Historical descriptions of some soils and landscapes of Texas

Europeans explorers, immigrants, and travelers have been crisscrossing Texas for almost 5 centuries, recording their observations of soils and landscapes through the lens of their own times. In the early 16th century, Cabeza de Vaca was struck by how the natives among whom he lived used soil as a part of their diet. In the 17th century, as a member of the La Salle expedition to Texas, Henri Joutel described the soils and landscapes he saw in considerable detail, perhaps with an eye to possible future French settlement. To 19th century immigrants, the soil was the source of their future wealth, but also, so they thought, of the source of the various illnesses that inflicted them. With their distinctive micro-topography and large cracks when dry, Vertisols have elicited some of the most interesting early descriptions of Texas soils.