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Balcones Canyonlands

Ecoregion on Edwards Plateau, Great Plains in TX

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The Balcones Canyonlands ecoregion forms the southeastern boundary of the Edwards Plateau (30). The Edwards Plateau was uplifted during the Miocene epoch at the Balcones Fault Zone, separating central Texas from the coastal plain. The Balcones Canyonlands are highly dissected through the erosion and solution of springs, streams, and rivers working both above and below ground; percolation through the porous limestone contributes to the recharge of the Edwards Aquifer. High gradient streams originating from springs in steep-sided canyons supply water for development on the Texas Blackland Prairies (32) at the eastern base of the escarpment. Ecoregion 30c supports a number of endemic plants and has a higher representation of deciduous woodland than elsewhere on the Edwards Plateau (30), with escarpment black cherry, Texas mountain-laurel, madrone, Lacey oak, bigtooth maple, and Carolina basswood. Some relicts of eastern swamp communities, such as baldcypress, American sycamore, and black willow, occur along major streamcourses. It is likely that these trees have persisted as relics of moister, cooler climates following the Pleistocene glacial epoch. Toward the west, the vegetation changes gradually as the climate becomes more arid. Plateau live oak woodland is eventually restricted to north and east facing slopes and floodplains, and dry slopes are covered with open shrublands of juniper, sumac, sotol, acacia, honey mesquite, and ceniza.

— EPA

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