The northernmost area of Texas is called the Panhandle Plains, some of the recreation activities in this region are - boating, fishing, waterskiing, hiking, and camping. Other popular activities include picnicking, viewing nature, wildlife, and visiting historic sites.
This region has mostly flat, grassy land or plains. These plains are part of the same flat grassland that extends from the Great Plains of the Central United States. Sometimes this land is also called the Llano Estacado or “Staked Plains.” The land is mostly treeless and is on a high, flat plateau. The eastern part of the Panhandle is not quite as flat. It is lower in elevation and called a rolling plain. There is more rainfall in the eastern half and it is brushy. The western and eastern parts of the Panhandle region are strikingly divided by deep canyons carved by rivers and their tributaries that wind their way through this area.
Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyons State Parks are in this region. The remarkable canyons were carved by rivers. They are sometimes called "inverted mountains" since the land is relatively flat until you reach the long steep canyons.
The Panhandle goes from gently rolling hills to rough and dissected with canyons. This area forms the southern end of the Great Plains. Soils vary from coarse sands along streams, to clays and shale. The soil is neutral to slightly alkaline. Caliche (kah-lee-chee), soil mixed with chunks of calcium carbonate, generally is found two to five feet under surface soils.
