HONDO CREEK (Bandera County). Hondo Creek rises 7½ miles northwest of Tarpley in south central Bandera County (at 29°43' N, 99°23' W) and runs southeast for sixty-seven miles, through Bandera, Medina, and Frio counties, to its mouth on the Frio River, five miles northwest of Pearsall (at 28°57' N, 99°11' W). The stream, which is intermittent in its upper reaches, passes initially through an area of alternating limestone benches and steep slopes typical of much of Bandera County. This terrain is surfaced by shallow clay loams that support Ashe juniper and live oak woods. From Tarpley south along the creek's course, the surrounding terrain becomes flatter and generally rolling, and deeper soils of clay loam mixed with sand predominate. As the creek runs through Medina and Frio counties, the juniper and oak cover gives way to fertile croplands broken by occasional open stands of mesquite. Hondo is Spanish for "deep."