Palo Pinto County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 28,409. The county seat is Palo Pinto. The county was created in 1856 and organized the following year.
Strawn is a city in Palo Pinto County, Texas, United States. The population was 653 at the 2010 census. Strawn, on State highways 16 and 108, Farm Road 2372, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad in southwestern Palo Pinto County, was one of several towns developed about 1880 when the Texas and Pacific Railway began service. The site, known earlier as North Fork for its location on Palo Pinto Creek, was laid out on the land of two early ranchers, Stephen Bethel Strawn and James N. Stuart. Stuart built the area's first house in 1875. A community to the west, Russell's Pocket, and one to the east, Davidsonville, were merged to form Strawn.
Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census. The city is named for mineral wells in the area, which were highly popular in the early 1900s.
Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly 120 mi (190 km) long and has an average width of 6 mi (9.7 km), but reaches a width of 20 mi (32 km) at places. Its depth is around 820 ft (250 m), but in some locations, it increases to 1,000 ft (300 m). Palo Duro Canyon has been named "The Grand Canyon of Texas" both for its size and for its dramatic geological features, including the multicolored layers of rock and steep mesa walls, which are similar to those in the Grand Canyon. It is part of Palo Duro Canyon State Park.
Lost Maples State Natural Area is a large, pristine area of beautiful hills and canyons on the upper Sabinal River in the Edwards Plateau Region of Texas. It is designated a Natural Area, rather than a State Park, which means the primary focus is the maintenance and protection of the property's natural state. Accordingly, access and recreational activities may be restricted if the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) deems such action necessary to protect the environment.
Possum Kingdom State Park is a state park in Palo Pinto County, Texas, USA, that was built in the 1940s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened to the public in 1950. It covers approximately 1,530 acres (620 ha), and lies in the Palo Pinto Mountains and Brazos River Valley of Texas. The park borders the large Possum Kingdom Lake, a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) lake known for its clear blue waters. Possum Kingdom winds for 65 miles (105 km) down the Brazos River, and has more than 300 miles (480 km) of shoreline. A privately owned store and marina in the park cater to boaters and campers.
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system. The refuge's location in the geologically unique Wichita Mountains and its areas of undisturbed mixed grass prairie make it an important conservation area. The Wichitas are approximately 500 million years old. Measuring about 59,020 acres (238.8 km2), the refuge hosts a great diversity of species: 806 plant species, 240 species of birds, 36 fish, and 64 reptiles and amphibians are present.
The term Cross Timbers, also known as Ecoregion 29, Central Oklahoma/Texas Plains, is used to describe a strip of land in the United States that runs from southeastern Kansas across Central Oklahoma to Central Texas. Made up of a mix of prairie, savanna, and woodland, it forms part of the boundary between the more heavily forested eastern country and the almost treeless Great Plains, and also marks the western habitat limit of many mammals and insects.
The geography of Texas is diverse and large. Occupying about 7% of the total water and land area of the U.S., it is the second largest state after Alaska, and is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which end in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. Texas is in the South Central United States of America, and is considered to form part of the U.S. South and also part of the U.S. Southwest.
Possum Kingdom Lake, is a reservoir on the Brazos River located primarily in Palo Pinto County Texas. It was the first water supply reservoir constructed in the Brazos River basin. The lake has an area of approximately 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) with 310 miles (500 km) of shoreline. It holds 750,000 acre-feet (930,000,000 m3) of water with 550,000 acre-feet (680,000,000 m3) available for water supply.
Cleburne State Park is a 528-acre (2.14 km2) Texas state park in Johnson County, Texas operated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park includes the 116-acre (0.47 km2), spring-fed Cedar Lake that was created by construction of an earthen dam by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
McKinney Falls State Park is a state park in Austin, Texas, United States at the confluence of Onion Creek and Williamson Creek. It is administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park opened on April 15, 1976 and is named after Thomas F. McKinney, a businessman, race horse breeder and rancher, who owned and lived on the land in the mid-to-late 19th century. The park is part of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.
The term Palo Pinto Mountains properly refers to a specific cuesta-like range of hills in western Palo Pinto County, Texas. The name Palo Pinto roughly translates to "painted stick" in reference to the juniper trees of the area. Isolated, rugged, and scenic, the ridge extends some 15 miles, from near the intersection of Texas State Highway 16 and Farm to Market Road 207 in the southwest, to Crawford Mountain just south of the Fortune Bend on the Brazos River in the northeast.
Davis Mountains State Park is a 2,709-acre (1,096 ha) state park located in the Davis Mountains in Jeff Davis County, Texas. The closest town is Fort Davis, Texas. The park elevation is between 5,000 and 6,000 ft above sea level. The original portion of the park was deeded to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department by a local family.
John Redmond Reservoir is a reservoir on the Neosho River in eastern Kansas. Built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it is used for flood control, recreation, water supply, and wildlife management. It borders the Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge to the northwest.
Tenkiller State Park is a 1,190-acre (4.8 km2) Oklahoma state park located in northwestern Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, near the city of Vian, Oklahoma. Larger cities nearby include Sallisaw, Muskogee and Webbers Falls, Oklahoma.
First opened to the public in October, 2005, Government Canyon State Natural Area (GCSNA) preserves 12,244 acres of rugged hills and canyons typical of the Texas Hill Country. It is designated a Natural Area, rather than a State Park, and therefore the primary focus is maintenance and protection of the property's natural state. Accordingly, access and recreational activities may be restricted if the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) deems such action necessary to protect the environment.
Bonham State Park is a 261-acre (1.06 km2) state park located in Bonham, Texas. It includes a 65-acre (260,000 m2) lake, rolling prairies, and woodlands.
Aroostook State Park is public recreation area within the southern municipal boundary of the city of Presque Isle in Aroostook County, Maine. The state park's 898 acres (363 ha) encompass Quaggy Jo Mountain and sit adjacent to Echo Lake. "Quaggy Jo" is an altered version of the mountain's Native American name, "Qua Qua Jo", which means "twin-peaked."
The Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge (FWNC&R) is a nature center located between Lakeside and Lake Worth, Texas within Fort Worth, Texas city limits. It consists of prairies, forests, and wetlands. The nature center offers a glimpse of what the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex looked like before settlement. FWNC&R covers 3,621 acres (1,465 ha) and includes over 20 miles (32 km) of hiking trails. It is one of the largest city-owned nature centers in the United States.
