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47-750: The Salt Fork Brazos River is a braided, highly intermittent stream about 150 mi (240 km) long, heading along the edge of the Llano Estacado about 26 mi (42 km) east-southeast of Lubbock, Texas . From its source, it flows generally east-southeastward to join the Double Mountain Fork to form the Brazos River about 18 mi (29 km) west-northwest of Haskell, Texas . The Salt Fork stretches across portions of Crosby , Garza , Kent , and Stonewall counties of West Texas . The Salt Fork Brazos River begins as

94-420: A cold semiarid climate ( Köppen BSk ), characterized by long, hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is relatively low; the entire region receives fewer than 23 in (580 mm) of rainfall annually, and the western part receives as little as 14 in (360 mm). High summer temperatures (average high July temperature above 90 °F or 32 °C) mean that most of the small amount of precipitation

141-521: A meadow muffin , is the name for a large, flat, dried piece of dung deposited by the American bison . Well dried buffalo chips were among the few things that could be collected and burned on the prairie and were used by the Plains Indians , settlers and pioneers , and homesteaders as a source of cooking heat and warmth. Bison dung is sometimes referred to by the name nik-nik . This word

188-656: A bone." In the latter part of the 19th century, the Llano was a refuge for the bands of Kiowas and Comanches who did not wish to be confined to reservations in Indian Territory , in present-day Oklahoma . One of their last battles against the US Army was fought on 28 September 1874 in the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon . Charles Goodnight described what it takes to be a scout: "... the trained ear should be able to tell

235-540: A dry channel (draw) near the edge of the Llano Estacado in Crosby County , about 1.8 mi (2.9 km) 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 . It passes to

282-647: A precipitous cliff about 300 feet (100 m) high, lies between the Llano and the red Permian plains of Texas; while to the west, the Mescalero Escarpment demarcates the eastern edge of the Pecos River valley. The Llano has no natural southern boundary, instead blending into the Edwards Plateau near Big Spring, Texas . This geographic area stretches about 250 miles (400 km) north to south, and 150 miles (240 km) east to west,

329-471: A route with stakes over this vast desert, and hence its name." Other sources refer to "stakes" used to mark routes on the featureless plain, often meaning piles of stone, bone, and cow dung . According to Place Names of New Mexico , others have speculated that "stakes" refers to the yucca plants that dot the plains. Leatherwood opines in the Handbook of Texas that such way markers could plausibly explain

376-490: A total area of some 32,000 square miles (83,000 km ), larger than Indiana and 12 other states. It covers all or part of 33 Texas counties and four New Mexico counties. The area is susceptible to frequent dust storms because of its low relief, frequent turbulent winds, lack of vegetation, and loose topsoil. The landscape is dotted by numerous small playa lakes , depressions that seasonally fill with water and provide habitat for waterfowl . The Llano Estacado has

423-466: Is a region almost as vast and trackless as the ocean—a land where no man, either savage or civilized permanently abides ... a treeless, desolate waste of uninhabitable solitude, which always has been, and must continue uninhabited forever. During the 1854 Marcy-Neighbors expedition, Dr. George Getz Shumard noted, "Beyond the mountain appeared a line of high bluffs (the Llano Estacado) which in

470-566: Is a wedge of sediments built up eastward of the Rocky Mountains as they were uplifted in the Miocene , with the consequent alluvial fans referred to as the "Gangplank". The Ogallala Aquifer is the main freshwater source for the region and consists of braided stream deposits filling in valleys during humid climatic conditions, followed by a sub-humid to arid climate and thick eolian (wind-blown) sand and silt. Caliche layers cap

517-483: Is directed north by the high ground that surrounds Double Mountains , a pair of flat-topped hills located 13 mi (21 km) southwest of Aspermont, Texas . 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 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the ghost town of Jud or about 15 mi (24 km) to

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564-518: Is lost to evaporation, making dryland farming difficult. The Texas State Historical Society states it covers all or part of 33 Texas counties, six fewer than as depicted by a US Geological Survey map, and four New Mexico counties. As depicted by a US Geological Survey map, the Llano Estacado includes all or part of these Texas counties: It also includes all or part of the following New Mexico counties: Several interstate highways serve

