The Brazos River Basin Watershed

The Brazos River Watershed is the second largest river basin in Texas, and it extends from eastern New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. It travels into the Gulf of Mexico and runs through different climates that are the home to a variety of plants and animals.
For the most part, the Brazos River Watershed is in Texas, however, it reaches from eastern New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. Of its 44,620 square miles, 42,000 square miles are in Texas. The Brazos River Watershed begins 50 miles west of the Texas-New Mexico border, and 1,050 miles later it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The Brazos River is formed where the Salt and Double Mountain Forks of the river meet. Although the river is 1,050-miles long, the …show more content…
This area is dry and only holds flowing water after a significant rainfall. At the eastern boundary of the Rolling Plains, the confluence of the Double Mountain Fork and Salt Fork create the Brazos River. Then the Brazos River passes through rough terrain in the Cross Timbers and Prairies region of Texas. Next, the Brazos River travels through the hills of the Blackland Prairie and Post Oak Savannah. Finally, before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, the Brazos River runs through the low, wet Coastal and Gulf Marshes and Prairies. Throughout the Brazos River Watershed, soil is made up of sand loams, clays, and sands. The main tributaries running into the Brazos River Basin Watershed are Salt Fork, Double Mountain Fork, Clear Fork, Yegua Creek, and the Bosque, Little and Navasota Rivers. There are also many lakes in the Brazos River Basin. Some are Lake Abilene, Lake Georgetown, Lake Granbury, Lake Mineral Wells, Possum Kingdom Lake, and Lake Whitney. Due to the lack of rain in northwest Texas, the lakes are low. The shortage of rain also causes the flow of water to decrease in the tributaries connecting to the Brazos River. This keeps the Brazos River low. The Ogallala Aquifer has supplied most of the water in the area, but as the groundwater levels decrease, humans have had to use surface water. This has caused there to be an inadequate amount of drinking …show more content…
There is a wide range of foliage. There are grasses in the dry areas and trees in the wet areas. The average annual temperatures range from 59°F in the upper basin to 70°F near the Gulf of Mexico. Winters are usually mild and short, and summers are very hot and long. The climates of the Brazos River Basin are suitable for many animals such as whitetail deer, mule deer, rabbits, and rodents. At the tip of the basin in New Mexico, you can even find elk. There are 44 fish species including, minnows, shiners, drum, channel catfish, carp, and bass species. Migrating birds such as mallards and teal, blue herons, bald eagles, cranes, peregrine falcons, sparrows, and woodpeckers call this area home. Cottonmouth snakes, rattlesnakes, copperheads, rat snakes, and even snapping turtles are some of the reptile found in this watershed. The rich, fertile soil in the Brazos River Basin makes farming and ranching for cotton, cattle, and oil possible in almost all areas of the