A stand of loblolly pine grows here about 100 miles west of the main East Texas pine forest, separated from it by prairie that pines cannot cross. The reason is underfoot: the Carrizo Sand, a band of deep, porous sand that outcrops in a stripe running northeast across the state, holds enough water in a drier climate to support a tree that otherwise needs the rainfall of the Piney Woods. The stand is a relic of a wetter period, and genetic work has found the trees here are drought-hardier than their eastern relatives.
Getting there
30.1100, -97.2900
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
Hear it from the road
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