Natural Features in Texas

Bottomland Hardwood Forest

Nature·Colorado County·Texas

Bottomland hardwood is a forest defined by flooding. The trees here — overcup oak, water hickory, black willow, bald cypress at the wettest edges — are the species that can stand having their roots underwater for weeks at a time, and the forest sorts itself into bands by how long each spot stays wet. It is among the most productive habitat in North America and among the most reduced: most of the Brazos and Colorado bottoms were cleared for cotton and then for cattle, so surviving stands like this one are fragments of what lined every river on this coastal plain.

Getting there

29.6950, -96.6250

Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.

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