Is San Antonio in the Hill Country or South Texas? (Austin: houses, subdivision)

[majormadmax]

I knew someone would pipe up with that response, but anyone who has ever been to Helotes would clearly see where the Hill Country starts in the town on the north side of 1560 and past where that road intersects with Rt 16...

Plus, when was the last time you heard anyone say they live in the "lower lying Recharge Zone?!?"

[Azure110]

Who cares what a town or individual thinks Hill Country starts at? This is like discussing who serves the best Taco or Burger in town.

As for Helotes, the "hills" may still be there but the "country" got razed over and turn into subdivisions years ago! What "hill country" is left in Helotes isn't much compared to years ago. Just my personal opinion.

[Westerntraveler]

The state classifies it as being in the South Texas Plains but I consider Northern San Antone to be in the Hill Country.

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by MattTx

Who cares what a town or individual thinks Hill Country starts at? This is like discussing who serves the best Taco or Burger in town.

As for Helotes, the "hills" may still be there but the "country" got razed over and turn into subdivisions years ago! What "hill country" is left in Helotes isn't much compared to years ago. Just my personal opinion.

I bet you don't even see the irony in your own post!

The development of the Hill Country extends well beyond Helotes, I don't care for it either but people have the right to do whatever they want with their own property.

Helotes is definitely more Hill Country than South Texas Plains!

[Azure110]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

I bet you don't even see the irony in your own post!

The development of the Hill Country extends well beyond Helotes, I don't care for it either but people have the right to do whatever they want with their own property.

Helotes is definitely more Hill Country than South Texas Plains!

You bolded only a part of a sentence. You are very good at twisting words around in your favor, I will give you that.

Lets try this again. Who cares what a town or individual thinks Hill Country starts at? That is what you should have put in bold.

There are some topics I do care about but why should anyone spend their time discussing where the Hill Country starts at and the area that it falls under? I care about that as much as a discussion of where the best burger or taco can be bought in town.

You really love the rolling eyes emoticon. Is that a Florida thing?

[Merovee]

The Hill Country in Helotes begins a bit more north than 1560. It begins closer to where Old Bandera Road is.

Somewhere in Helotes might be where the Hill Country begins but most of it is not in the Hill Country. Still one could say it is more Hill Country than Coastal Plains since most of Helotes is on the northern edge of the Balconies Escarpment. Limestone is common within both. Helotes' culture is definitely Hill Country.

Most people might not claim they live in the Recharge Zone but most also won't say they live on the Edwards Plateau either. Edwards Plateau = the Hill Country within Bexar. It is that simple and there is no need for guesswork. Only a sliver of Hill Country enters Bexar.

[Montirob]

USGS topo map attached. I've always been fascinated just how sudden the change is. Oh, and for those that say people don't say something like "lower lying recharge zone"... in high school when I told friends I lived near Helotes, I would joke about how the rich people lived in the hills, but the rest of us lived on "the slope".

[Merovee]

Here are a few more tidbits concerning Helotes.

A brief geological history of Helotes includes time spent under ancient seas, and shifts in the earth's crust along the Balcones Fault about 50 million years ago which lifted parts of northern Helotes as high as 2,000 feet over the southern end. That geological event created aquifers and springs in an area rich in and wildlife. The area contains both sweeping hill country and flat, fertile land.

The choice land described above has shaped the history of Helotes. This prize has been seized by one group and then another and another until I am reminded of a day at the beach, watching seagulls snatching a morsel from each others' beaks.

Helotes Small Town Research Project

Helotes residents describe Helotes as being located "Where the Hill Country begins," an appropriate phrase since the Balcones Escarpment, which runs through town, was first discovered by Helotes resident Dr. Gabrael Marnoch. In 1884 Marnoch showed the unusual geologic outcropping to geologist Dr. Robert T. Hill...who would become known as the "Father of Texas Geology" in later years.

Zumwalt Debris Pile Fire and Edwards Aquifer Vulnerability


Of course the Spanish and Mexicans had already named the Hill Country (Lomería Grande) and the Balcones Escarpment (Los Balcones) before that. It was still a joint effort between many nationalities in the end on who settled near and in the Hill Country because before that it was Apacheria until the Comanche booted the Lipan further into South Texas. By the time GW Marnoch was in the hills in and near Helotes as a naturalist collecting specimens it had only recently been cleared of Indians.

The Balcones Escarpment is a division between the rich farm lands below (blackland prairie), which is connected to the rest of America's rich Southern culture, and the ranch lands above, which is where the West truly begins.

Between San Antonio and Austin this line generally runs along I-35. Before this the Camino Real ran just below the escarpment. It is also a division of trees, plants, and animals which are different on each side along that stretch of I-35.

The escarpment is important and has shaped Texas and even the placement of our city because right below is where good water is collected as it naturally drains down from the Hill Country. This made for good agricultural use and more importantly, human consumption. The water could be collected via digging artesian wells, or where it naturally bursts from earth as it does in the San Pedro and San Antonio Springs, and from the major rivers that flow through the area.

Cities such as Uvalde, D'Hanis, Castroville, San Antonio, New Braunfels, San Marcos, Austin, Temple, and Waco were all built along rivers or near springs and within the good water zone when it comes to groundwater. These cities form a thin chain all along the Balcones Escarpment where civilization blossomed.

Below is the bad water zone where the water is not drinkable such as at Hot Wells which was originally built for the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum (which turned into the San Antonio State Hospital). When the water at Hot Wells was discovered to not be drinkable due to high mineral content it became appreciated for its therapeutic value instead.

The Balcones escarpment also play a part in our weather both in acting as a wall that traps in humidity but also stops storm systems creating the hazard of flash flooding.

The most severe rainstorm ever recorded in the continental United States occurred under these conditions on September 9 and 10, 1921, in Thrall, Williamson County. A total of 36.4 inches of rain fell in 18 hr, which is the world's record for this period.

Balcones Escarpment

Approximately 25 percent of the catastrophic flash-flooding events in the United States have occurred along the Balcones escarpment.

Encyclopedia of Earth & Space Science

[Mom2Feebs]

my freaking yard is the Hill Country. At least it seems that way when I go up the driveway. LOL.

I have always been told growing up that SA is at the "foot of the hill country".

[rynetwo]

Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs

my freaking yard is the Hill Country. At least it seems that way when I go up the driveway. LOL.

I have always been told growing up that SA is at the "foot of the hill country".

Yea if the OP was asking is San Antonio "hilly" then the answer would be yes across the N and NW sides. Apparently just because you have huge hills doesn't make the hill country yet even if it looks like it.