Physical Environment of Fort Wolters Military Reservation, Parker and Palo Pinto Counties, Texas

The purpose of this report is to describe the physical environment of Fort Wolters Military Reservation and to call attention to physical processes occurring on the base, to note availability of data, and to comment on potential limitations to land use. Fort Wolters (3,985 ac) is one of the training areas administered by the Texas Adjutant General for activities of the Texas Army National Guard. The Bureau of Economic Geology reviewed existing publications to identify essential baseline data (climate; geology, soil properties, hydrology, and present land condition) and made additional observations that will assist the Texas Adjutant General in preparing long-term environmental assessments mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations and environmental land management and land-condition monitoring plans required by the U.S. Army. This report also includes basic digital line graph (DLG) data sets for cultural features, hydrology, topography, and soils.

Fort Wolters is located in North-Central Texas in western Parker County and easternmost Palo Pinto County, about 3 mi northeast of the City of Mineral Wells. The area is within the subtropical subhumid climatic region of Texas, with an average annual precipitation of about 29 inches. Intense thunderstorms result in flashy surface runoff, causing erosion of unprotected soils, and flooding and siltation in area creeks. The principal bedrock geologic unit is the Pennsylvanian Mineral Wells Formation, which consists of shale with interbedded sandstone and limestone. Soils are mostly sandy loam and clayey loam. Because of the shaley nature of the Pennsylvanian strata, there are no major freshwater aquifers beneath the base. Limited amounts of fresh water are present in fractures in limestone and sandstone interbeds.