Winkler County

Winkler County is mostly in the Pecos Valley of West Texas; its northeastern section is on the Llano Estacado. The county is adjacent to the southeastern corner of New Mexico. Kermit, the county seat, is forty miles west of Odessa. The center of the county lies at 31°40' north latitude and 103°03' west longitude. Winkler County comprises 840 square miles of gently rolling to level terrain. Stretching diagonally across the central section of the county is a belt of sand dunes, which are active, windblown, and raised as much as thirty to forty feet above the surrounding surface. Soils are dark-brown to reddish-brown neutral sands, sandy loams, clay loams, and some shallow calcareous clay loams. The nearly flat surface of the county has insignificant drainage. Rainfall is collected in many large and small playas. Several small gullies head along Concho Bluff, a west-facing escarpment, which defines the edge of the Caprock. Two intermittent draws-Cheyenne and Monument-run through the central and west central areas of the county. Vegetation consists of grasses, scrub brush, creosotebush, cacti, and scattered mottes of willows and wild plums. Altitudes vary from 2,671 to 3,193 feet above sea level. Temperatures vary from average lows of 28° F in January to average highs of 97° in July. Average rainfall is twelve inches per year. The growing season extends 220 days. Large annual yields of oil and gas place the county among the leading petroleum producers in the state.

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.