Balcones Canyonlands is a

national wildlife refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

located in 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 ...

to the northwest of

Lago Vista, Texas Lago Vista, Texas ("Lake View" in English) is a lakeside community located on the northern shores of Lake Travis. The city is located within Travis County, Texas, United States, and is less than 20 miles from downtown Austin, Texas. Much of Lago ...

. The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the

golden-cheeked warbler The golden-cheeked warbler (''Setophaga chrysoparia'') is an endangered species of bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of ha ...

and the

black-capped vireo The black-capped vireo (''Vireo atricapilla'') is a small bird native to the United States and Mexico. It was listed as an endangered species in the United States in 1987. Successful conservation efforts on the U.S. Army's Fort Hood and Fort ...

, and to preserve Texas Hill Country habitat for numerous other wildlife species. The refuge augments a similarly named preserve in Austin called the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. The refuge is located within a deeply dissected portion of the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region at the crossroads of Central Texas, Central, South Texas, South, and West Texas. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the ...

that contains many steep-banked streams and canyons. The canyons facing Austin are deeply etched into the limestone of the Edwards Plateau by tributaries of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. Beneath the surface of the Edwards Plateau lies an underground labyrinth of caves, sinkholes, and springs. Various spiders, beetles, and other creatures inhabit this below-ground world, and are unique to this area of Texas. Even deeper below the surface lies the

Edwards Aquifer The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it is the source of drinking water for two million people, and is the primary water su ...

, which stores billions of gallons of water and supplies drinking water for almost one million people. The aquifer is also the source of many springs that feed

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 Americ ...

rivers, which eventually flow into the

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es,

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

, and bays along the

Texas Gulf Coast Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative bear ...

. The vegetation found in the Hill Country includes various oaks, elms, and Ashe juniper trees (often referred to as "cedars" in Texas). The endangered golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo depend on different successional stages of this vegetation. Both of these birds nest in the Edwards Plateau, the warbler exclusively. Balcones Canyonlands vista

Gallery

File:F DJI 0117.jpg, Warbler Vista Observation Deck and the National Wildlife Refuge File:Balcones gallery 1.jpg, View towards the Doeskin Ranch trailhead File:Balcones gallery 2.jpg, Layers of rock at Doeskin Ranch File:Balcones gallery 3.jpg, Limestone rock showing its honeycomb-like structure, near Warbler Vista File:Balcones gallery 4.jpg, Stacks of Edwards Limestone pieces put up by hikers, near Warbler Vista

References

External links

USFWS.gov: Official Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge websiteUSFWS.gov: Profile of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Texas Hill Country Wetlands of Texas Protected areas of Burnet County, Texas Protected areas of Travis County, Texas Protected areas of Williamson County, Texas Landforms of Burnet County, Texas Landforms of Travis County, Texas Landforms of Williamson County, Texas Protected areas established in 1992 1992 establishments in Texas

Gallery

See also

References

External links