Medina Valley, also known as the Medina River Valley, is an area in south central

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

containing the Medina River,

Lake Medina Medina Lake is a reservoir on the Medina River in the Texas Hill Country of the United States. It is operated by the Bexar/Medina/Atascosa County Agricultural District. Medina Dam was completed in 1913 in a privately financed project, creatin ...

, and the

Medina Dam The Medina Dam is a hollow-masonry type dam built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas, USA. Medina Lake extends north of it in northeastern Medina County and southeastern Bandera County. The dam and irri ...

. It serves to drain the

Balcones Escarpment The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

of the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

and irrigate the fire contained therein. It is approximately 120 miles (190 km) long and is named for the Medina River.

Natural features

The geology of Medina Valley has been analyzed for some time, with a prominent feature being the

Balcones Fault The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

Zone. There are a number of flora and fauna species associated with the Medina Valley. Some of the species in and close to Medina Valley have their distributional range defined by the Medina Valley and/or the Balcones Fault. For example, the California Fan Palm, ''

Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...

'' occurs only in the western USA west of the Medina Valley and Balcones Fault.C. Michael Hogan. 2009

Counties in Medina Valley

Bandera County, Texas Bandera County (Spanish: "flag", ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in the Hill Country and its county seat is Bandera. As of the 2020 census, the population is 20,851. Bandera County is part of the San Antonio-New Brau ...

, *Eastern Medina County, Texas, *southwestern

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

, *

Atascosa County, Texas Atascosa County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is Jourdanton. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 48,981. Atascosa County is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfe ...

Communities in Medina Valley

* Bandera, Texas * Castroville, Texas *

Mico, Texas Mico is an unincorporated community in northeastern Medina County, Texas, United States. It is approximately west of Downtown San Antonio off Farm to Market Road 1283. The community is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). ...

Rio Medina, Texas Rio Medina or Riomedina is an unincorporated community in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is located approximately six miles north of Castroville and is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2006–07 ...

* LaCoste, Texas *

Lakehills, Texas Lakehills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bandera County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,150 at the 2010 census, making it the most populous place in Bandera county. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

* Lytle, Texas *

Pearson, Texas Pearson, named for Frederick Stark Pearson, is an unincorporated community in Medina County, Texas, United States. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pearson was established in 1912 by the San Antonio Suburban Irrigati ...

Somerset, Texas Somerset is a city located in Bexar County, Texas, Bexar County, Texas, United States. It is located less than 20 miles south of Downtown San Antonio and is part of the metropolitan area. The population was 1,756 at the 2020 census. History Engl ...

* St. Hedwig, Texas * Elmendorf, Texas *

Von Ormy, Texas Von Ormy ( ) is a city in southwest Bexar County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,174. It is part of the San Antonio metropolitan statistical area. It has been known as Von Ormy since the late 1880s. Prior to ...

* Medina, Texas

References

* Geological Society of America. 1967. ''Bulletin: Geological Society of America'', v. 78, nos. 7-12, University of Michigan * C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg

Line notes

Regions of Texas {{Texas-geo-stub