Environmental geologic maps of the Texas lignite belt were prepared in response to renewed production of lignite in Texas and enactment of Federal and State laws governing coal and lignite surface mining.

The Sligo and Hosston Formations of Aptian age occur over thousands of square miles in the subsurface of South Texas.

The publication comprises 24 structural dip cross sections, spaced 15 to 20 mi apart along the Texas coast, and 4 structural strike cross sections. Dip sections extend from near the Wilcox outcrop to the coastline.

This report provides a data base for decisions about lignite mining and reclamation in the Wilcox Group of East Texas. Kaiser (1974, 1978) estimates that about 12.2 billion short tons of potentially strip-minable lignite resources occur in East and South Texas.

Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Hays, Lee, Llano, Travis, and Williamson Counties make up the Capital Area Planning Council (CAPCO) region in Central Texas (fig. 1). The region covers 8,427 square miles (21,826 km2) and includes land of great physical diversity.

Papers in this volume were presented at the Gulf Coast Lignite Conference held in Austin, Texas, June 1976.
Papers were edited, in some cases extensively, and subjectively grouped by discipline, paralleling that of their presentation at the Conference.

The area described in this report comprises 712 square miles centered on the City of Austin. The area extends north almost to Round Rock, south to the vicinity of Buda, east to just beyond Manor, and west to about 5 miles west of Oak Hill.