611-683: Is precisely how the edge of the plains appear when viewed from below the caprock . The Llano Estacado lies at the southern end of the Western High Plains ecoregion of the Great Plains of North America; it is part of what was once called the Great American Desert . The Canadian River forms the Llano's northern boundary, separating it from the rest of the High Plains. To the east, the Caprock Escarpment ,

658-412: Is the waste product ( faeces ) of bovine animal species. These species include domestic cattle ("cows"), bison ("buffalo"), yak , and water buffalo . Cow dung is the undigested residue of plant matter which has passed through the animal's gut. The resultant faecal matter is rich in minerals . Color ranges from greenish to blackish, often darkening soon after exposure to air . In many parts of

705-632: Is traditionally used to coat floors and walls. In parts of Africa, floors of rural huts are smeared with cow dung: this is believed to improve interior hygiene and repel insects. This practice has various names, such as "ukusinda" in Xhosa , and "gwaya" in Ruruuli-Lunyala . Similarly, in India, floors are traditionally smeared with cow dung to clean and smoothen them. Purananuru generally dated 150 BCE mentions women of Tamil Nadu smear cow dung on

752-515: Is unpalatable to livestock. Cow dung is nowadays used for making flower and plant pots. It is plastic free, biodegradable and eco-friendly. Unlike plastic grow bags which harm nature, cow dung pots dissolves naturally and becomes excellent manure for the plant. From 20 July 2020, State Government of Chhattisgarh India started buying cow dung under the Godhan Nyay Yojana scheme. Cow dung procured under this scheme will be utilised for

799-411: Is used in rural areas of India and Pakistan and elsewhere to provide a renewable and stable (but unsustainable) source of electricity. Cow dung, which is usually a dark brown color, is often used as manure (agricultural fertilizer ). If not recycled into the soil by species such as earthworms and dung beetles , cow dung can dry out and remain on the pasture, creating an area of grazing land which

846-759: Is used in the practice of "cow chip throwing" popularized in Beaver, Oklahoma in 1970. On April 21, 2001 Robert Deevers of Elgin, Oklahoma , set the record for cow chip throwing with a distance of 185 feet 5 inches (56.52 m). Cow dung provides food for a wide range of animal and fungus species, which break it down and recycle it into the food chain and into the soil . In areas where cattle (or other mammals with similar dung) are not native, there are often also no native species which can break down their dung, and this can lead to infestations of pests such as flies and parasitic worms. In Australia , dung beetles from elsewhere have been introduced to help recycle

893-460: 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 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 and Swenson . The stream

940-563: The "upper route" trail from San Antonio to El Paso in 1849 for emigrants during the California Gold Rush , "... travelling across an elevated plateau almost covered by rock ..." After his 1852 expedition to explore the headwaters of the Red and Colorado Rivers, General Randolph Marcy wrote: "[not] a tree, shrub, or any other herbage to intercept the vision ... the almost total absence of water causes all animals to shun it: even

987-610: The Brazos is properly called the Salt Fork Brazos River, and should not be called the Salt Fork of the Brazos River. Llano Estacado The Spanish name Llano Estacado is often interpreted as meaning "Staked Plains", although " stockaded " or " palisaded plains" have also been proposed, in which case the name would derive from the steep escarpments on the eastern, northern, and western periphery of

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1034-615: The Government of India's Khadi and Village Industries Commission launched the Khadi Prakritik paint, which has cow dung as its main ingredient, promoting it as an eco-friendly paint with anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. In central Africa, Maasai villages have burned cow dung inside to repel mosquitos . In cold places, cow dung is used to line the walls of rustic houses as a cheap thermal insulator . Villagers in India spray fresh cow dung mixed with water in front of

1081-546: The Indians do not venture to cross it except at two or three places." In his report for the United States Army : When we were upon the high table-land, a view presented itself as boundless as the ocean. Not a tree, shrub, or any other object, either animate or inanimate, relieved the dreary monotony of the prospect; it was a vast-illimitable expanse of desert prairie . ... the great Sahara of North America . it

1128-620: The Llano Estacado. Interstate 40 crosses the northern portion from east of Amarillo to Tucumcari, New Mexico. Interstate 27 runs north-south between Amarillo and Lubbock, while Interstate 20 passes through the southern portion of the Llano Estacado west of Midland and Odessa. Spanish conquistador Francisco Coronado , the first European to traverse this "sea of grass" in 1541, described it as follows: I reached some plains so vast, that I did not find their limit anywhere I went, although I traveled over them for more than 300 leagues ... with no more land marks than if we had been swallowed up by

