Natural Features & Ecosystems

Big Thicket National Preserve lies in a large area in southeast Texas where the Piney Woods meet the coastal prairie. The overlap of ecosystems and ecological influences here enables a large diversity of species to coexist within a relatively small area. There are few places on earth where you can walk through a beech-magnolia-loblolly pine woodland and then see roadrunners darting between longleaf pines and cactus. Canoeists and kayakers may see alligators and egrets while paddling through a bald cypress-tupelo swamp, while hikers in upland forests may find lichens and mushrooms that are also native to the Arctic.

Learn more about the preserve's ecosystems below.

 

Ecosystems

• 

  Plant Communities

  Learn more about the diverse plant communities found here.

• 

  Wetlands

  Abundant rainfall creates ideal conditions for the Big Thicket's wetlands.