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SOIL SURVEY OF LAMAR AND DELTA COUNTIES, TEXAS
<br />
<br /> By Dennis Ressel, Soil Conservauon Service
<br />
<br /> Dan A. Blackstock, Roy L. Robbins, and Jesse R. Thomas, Jr., s0il scientists, Soil Conservation Service,
<br /> assisted in the field mapping
<br />
<br /> United States Department of Agriculture, Soil ConserVation Service, in cooperation with
<br /> Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
<br />
<br />LAMAR AND DELTA COUNTIES ara in northeastern General nature of the counties
<br />Texas (see map on facing page). The areh of the two
<br />counties is 1,185 square miles, or 758,400 acras. Red This section gives general information about Lamar
<br />River is the northern boundary of Lamar County, and and Delta Counties. It briefly discusses the settlement
<br />South Sulphur River is the southern boundary of Delta and population, farming, climate, and natural resoumes
<br />County. The old channel of North Sulphur River is the of the area.
<br />boundary between Lamar and Delta Counties. Paris is
<br />the county seat of Lamar County, and Cooper is the seat Settlement and population
<br />of Delta County.
<br />The area is dissected by many well-defined drain- Settlement of Lamar County began in 1821. The
<br />ageways. Lamar County north of Paris drains northeast county was organized officially in 1841 and was na~'led
<br />into Red River. South of Paris the county drains south- in honor of the President of the Republic of Texas,
<br />east into North Sulphur River. All of Delta County drains Mirabeau B. Lamar.
<br /> Paris, the seat of Lamar County, has a population of
<br />southeast into South Sulphur River except the area near
<br /> about 24,050. In 1970, the population of Lamar County
<br />North Sulphur River. The elevation in the two counties
<br /> was 36,062.
<br />ranges from about 335 feet above sea level in the south- Delta County was created from Lamar and Hopkins
<br />eastern part of the area to about 620 feet on the highest Counties in 1870. The name was taken from the.,.Graek
<br />watershed divides, letter delta. The county is between the north and south
<br />These ara cattle-producing and farming counties, forks of the Sulphur River.
<br />About 42 percent of the araa is used for pasture and Cooper, the seat of Delta County, has a population of
<br />hay, 33 percent for crops, 13 percent for woodland, and about 2,495. In 1970, the population of Delta County was
<br />4 percent for range. The remaining 8 percent is urban 4,927.
<br />land, federal military land, and water area. Farming in the '
<br />two counties has evolved from primarily cotton in the Climate
<br />early 1950's to a diverse agriculture today. Cotton is still
<br />a major crop, but improved bermudagrass, fescue, grain The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National
<br />sorghum, soybeans, and small grains have become ira- Weather Service, assisted in the preparation of this section.
<br />portant in recent years. The climate of Lamar and Delta Counties is humid
<br />There are great differences amc~ng soils in the araa. subtropical with warm summers. The Climate is continen-
<br />About 51 percent of the soils formed on uplands under tal also, characterized by extreme variations in tempera-
<br />prairie, 30 percent formed on uplands under forast, and tura. Tropical maritime air masses flow through the area
<br />the remaining 19 percent formed on flood plains. Unpro- in late spring, summer, and early fall, and polar air
<br />tected sloping areas are subject to water erosion. It is masses frequent the area in winter. Temperature and
<br />common to have periods of continuous wet or dry weath- precipitation data from Paris, in Lamar County, are given
<br />er 4 to 6 months long. in table 1. '.
<br /> Rainfall is abundant and is evenly distributed through-
<br /> out the year. Mean annual precipitation is 45.32 inches.
<br /> Since records began in 1891, annual rainfall has ranged
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<br /> 1
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