Terry County's Flat Map Is Full of Playas and Draws

Terry County sits high and mostly level, about 3,100 to 3,600 feet above sea level. Its 899 square miles occupy the southern High Plains southwest of Lubbock. From the highway, the long fields and open sky can make the land look almost featureless. On the ground, it has a quieter system of low places.

Draws crease the plain, sand hills rise in the northeast, and shallow playas hold rain in round basins. Terry County has no natural rivers or streams. Some drainage works toward the upper watershed of Sulphur Springs Creek, while many playas simply fill, dry, and fill again. TPWD describes these rain-fed wetlands as an essential part of High Plains ecology, especially for migrating and nesting birds.

Playas also connect the surface to the water below. Their wet-and-dry cycles allow some rainfall to seep toward the Ogallala Aquifer instead of running away in a river channel. That makes a temporary patch of water more important than it may look from the road. Between Brownfield, Meadow, Wellman, and Tokio, the local landscape is not empty flatness. It is shortgrass country patterned by draws, sandy ground, crop fields, and basins waiting for rain.