Val Verde County

Val Verde County is in southwestern Texas on the Mexican border. Although a part of the county extends west of the Pecos River, more than two-thirds of it is in the Edwards Plateau. Del Rio, the county seat, is 154 miles west of San Antonio. The center of the county is at 29°58' north latitude and 101°09' west longitude. Val Verde County comprises 3,150 square miles of sharply dissected massive limestone, which underlies flat terrain. The county is actually a plateau cut by many arroyos and canyons, giving deep relief to the topography. Soils are dark, calcareous stony clays and clay loams. Fresh water is supplied from an aquifer in the various limestone formations, which receive their recharge from counties to the north. In early times numerous springs flowed in the area, but heavy well pumping has decreased their yields. Numerous creeks, which remain dry most of the year, provide drainage during floods and empty into the Pecos and Devils rivers. The Pecos flows into the Rio Grande in southwestern Val Verde County, and the Devils flows into Amistad Reservoir, on the dammed Rio Grande above Del Rio. Vegetation in the western and central sections of the county consists of desert shrub savanna. The extreme eastern part contains juniper, oak, and mesquite savanna. Altitudes vary from 2,248 to 2,925 feet above sea level. Temperature averages vary from 35° F in January to 97° in July. Average rainfall is seventeen inches per year. The growing season extends for 300 days.

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