Geographic Features of Texas. — Hill. 11 
The Coast Prairie region. (2) The Sandy, Forest, or Lignitic 
region. (3) The Grand Prairie region. (4) The Staked 
Plains. 
The Coast Prairies. 
The coastal portion of the main land of Texas, from the 
Louisianian to the Mexican border, extending inland from 
fifty to one hundred miles, consists of a perfectly flat, usually 
timberless plain, elevated not over two hundred feet above the 
gulf at its interior margin, and dipping so imperceptibly 
eastward that it appears to be a landward continuation of the 
great submarine bench of the gulf of Mexico. From the 
deficient drainage and theinconspicuousness of its waterways, 
and its absolute uniformity of surface, it is evident that this 
plain is a newly developed surface feature which has not long 
been reclaimed from inundation — a fact which is further 
attested by its unconsolidated sub-structure and the occur- 
rence among its fossil remains of the species still existing in 
the adjacent waters of the gulf. Although but a fraction of 
the total area of the state of Texas, this prairie is an extensive 
formation, occupying many hundred square miles. It is, 
perhaps, the best example of a newly born topographic plain 
in this country and approximates to an ideal, present base 
level. This feature can be studied along the lines of the 
Southern Pacific and Texas Central railways, between the 
Sabine and Hempstead, Texas. Stratigraphically, this forma- 
tion has been but little studied. The absence of timber is due 
to poor drainage, and the salinity and compactness of the 
structure. Concerning its evolution and history more will be 
said in the conclusions of this paper. Its interior margin is 
rolling and its transition into the next feature is abrupt. Its 
structure and age have never been defined or delineated with 
any satisfaction, and are a fertile field for investigation. 
(2). The Sandy Lignitic^ or Forest Area. 
The western, or interior border of the Coast Prairie region, 
becomes slightly undulating, and is immediately succeeded by 
a radically different topographic and geologic aspect. The 
altitude perceptibly increases, and a more or less continuous 
forest succeeds the prairies. The soil presents the red and 
white aspects peculiar to the sands and clays of the Tertiary 
and Quaternary formations of the Gulf States. This is the 
southwestern termination of the great Atlantic timber belt. 
