Intro to the Major
Landforms of
Texas and the
Four Regions of
Texas
CAPROCK
ESCARPMENT
High
Plains
Permian
Basin
Edwards
Plateau
Coastal Plains
BALCONES
ESCARPMENT
As we discussed in our “Walk Across Texas”, there are many
different landforms in our state. Get out your notes from the “Walk”
and write all the LANDFORMS from diagram list on your handout.
Add any other landforms you think Texas may have that weren’t on
the list.
Today, we are going to focus on the vocabulary word escarpment.
Texas has two major escarpments that play a large role in the
shape of the land of our state.
Major Texas Landforms
Escarpment
a long steep
slope, esp. at
the edge of a
plateau or
separating
areas of land
at different
heights
High
Plains
CAPROCK
ESCARPMENT
Permian
Basin
Edwards
Plateau
BALCONES
ESCARPMENT
Coastal Plains
BALCONES
ESCARPMENT
TX Landforms
South
CAPROCK
ESCARPMENT
TX Landforms
Test Your Knowledge
Using the handout, write the answers to the questions on the
following slides.
1.
What is the name
of this
escarpment?
2.
What is the name
of this
escarpment?
3.
This escarpment
separates what
two major
landforms?
4.
This escarpment
separates the
Edwards Plateau
from what two
major landforms?
Edwards
Plateau
5.
6.
Which two Texas
cities are near the
Caprock
Escarpment?
Which
escarpment goes
through Austin?
Four Regions of Texas
The Escarpments help make
up the NATURAL
BORDERS for the Four
Regions of Texas
The Four Regions of
Texas are:
1.Coastal Plains Region
2.North Central Plains
Region
3.Great Plains Region
4.Mountains and Basins
Region
North Central Plains
Region
Mountains &
Basins
Region
Great Plains Region
Here are the
regions on a
map. Label them
on your map,
too.
Find Travis
County on this
map. Put a star on
the map where
Austin would be
(in Travis
County). What do
you notice about
Austin? Which
region(s) is it in?
Coastal
Plains
Region
What do you
notice about
Austin? Which
region(s) is it
in?
The four regions found in Texas are just part of a larger set of
regions found across the United States.
What makes a region? The differences in the geography of a
place… remember the five things we talked about before the
walk?
Each region has different locations, landforms, climate, natural
vegetation, natural resources.
Sub-Regions of Texas
The four Regions of Texas are broken up into 11 Sub-Regions.
• The Coastal Plains
Region is broken into 5
sub-regions
• The North Central
Plains Region is broken
up into 3 sub-regions
• The Great Plains
Region is broken up
into 3 sub-regions
• The Mountains and
Basins Region has NO
sub-regions
•You will be given a Texas map with the sub-regions shown.
•You will need to color and label the 11 sub-regions of
Texas.
•You will also need to use the sub-regions to draw in the 4
regions of Texas.
•This assignment will be homework… due the next time you
come to class.
•Have fun! 
Possible Activities Throughout
Geography Unit
• Coloring Book – Suggest students make coloring books
entitled Geography Vocabulary (or you could do it for a
particular region like North Central Plains).
– If the book is for Vocabulary – give the students the list of words
they need to know for this unit and write and look up the
definitions for all the words (pp. 16-17 and the dictionary)
– If the book is for a region – have students list on the board the
products, resources, and landforms from the region.
– Then, assign items from the list to students
– The students will sketch the items on a half sheet of paper and then
outline each drawing with black marker
– They need to print the word (with or without definition?) at the
bottom of each picture
– Make copies of each page (either you sort and staple at the copy
machine, or have them punch holes and bind books with brads)
Possible Activities Throughout
Geography Unit
• Old Language Quote: Read aloud the following
quote from John Steinbeck’s Travels With
Charley: “I have said that Texas is a state of mind,
but I think it is more than that. It is a mystique
closely approximating a religion. And this is true
to the extent that people either passionately love
Texas or passionately hate it… Rich, poor,
Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the
obsession, the proper study and the passionate
possession of all Texans.” Then have students
write an explanation of the quote and give reasons
why they agree or disagree with Steinbeck.
Possible Activities Throughout
Geography Unit
• Economic Categories: Organize the class into
groups and have each group list the following
headings on a sheet of paper: a) financial or
insurance centers; b) manufacturing, high-tech, or
industrial centers; c) agricultural or agribusiness
centers; d) distribution or shipping centers; e)
educational or medical centers; and f) petroleum
or petrochemical centers. Then tell students to
look through Section 1 to find the Texas cities that
have been or are centers for each of these
economic activities. Remind students that many
cities have more than one kind of activity.