The Salt Fork Brazos River is a braided, highly intermittent stream about long, heading along the edge of the Llano Estacado about east-southeast of

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

. From its source, it flows generally east-southeastward to join the Double Mountain Fork to form the Brazos River about west-northwest of

Haskell, Texas Haskell is a city in central Haskell County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,322. It is the Haskell county seat. Geography Haskell is located at (33.160152, –99.734572). U.S. Route 277 passes t ...

.United States Board on Geographical Names. 1964. Decisions on Geographical Names in the United States, Decision list no. 6402, United States Department of the Interior, Washington DC, p. 53. The Salt Fork stretches across portions of

Crosby Crosby may refer to: Places ;Canada *Crosby, Ontario, part of the township of Rideau Lakes, Ontario *Crosby, Ontario, a neighbourhood in the city of Markham, Ontario ;England *Crosby, Cumbria *Crosby, Lincolnshire *Crosby, Merseyside ** Crosby (U ...

, Garza,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and Stonewall counties of

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...

Geography

The Salt Fork Brazos River begins as a dry channel (draw) near the edge of the Llano Estacado in Crosby County, about southwest of the cotton gin in the small farming community of Cap Rock, Texas. From the edge of the Caprock Escarpment, the stream channel generally runs southeastward across southern Crosby County, passing to the east of Courthouse Mountain and crossing

Texas State Highway 207 State Highway 207 (SH 207) is a state Highway that runs from Post, Texas through the South Plains and Texas Panhandle to the Texas/Oklahoma state line. History The highway was originally designated on July 31, 1934 between Floydada and Ralls. B ...

. It passes to the west of the mostly abandoned community of Canyon Valley and then crosses into the thinly populated ranch country of northern Garza County. After passing

Duffy's Peak Duffy's Peak is a small hill or butte near the Salt Fork Brazos River in Garza County, Texas. Duffy's Peak extends less than above the river, yet despite its small size, it served as an important landmark for early surveyors of the region and is ...

and then crossing Farm to Market Road 651, the Salt Fork merges with McDonald Creek, a few miles north of Verbena, Texas. The stream then begins tending in a more easterly direction as it meanders wildly, eventually crossing from Garza into Kent County, where it merges with the White River just before it passes beneath Farm to Market Road 1081. The stream continues to meander as it crosses

Texas State Highway 208 State Highway 208 (SH 208) is a Texas state highway that runs from San Angelo to southeast of Spur. History The route was originally designated on July 16, 1934 from San Angelo to Robert Lee. On June 16, 1936, SH 208 was extended north to Colo ...

north of Clairemont and U.S. Highway 380 to the southwest of Jayton. After passing into Stonewall County, the Salt Fork turns sharply to the north, where it again crosses Highway 380 and passes to the north of

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

and Swenson. The stream is directed north by the high ground that surrounds Double Mountains, a pair of flat-topped hills located southwest of

Aspermont, Texas Aspermont is a town in the U.S. state of Texas, and is the county seat of Stonewall County. The population was 835 at the 2019 census. History The town was established in 1889. Aspermont means "rough mountain" in Latin, and is probably a refer ...

. Double Mountain divides the watersheds of the Salt Fork to the north and the Double Mountain Fork to the south. Finally, at the eastern edge of Stonewall County, about west of the ghost town of

Jud Jud may refer to: People People with the surname * Leo Jud (1482–1542), Swiss reformer * Jakob Jud (1882–1952), Swiss linguist People with the nickname or given name * Jud Birchall (1855–1887), American baseball player *Jud Birza (born 1989 ...

or about to the northeast of Aspermont, the Salt Fork merges with the Double Mountain Fork to form the Brazos River. Overall, the Salt Fork descends from its headwaters to its confluence with the Double Mountain Fork, passing through flat to moderately steep terrain along its course.

Proper name

According to a 1964 decision by the

United States Board on Geographical Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal governm ...

, this tributary of the Brazos is properly called the Salt Fork Brazos River, and should not be called the Salt Fork of the Brazos River.

References

External links

USGS Brazos River Basin Historical StreamflowBrazos River Authority
* {{authority control Rivers of Texas Rivers of Lubbock County, Texas Rivers of Garza County, Texas Rivers of Stonewall County, Texas Rivers of Crosby County, Texas Rivers of Kent County, Texas

Geography

Proper name

See also

References

External links