Briscoe County

Tule Canyon, Briscoe County, Texas

Tule Canyon, Briscoe County, Texas

Tule Canyon, part of the Llano Estacado in Briscoe County, Texas. Photograph by Leaflet.
Briscoe County, Texas

Briscoe County, Texas

Map of Briscoe County, Texas. Map Credit: Robert Plocheck.

Briscoe County is on the edge of the Texas High Plains along the eastern Caprock escarpment, which separates the Llano Estacado from the rolling plains. It is bordered on the east by Hall County, on the west by Swisher County, on the north by Armstrong County, and on the south by Floyd and Motley counties. Briscoe County was separated from the Bexar District in 1876, organized in 1892, and named for Andrew Briscoe, a soldier in the Texas Revolution, who during the period of the republic became a judge and railroad promoter. The county comprises 887 square miles of irregular terrain ranging up to 3,300 feet in altitude; the elevation drops in Tule Canyon as low as 1,000 feet. The annual precipitation averages 10.5 inches, and the growing season averages 214 days a year. The average annual minimum temperature is 26° F in January, and the annual maximum is 94° in July. Silverton, the county seat, is five miles southwest of the center of the county, which is at 101°15' west longitude and 34°30' north latitude, sixty miles southeast of Amarillo.

Soils vary from gray and chocolate loams to light sand in the valleys of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River and its tributaries, including Tule Creek. These streams have formed the canyons and breaks crossing the county's northern and eastern portions. Abundant native grasses grow in the broken areas, as do mesquite and cedar trees; cotton, wheat, and grain sorghums are raised on the arable lands above the Caprock.

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Donald R. Abbe, H. Allen Anderson | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Briscoe County is classified as a County

Altitude Range

2064 ft – 3370 ft

Size

Land area does not include water surface area, whereas total area does

  • Land Area: 900.0 mi²
  • Total Area: 901.6 mi²

Temperature

January mean minimum: 23.2°F
July mean maximum: 90.9°F

Rainfall, 2019

22.4 inches

Population Count, 2019

1,546

Civilian Labor Count, 2019

531

Unemployment, 2019

4.5%

Property Values, 2019

$583,968,229 USD

Per-Capita Income, 2019

$35,243 USD

Retail Sales, 2019

$7,005,778 USD

Wages, 2019

$3,409,051 USD

Briscoe County

Highlighted:
  • Briscoe County
Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Town
Lake Yes
Town
Town 334 (2021) Yes
Town
Town
Town
Town 613 (2021) Yes
Town
Town

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