Editing Williamson County, Texas (section)

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the county has an area of {{convert|1134|sqmi|abbr=on}}, of which {{convert|1118|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|16|sqmi}}, comprising 1.4%, is water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 12, 2015|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419031755/http://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/counties_list_48.txt|archive-date=April 19, 2015}}</ref>

The area is divided into two regions by the Balcones Escarpment, which runs through the center from north to south along a line from Jarrell to Georgetown to Round Rock. The county's western half is an extension of the Western Plains and considered to be within the eastern fringes of [[Texas Hill Country]]; it has an average elevation of {{convert|850|ft|m|abbr=on}}. It features undulating, hilly brushland with an abundance of [[Texas live oak]], [[prickly pear cactus]], and [[karst]]. The county's eastern half is part of the Coastal Plains and is flat to gently rolling with an average elevation of {{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=on}}. It has dark clay and rich, fertile soils for agriculture, but is quickly being developed as the county's population continues to increase and expand out.<ref name="tshaonline2"/> Williamson County is drained in the center and south by the San Gabriel River, the county's only river, and in the north by creeks that run into the Lampasas and Little Rivers north of the county line.<ref name="tshaonline2"/>

===Topography===
Williamson County's eastern portion lies within the low-lying prairie areas east of the [[Balcones Escarpment]] (also known as the Balcones Fault, though it is not an [[active fault]]). It begins a piedmont, a foot-friendly fall line of slightly sloping land downward to the coastal area, an area of the [[Blackland Prairie]] consisting of rich, fertile, clay-containing soils, where the land is still used for agriculture, growing cotton and other crops and raising cattle. These prairie lands essentially run from Williamson County to the Gulf Coast, and have a rich heritage of being farmed by German, Polish, and other settlers.

West of the escarpment is the beginning of the "upland" Texas Hill Country, characterized by rocky terrain with thin layers of soil on top of [[limestone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ryh02|title=Hill Country|work=Handbook of Texas Online|access-date=November 7, 2009|author=Jordan, Terry G.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101102002535/http://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ryh02|archive-date=November 2, 2010}}</ref> Some ranching occurs in the uplands, but mostly it has been the target of residential development because of the rolling terrain, vistas, hardwood trees, abundant wildlife, and rivers and streams (the same reason early Indians camped in the area). The Hill Country areas are characterized by their porous "vugular" (honeycombed) rock, where rainwater percolates down to replenish the [[Edwards Aquifer]]. For that reason, development restrictions are in place and several endangered species are protected by the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] (USFWS).<!-- (See Endangered species section below). -->Interstate 35, the county's main artery, runs along the fault line dividing the two distinct regions.

===Environmentally protected areas===
[[Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge]] is in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin, including parts of western Williamson County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=21561|title=Overview|work=Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge|access-date=March 21, 2010|author=United States Fish and Wildlife Service|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511105217/http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=21561|archive-date=May 11, 2009}}</ref>  The refuge was formed in 1992 to conserve habitat for two endangered songbirds, the [[golden-cheeked warbler]] and the [[black-capped vireo]], and to preserve Texas Hill Country habitat for other wildlife species.<ref>U.S. Senate, Committee on Appropriations. 2006. Prepared statement of Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. Senate Hearings, Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations, HR 2361, pp. 174–175.</ref> The refuge augments a similarly named preserve in Austin, the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve. The vegetation found in the Hill Country includes various oaks, elms, and [[Juniperus ashei|Ashe juniper trees]] (often called "cedar" in Texas). The golden-cheeked warbler and black-capped vireo depend on different successional stages of this vegetation, and both nest in the Edwards Plateau, the warbler exclusively so.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/balcones/|title=Welcome|work=Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge|access-date=March 20, 2010|author=United States Fish and Wildlife Service|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308195103/http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/texas/balcones/|archive-date=March 8, 2010}}</ref> Some protected areas are open to visitors, such as the [[Berry Springs Park]].

===Endangered species===
Williamson County is home to five endangered species. Two are songbirds protected by the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve in [[Travis County, Texas|Travis]] and Williamson Counties. The other three are invertebrate species found only in Williamson County, which live in the cavelike fissures on the west side of the county. [[Karst topography]] is the name for the honeycomb-type limestone formations (including caves, sinkholes, and fissures) typical of the county's limestone geology west of Interstate 35. In the 1990s, a group of concerned landowners, individuals, and real-estate developers formed the Northern Edwards Aquifer Resource Council with the goal of obtaining a USFWS 10-A permit (known as an [[incidental take permit]]) for the county by identifying and preserving sufficiently many caves with endangered species to ensure survival of the species. These species would be preserved through voluntary donations of land rather than required setbacks, grants,<ref>{{cite news |title= Grant will help creepier residents. $2.35 million to save beetles, spiders and other endangered species| first=Jennifer| last=Barrios| page=A1 | date=September 30, 2004 | newspaper=[[Austin American-Statesman]]}}</ref> and other involuntary means typically enforced on landowners without an incidental take permit. The group transferred its successful work on an [[environmental impact statement]] to the county in 2002 and a county-wide 10-A permit was obtained in October 2008.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plan to protect species gets OK; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service gives approval. |first=David |last=Doolittle |newspaper=Austin American-Statesman |date=October 23, 2008 }}</ref> Property owners are able to participate in the county's 10-A permit by applying through the WCCF.

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Bell County, Texas|Bell County]] (north)
* [[Milam County, Texas|Milam County]] (northeast)
* [[Lee County, Texas|Lee County]] (southeast)
* [[Bastrop County, Texas|Bastrop County]] (southeast)
* [[Travis County, Texas|Travis County]] (south)
* [[Burnet County, Texas|Burnet County]] (west)