Nort ...

and the surrounding rolling terrain. In Texas, the escarpment stretches around south-southwest from the northeast corner of the Texas Panhandle near the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

border. The escarpment is especially notable, from north to south, in Briscoe, Floyd,

Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, the motley fool, or the arlecchino character in '' commedia dell'arte''. The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word ''motley' ...

, Crosby, Dickens, Garza, and Borden Counties. In New Mexico, a prominent escarpment exists along the northernmost extension of the Llano Estacado, especially to the south of San Jon and

Tucumcari Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established. History In 1901, the Chicago, ...

, both in Quay County, New Mexico. Along the western edge of the Llano Estacado, the portion of the escarpment that stretches from Caprock to

Maljamar, New Mexico Maljamar is an unincorporated community in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The zip code is 88264. It is close to Hobbs and Carlsbad. According to legend, Maljamar's founder William Mitchell named the town after his three children Malcom, ...

, is called the

Mescalero Ridge The Mescalero Ridge forms the western edge of the great Llano Estacado, a vast plateau or tableland in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Texas. It is the western equivalent of the Caprock Escarpment, which defines the eastern edge of ...

Description

The escarpment is made of caliche—a layer of calcium carbonate that resists erosion. In some places, the escarpment rises around above the plains to the east. The escarpment's features formed by erosion from rivers and streams, creating arroyos and highly diverse terrain, including the large Palo Duro Canyon southeast of

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

. One will notice the change in elevation of several hundred feet while crossing the Caprock Escarpment on Interstate 40 between

Adrian, Texas Adrian is a city on historic route 66 in Oldham County, Texas, United States. The population was 166 at the 2010 census, up from 159 at the 2000 census. Geography Adrian is located at . It is situated along Interstate 40 (Old Route 66) in sout ...

and

San Jon, New Mexico San Jon () is a village in Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 216 at the 2010 census. History The village was founded in 1902 and grew after the arrival of the railroad in 1904. It was once an important local commercial ...

. The overall slight upslope, and in some areas, convergent, terrain of the Caprock is implicated in altering local weather and climate, such as enhancing

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

and promoting

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

initiation and organization.

Parks

Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway, located near Quitaque, opened in 1982. A 65-mi (105-km) trail was developed within the park in 1992. Along the trail is Clarity Tunnel, home to a large colony of Mexican free-tailed bats.

References

External links

* * {{Handbook of Texas, id=rxc01, name=Caprock
Public domain images of the Llano Estacado, West Texas, and Eastern New Mexico
Escarpments of the United States Landforms of Texas Landforms of New Mexico Llano Estacado

Description

Parks

See also

References

External links