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Posted: August 9, 2006
There’s nothing like waking in the morning to the sounds of seagulls flying overhead, the gentle surf creating soothing melodies of rhythm across the sand, the sun glinting on sandpipers chasing tiny sea crabs across the receding waters.
In Plano, Texas, with its thriving residential economy, international status of business excellence, All-America City extraordinaire, all that’s missing is the surf and sand – the seagulls still abound!
Located a little over 300 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it seems far-fetched to imagine Plano’s front yards bordering a beach, but a trip back in time reveals our oceanfront connections as surely as the fossilized shark teeth that still can be found in some local creeks.
70 million years ago the Gulf of Mexico firmly extended across East Texas, with the shallow ocean leaving behind a rock sequence known as “Austin Chalk,” coined for its dominant appearance around our State’s capitol.
Much like England’s White Cliffs of Dover, Austin Chalk is a white limestone composed of millions of tiny seashells, which fell to the ocean bottom hardening over time. Intermixed with the hardened seashells are the fossilized remains of fish, clams, sharks and the giant Tyloposaur, a huge aquatic “dinosaur” whose remains have been found throughout our region. Fossilized shark teeth and seashell hunts are sometimes offered through local museums, always yielding participants a piece of Plano’s oceanfront past.
A trip to one of Plano’s parks, with its adjacent waterways, will often reveal Austin Chalk formations. A good sighting area is at Plano’s Schimelpfenig Library (5024 Custer Road). Rich white bands of the Chalk line the waterway along the north parking area, extending into adjacent Memorial Park.
Plano’s “blackland prairie soil” is what attracted settlers to our region in the early 1800’s and continues to be a productive farming source today. Organic matter is mixed with decayed Austin Chalk to produce a fertile black waxy “gumbo” that is typical of Plano and other parts of the state where the Chalk is exposed.
Because the shell fragments of the Austin Chalk don’t always fit together properly, groundwater is able to move through the Chalk, collecting in the pore spaces of the Chalk. A primary source of water for our early settlers was this “rock water,” known as groundwater. Later, artesian wells were sunk into the soil hitting the ancient base of water-laden sand known as the Trinity sand. Water would seep to the surface providing a viable water source for Plano residents for decades, until reservoirs such as Lake Lavon were constructed.
Not only was Plano a prime beach location, but it also rested at the base of a mountain range! Some 270 million years ago a mountain retreat would have been possible in the Plano City Limits, but erosion and the invasion of the ancient ocean washed them away. Distinctive rock formations from Oklahoma’s Ouachita Mountains just up the road beginning in Atoka, Oklahoma can be found extending through the heart of Plano, lending credence they once extended into the area.
It’s a long hot summer and the shimmering sanded waters of a beach are far removed from Plano. But when the seagulls circle overhead at one of our beautiful parkland lakes and the faintest aroma of a wayward southern ocean breeze wafts across the landscape, it’s nice to know that our feet are firmly planted on “oceanfront” property!
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