Landscapes of Texas

Many outlanders think of Texas as a land of cactus flats or High Plains ranches, its landscape broken only by barbed wire fences of perhaps an oil derrick. Texans, of course, know better. Here, in 202 magnificently reproduced, full-color photographs from Texas Highways magazine, the astonishing diversity and beauty of Texas landscapes are splendidly and dramatically displayed. The damp pine forests, shaded lakes, and tangled thickets of East Texas; the fertile fields of the rolling prairies; the vast wheat and cotton farms and rangelands of the Panhandle plains; the rugged peaks rising high over desert flats in the Trans-Pecos; the sun-drenched beaches and citrus groves of the coastlands; and the limestone cliffs, clear streams, and hidden springs of the Hill Country--all are Texas landscapes. These stunning photographs from the state's official travel magazine not only reveal the physical beauty of these varied regions, but also tell us something about the culture and heritage of those who live there. In his introduction to this volume, John Graves describes the Texas landscapes as they once were and as they now are, and muses on how man has shaped the land and how, in its turn, the land has shaped man too.