1175-481: The Ogallala, which reflect today's arid conditions. Pleistocene rainfall over the flat terrain caused water to pond at the surface, resulting in a High Plains characteristic, innumerable round ponds called playa lakes . Spearing goes on to say, When the weather is dry, they are dusty, round, gray, usually unvegetated flats, as observed from the highway. But after a High Plains thunderstorm, water quickly fills

1222-732: The Rio Grande into Chihuahua , "the trail ran southwesterly through Big Spring to the Horsehead Crossing of the Pecos River , then forked southward to the Comanche Springs where it divided, one part of the trail crossing the great river near Boquillas and the other at Presidio ." Rachel Plummer , while a captive of the Comanche in 1836, mentioned the "table lands between Austin and Santa Fe". Robert Neighbors and Rip Ford , guided by Buffalo Hump , blazed

1269-559: The Rocky Mountains. The economy of the Llano Estacado is predominantly agricultural, with farming of various crops prevalent, as is cattle ranching . Oil and gas production is also intense throughout the Llano Estacado making it one of the most productive petrochemical areas in the United States. Overuse of the aquifer in the past has persuaded some farmers to return to dryland crops, leading to less rainwater reaching

1316-586: The area while hunting buffalo in June 1874: "All of us hunters acquainted with the habits of the buffalo knew that the herds would soon be coming north from the Staked Plains region where they had spent the winter ... moved by that strange impulse that ... caused them to change their home and blacken the Plains with their countless, moving forms." Zane Grey , in his novel The Thundering Herd (1925), offered

1363-609: The cattle dung back into the soil. (see the Australian Dung Beetle Project and Dr. George Bornemissza ). Cattle have a natural aversion to feeding around their own dung. This can lead to the formation of taller ungrazed patches of heavily fertilized sward. These habitat patches, termed "islets", can be beneficial for many grassland arthropods, including spiders (Araneae) and bugs (Hemiptera). They have an important function in maintaining biodiversity in heavily utilized pastures. A buffalo chip , also called

1410-465: The distance looked like clouds floating upon the horizon." Herman Lehmann was captured by the Apache in 1870 and described the Llano Estacado as "open, but not exactly a desert". Robert G. Carter described it in 1871 while pursuing Quanah Parker with Ranald S. Mackenzie , "... all were over and out of the canyon upon what appeared to be a vast, almost illimitable expanse of prairie. As far as

1457-523: The eye could reach, not a bush or tree, a twig or stone, not an object of any kind or a living thing, was in sight. It stretched out before us-one uninterrupted plain, only to be compared to the ocean in its vastness." In August 1872, Mackenzie was the first to successfully lead troops across the Staked Plains preparatory to the Battle of the North Fork of the Red River . Billy Dixon described

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1504-660: The floors at the 13th day after her husband's death to purify the house. Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle , who visited India in 1624, observed that the locals - including Christians - smeared floor with cow dung to purify it and repel insects. Tryambaka 's Strī-dharma-paddhati (18th century), which narrates a modified version of the Mahabharata legend about how the goddess Lakshmi came to reside in cow dung, instructs women to make their homes pure and prosperous by coating them with cow-dung. Many among modern generations have challenged this practice as unclean. In 2021,

1551-606: The following explanation for the name Llano Estacado: "Thet name Llano Estacado means Staked Plain," said the Texan. "It comes from the early days when the Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to San Antone was marked by 'palos,' or stakes. There was only two trails across in them days an' I reckon no more now. Only the Indians know this plain well an' they only run in heah to hide awhile. Water an' grass are plentiful in some parts, an' then there's stretches of seventy miles dry an' bare as

1598-537: The houses to repel insects. In Rwanda, it is used in an art form called imigongo . Cow dung is also an optional ingredient in the manufacture of adobe mud brick housing depending on the availability of materials at hand. A deposit of cow dung is referred to in American English as a "cow pie" or less commonly "cow chip" (usually when dried) and in British English as a "cowpat". When dry, it

1645-578: The legend, Lakshmi asks cows to let her live in their bodies because they are pure and sinless. The cows refuse, describing her as unstable and fickle. Lakshmi begs them to accept her request, saying that others would ridicule her for being rejected by the cows, and agreeing to live in the most despised part of their body. The cows then allow her to live in their dung and urine. The Tantric Buddhist ritual manuals Jayavatī-nāma-mahāvidyārāja-dhāraṇī and Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhi recommend use of cow dung to purify mandala altars. In several cultures, cow dung

