The River Landscape

The River Landscape. . This Land Near The San Antonio River has been a human gathering place ever since native people first camped here 11,500 years ago. The spring-fed river provided water and fish, and nearby trees and shrubs were a source of fruit, nuts, and seeds. Beyond the tree-lined waterway, the land opened onto a flat plain where members of hunting and gathering bands, known collectively as Coahuiltecans, stalked game and harvested grasses to build huts. By 1731 the Spanish had established five missions, a presidio, and a civilian settlement, all of which relied on the river for survival. The rural landscape was gradually transformed to meet the needs of the growing population. Grasslands and woods were cleared for farms and ranches, streets and houses were built, and the river was straightened to protect the town from flooding. Today, though the natural landscape is forever changed, the San Antonio River Improvements Project has restored the river's ecosystem here in the Mission Reach, reintroducing native vegetation and creating an environment suitable for both recreation and wildlife., Captions , 1. Coahuiltecans hunted and fished here along the river and found shelter under the area's trees. This artist's depiction illustrates their lifestyle thousands of years ago. , 2. San Antonio is at the junction of three major biological areas of the state - the western edge of the southeastern prairies and forests, characterized by deep loamy soils; the southern edge of the Texas Hill Country with its shallow rocky soils covering deep deposits of limestone, and the northern edge of the sandy, arid soils of South Texas and northeastern Mexico. Birds migrating in the middle of the great central flyway can be observed here along the San Antonio River. , 3. In the 1700s Spanish missionaries found dense vegetation near the river that included mesquite, walnut, live oak, and mulberry trees and wild grapes. They also observed fox squirrels, wild turkeys, ducks, geese, and cranes. Egrets and spiny softshell turtles can still be seen today in the river's Mission Reach., Painting: Frank Weir, Bastrop, Courtesy: TexasBeyondHistory.net, Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin , Based on a map in W. Frank Blair, "The Biotic Provinces of Texas," Texas Journal of Science 2 (1). , Courtesy: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin. , Courtesy: San Antonio River Authority,