geographic oddities of austin (Houston, San Antonio: property, building, courses)

[jwynne2000]

^^^
That's cool.

[car957]

As a 30 year resident I agree. Who knew.

[ScoPro]

As a St. Edwards High School and University graduate, I did not know that about Old Main.

Was aware of Pilot Knob, however - my UT geology professor took the class out there for a field trip in 1962.

[Westerner92]

I think the shape of the urbanized area is quite an oddity. It's very lopsided compared to most cities, going only 4 or so miles east of downtown, yet 30 or so miles to the north. It forces most of the population on the same few roads, which is why we have the traffic woes typical of a city much larger.

[Phisch]

Nothing to add, I just think this is one of the neatest threads on here in a while.

[Weatherguy]

I've always been fascinated with the topographic diversity. A 30-mile swath of farming and grasslands east of the city, and the beautiful juniper/oak covered hills on the west side with all the views, rivers, and lakes.

It can be a source of frustration, too. A newspaper in England, as well as New York (possibly the Times) sent reporters to the F1 race last November. The track, of course, is located in the swath of grassland mentioned above. Unfortunately, these two reporters announced to the world that "Austin is located in the Texas desert". They mistook grassland for desert, and they apparently never saw the gorgeous topography in other parts of the Austin area. A lot of visitors never saw the nice topography either.

[atxcio]

Originally Posted by Weatherguy

It can be a source of frustration, too. A newspaper in England, as well as New York (possibly the Times) sent reporters to the F1 race last November. The track, of course, is located in the swath of grassland mentioned above. Unfortunately, these two reporters announced to the world that "Austin is located in the Texas desert". They mistook grassland for desert, and they apparently never saw the gorgeous topography in other parts of the Austin area. A lot of visitors never saw the nice topography either.

Well, to be fair -- depending on where you are coming from, Austin can be desert-like. It is kind of halfway desert. Whenever I drive down Southwest parkway, it does feel I'm 100+ miles west where it is much more desert like. Even without the current drought, the trees and foliage you speak of in those hilly areas are the kind which can survive on very little water. Because even when it rains, there is hardly any topsoil to hold moisture in. It all goes into subterranean aquifers through the rock or runs off into the rivers.

Plus, the weather during the GP last year was positively desert-like. Dry air, chilly night temperatures, yet people were getting sunburned during the day. Doesn't help that there are like zero trees at the track.

But in a way, their description of "being in the Texas desert" was probably meant as a compliment. In England (or NY for that matter), they have nothing like the beautiful deserts of the western US. They probably interpreted it as a positive; hills and trees (both much larger than here) they have in plentiful numbers, and wouldn't seem special to them.

I do agree that the topographic diversity in the Austin area is interesting, especially when compared to the rest of the state. Even regionally.

[scm53]

Originally Posted by atxcio

Well, to be fair -- depending on where you are coming from, Austin can be desert-like. It is kind of halfway desert.

Flying back into town last year, was seated next to a guy who moved here from South Africa. He owned an IT consultancy, and could live anywhere. Asked why Austin, and he said one of the main reasons was that the scenery reminded him of South Africa. Maybe why African exotic game does so well west of here.

Anyway, interesting to see if the British papers describe SA as desert.

[passionatearts]

Because of how messed up Austin's numbered street grid system is, there are oddities like W 28th St west of I-35 being farther north than E 32nd St east of I-35.

[VISSAT]

38 1/2 Street!