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Mount Blanco is a small white mesa
Mesa

A mesa is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
 — an erosional remnant — located on the eastern border of the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
 within Blanco Canyon
Blanco Canyon

Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning in southwestern Floyd County, TX to across at its mouth in southeastern Crosby County, TX....
 in Crosby County, Texas
Crosby County, Texas

Crosby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 7,072. The county seat of the county is Crosbyton, Texas....
. Blanco Canyon is a drainage channel carved into the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
 by the White River, a tributary of the Brazos River
Brazos River

The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers is the 11th longest river in the United States at 2060 km from its source of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico...
.

image:Mt_Blanco_1891.jpg|Early photo of Mount Blanco (1891) image:Mount Blanco 2002.jpg|More recent photo of Mount Blanco viewed from south (2002) image:Mt_Blanco_2005.jpg|Mount Blanco viewed from above (2005) image:Blanco Formation Road Cut.jpg|Blanco and Blackwater Draw formations are exposed at this road cut along Texas Ranch Road 193.






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Encyclopedia


Mount Blanco is a small white mesa
Mesa

A mesa is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
 — an erosional remnant — located on the eastern border of the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
 within Blanco Canyon
Blanco Canyon

Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning in southwestern Floyd County, TX to across at its mouth in southeastern Crosby County, TX....
 in Crosby County, Texas
Crosby County, Texas

Crosby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 7,072. The county seat of the county is Crosbyton, Texas....
. Blanco Canyon is a drainage channel carved into the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
 by the White River, a tributary of the Brazos River
Brazos River

The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers is the 11th longest river in the United States at 2060 km from its source of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico...
.

image:Mt_Blanco_1891.jpg|Early photo of Mount Blanco (1891) image:Mount Blanco 2002.jpg|More recent photo of Mount Blanco viewed from south (2002) image:Mt_Blanco_2005.jpg|Mount Blanco viewed from above (2005) image:Blanco Formation Road Cut.jpg|Blanco and Blackwater Draw formations are exposed at this road cut along Texas Ranch Road 193. (2002)

Geology


The term "Blanco beds" was first applied to this formation in 1892 by William F. Cummins of the Geological Survey of Texas. The Blanco beds are considered to be of lacustrine origin – deposited in a Pleistocene lake basin set in the Ogallala formation of Pliocene age which underlies the upper surface sediments of the Llano Estacado
Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
. The thickness of the Blanco beds varies from around 22 to 26 m thick at the most. The formation mainly consists of light-gray fine-grained mudstone
Mudstone

Mudstone is a fine grained sedimentary rock whose original constituents were clays or muds. Particle size is up to 0.0625 mm with individual grains too small to be distinguished without a microscope....
, sandstone
Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock Particle size . Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust ....
, and some conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)

A conglomerate is a Rock consisting of individual stones that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts....
. These light-colored sediments contrast sharply with the rust-colored sediments of the Ogallala Formation
Ogallala Aquifer

File:Ogallala changes 1980-1995.svgFile:High plains fresh groundwater usage 2000.svgThe Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States....
.

Mount Blanco is the type locality of the Blanco Formation and Blancan Fauna
Blancan

The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,808,000 years Before Present....
, which occurs throughout North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
.

See also


  • Blanco Canyon
    Blanco Canyon

    Blanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning in southwestern Floyd County, TX to across at its mouth in southeastern Crosby County, TX....
  • Geology of Texas
    Geology of Texas

    Texas contains a great variety of geologic settings. The state's stratigraphy has been largely influenced by marine Transgression cycles during the Phanerozoic, with a lesser but still significant contribution from late Cenozoic Plate tectonic, as well as the remnants of a Paleozoic mountain range....
  • Blancan
    Blancan

    The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,808,000 years Before Present....
  • List of geographical regions in Texas
    List of geographical regions in Texas

    Texas is the second largest US state with an area of and a population of 23.5 million in 254 counties. This covers an area wide by long. Due to its location and size, it is a part of a large number of unique geological regions....
  • Llano Estacado
    Llano Estacado

    Llano Estacado is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle....
  • Palo Duro Canyon
    Palo Duro Canyon

    Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment in the Texas Panhandle of Texas . As the second largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly 120 miles long and has an average width of 6 miles, but reaches a width of 20 miles at places....