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<br />SOIL SURVEY OF LAMAR AND DELTA COUNTIES, TEXAS
<br />-By Dennis Ressel, Soil Conservation Service
<br />Dan A. Blackstock, Roy L. Robbins, and Jesse R. Thomas, Jr., soil scientists, Soil Conservation Service,
<br />assisted In the field mapping
<br />United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, in cooperation with
<br />Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
<br />LAMAR AND DELTA COUNTIES are in northeastern
<br />Texas (see map on facing page). The area of the two
<br />counties is 1,185 square miles, or 758,400 acres. Red
<br />River is the northern boundary of Lamar County, and
<br />South Sulphur River is the southern boundary of Delta
<br />County. The old channel of North Sulphur River is the
<br />boundary between Lamar and Delta Counties. Paris is
<br />the county seat of Lamar County, and Cooper is the .seat
<br />of Delta County.
<br />The area is dissected by many well- defined drain -
<br />ageways. Lamar County north of Paris drains northeast
<br />into Red River. South of Paris the county drains south-
<br />east into North Sulphur River. All of Delta County drains
<br />southeast into South Sulphur River except the area near
<br />North Sulphur River. The elevation in the two counties
<br />ranges from about 335 feet above sea level in the south-
<br />eastern part of the area to about 620 feet on the highest
<br />watershed divides.
<br />These are cattle - producing and farming counties.
<br />About 42 percent of the area is used for pasture and
<br />hay, 33 percent for crops, 13 percent for woodland, and
<br />4 percent for range. The remaining 8 percent is urban
<br />land, federal military land, and water area. Farming In the
<br />two counties has evolved from primarily cotton in the
<br />early 1950's to a diverse agriculture today. Cotton is still
<br />a major crop, but improved bermudagrass, fescue, grain
<br />sorghum, soybeans, and small grains have become im-
<br />portant in recent years.
<br />There are great differences among soils in the area.
<br />About 51 percent of the soils formed on uplands under
<br />prairie, 30 percent formed on uplands under forest, and
<br />the remaining 19 percent formed on flood plains. Unpro-
<br />tected sloping areas are subject to water erosion. It is
<br />common to have periods of continuous wet or dry weath-
<br />er 4 to 6 months long.
<br />General nature of the counties
<br />This section gives general information about Lamar
<br />and Delta Counties. It briefly discusses the settlement
<br />and population, farming, climate, and natural resources
<br />of the area.
<br />Settlement and population
<br />Settlement of Lamar County began in 1821. ie
<br />county was organized officially in 1841 and was n- ;d
<br />in honor of the President of the Republic of T as,
<br />Mirabeau B. Lamar.
<br />Paris, the seat of Lamar County, has a population of
<br />about 24,050. In 1970, the population of Lamar County
<br />was 36,062.
<br />Delta County was created from Lamar and Hopkins
<br />Counties in 1870. The name was taken from the, Greek
<br />letter delta. The county is between the north and south
<br />forks of the Sulphur River.
<br />Cooper, the seat of Delta County, has a population of
<br />about 2,495. In 1970, the population of Delta County was
<br />4,927.
<br />Climate
<br />The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National
<br />Weather Service, assisted in the preparation of this section.
<br />The climate of Lamar and Delta Counties is humid
<br />subtropical with warm summers. The climate is continen-
<br />tal also, characterized by extreme variations in tempera-
<br />ture. Tropical maritime air masses flow through the area
<br />in late spring, summer, and early fall, and polar air
<br />masses frequent the area in winter. Temperature and
<br />precipitation data from Paris, in Lamar County, are given
<br />in table 1.
<br />Rainfall is abundant and is evenly distributed the �h-
<br />out the year. Mean annual precipitation is 45.32 inks.
<br />Since records began in 1891, annual rainfall has ranged
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