Lost Maples State Natural Area | |
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Location | Bandera County / Real County, Texas |
Nearest city | Vanderpool |
Coordinates | 29°49′11″N 99°34′59″W / 29.81972°N 99.58306°WCoordinates: 29°49′11″N 99°34′59″W / 29.81972°N 99.58306°W |
Area | 2,906 acres (11.76 km2) |
Established | 1979 |
Governing body | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
Designated | 1980 |
Lost Maples State Natural Area is a pristine area of hills and canyons on the upper Sabinal River in the Edwards Plateau of Texas, United States. It is designated a Natural Area, rather than a State Park, and therefore the primary focus is maintenance and protection of the property's natural state. Accordingly, access and recreational activities may be restricted if the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) deems such action necessary to protect the environment.
Lost Maples State Natural Area is located about 5 miles (8 km) north of Vanderpool, Texas and 71 miles (114 km) west of San Antonio. The preserve sits along the Sabinal River in western Bandera County and far eastern Real County.
The land for Lost Maples State Natural Area was acquired by the state of Texas in 1973 and 1974, and was opened to the public in 1979. In 1980, the Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service made the Natural Area a National Natural Landmark.
Man has inhabited this area since prehistoric times. The recorded history of the area, beginning with Spanish explorations in the 17th century, identifies a number of Indian groups, including the Apache, Lipan Apache and Comanche as having foraged, hunted, and occasionally lived in this part of the Texas Hill Country.
Much of the area's limestone bedrock is exposed on elevated terrain, which has a shallow, discontinuous cover of dark gray stony clay (Eckrant series). Most valley bottoms have deep, dark brown silty clay (Krum series) or clay loam (Pratley series). Deposits of gravel, sand, and loam (Orif-Boerne association) lie within a few hundred feet of the Sabinal River. All of these soils have free calcium carbonate throughout their profiles and are moderately alkaline. Despite a high clay content in most cases, poorly drained soils are too inextensive to be mapped.