1692-493: The more reliable Ogallala water sands. Predictably, the consequent high dependency on groundwater has removed more water than is naturally replaced, raising concern for Panhandle citizens and planners as to future water supplies. The Pecos and Canadian rivers have eroded the Llano Estacado region down to the Triassic and Permian redbeds resulting in a distinctive color contrast besides separating it from source rocks in

1739-544: The northeast of Aspermont, the Salt Fork merges with the Double Mountain Fork to form the Brazos River. Overall, the Salt Fork descends 1,544 ft (471 m) from its headwaters to its confluence with the Double Mountain Fork, passing through flat to moderately steep terrain along its course. According to a 1964 decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names , this tributary of

1786-405: The old world, and in the past in mountain regions of Europe, caked and dried cow dung is used as fuel . In India, it is dried into cake like shapes called upla or kanda , and used as replacement for firewood for cooking in chulah (traditional kitchen stove ). Dung may also be collected and used to produce biogas to generate electricity and heat. The gas is rich in methane and

1833-566: The origin of the name, but that the "comparison of cliff formations and palisades made by explorers argues more convincingly for the geological origin". In his Roadside Geology of Texas , Geologist Darwin Spearing also prefers the geological solution to the etymology: The 'Staked Plains' tale is deeply entrenched in Texas mythology, but the real interpretation of Llano Estacado is sensible geologic: it means 'stockaded' or 'palisaded' plains - which

1880-586: The plains. Leatherwood writes that Francisco Coronado and other European explorers described the Mescalero Ridge on the western boundary as resembling "palisades, ramparts, or stockades" of a fort, but does not present the original Spanish. In Beyond the Mississippi (1867), Albert D. Richardson , who traversed the region from east to west in October 1859, wrote that "the ancient Mexicans marked

1927-412: The playas. "Cotton, grain sorghum, corn, wheat, peanuts, sunflowers, grapes, vegetables, and cattle produced in the region literally go around the world. Their economic impact on our area is in the billions of dollars ... and the availability of water is a key factor influencing the region's agribusiness economy." One of the largest economic drivers on the Llano Estacado is in energy production, with

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1974-422: The ponds, only later soaking into the underlying porous sandstones just below the surface to add to the groundwater in the Ogallala aquifer. Early pioneers depended dearly on water from these surface ponds for themselves and their livestock, considering how few streams are on the High Plains. But rains didn't always come, and the ponds dried up frequently. The 20th century has witnessed a concerted effort to tap

2021-492: The production of vermicompost fertilizer. Cow dung is used in Hindu yajna ritual as an important ingredient. Cow dung is also used in the making of pancha-gavya , for use in Hindu rituals. Several Hindu texts - including Yājñavalkya Smṛti and Manusmṛti - state that the pancha-gavya purifies many sins. The Mahabharata narrates a story about how Lakshmi , the goddess of prosperity, came to reside in cow dung. In

2068-475: The region experiencing significant activity for producing oil and natural gas associated with the Permian Basin . Additionally, solar and wind farms have proliferated on the Llano Estacado due to the region's dry and windy climate making it a favorable location for the production of renewable energy . Cow dung Cow dung , also known as cow pats , cow pies , cow poop or cow manure ,

2115-619: The sea ... there was not a stone, nor bit of rising ground, nor a tree, nor a shrub, nor anything to go by. In the early 18th century, the Comanches expanded their territory into the Llano Estacado, displacing the Apaches who had previously lived there. The region became part of the Comancheria , a Comanche stronghold until the final defeat of the tribe in the late 19th century. The Comanche war trail extended from Llano Estacado to

2162-655: The sound, whether it was made by man or beast or bird ... as a human voice echoes more than all others ... of course, on the Staked Plains we have not this advantage as there is nothing to create an echo." Today, most of the area's population is localized in the principal cities of Amarillo , Lubbock , Midland and Odessa , Texas. The vast majority of the area is rural , covered by large ranches and irrigated farms. Several small- to medium-sized towns do exist, however, including Andrews , Hereford , Plainview , Levelland , Big Spring, and Lamesa , Texas, and Hobbs , Clovis , and Portales , New Mexico. The Ogallala Formation

2209-453: 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 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

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