Geography and Geology
Set in the scenic hills and canyons typical of the Texas Hill Country, the preserve lies about ten miles north of the Balcones escarpment and within the Balcones Fault Zone. The elevation ranges from approximately 1,280 to 2,000 feet (390 to 610 m). The local Woodard Cave Fault runs through the property on a general east-west line. The terrain of the area consists of eroded limestone hills and mesas, typical landforms of the Hill Country. There are also relatively flat bottomland areas surrounding the small creeks that drain the property. The local bedrock is exposed throughout much of the preserve. The highest hilltops, and the lower hills in the southern part of the Natural Area, are capped by fairly resistant limestone of the Fort Terret formation within the Edwards Group, which is the dominant bedrock of the Edwards Plateau to the north. The rest of the preserve lies atop the softer, more easily eroded Upper Glen Rose Formation, also a limestone. Both are flat-lying, fossiliferous formations dating from the Cretaceous Period.
Read more about this topic: Hill Country State Natural Area
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