MUSK HOG CANYON. Musk Hog Canyon, a dry tributary of the Pecos River, is on Interstate Highway 10 in west central Crockett County (at 30°45' N, 101°44' W). It runs southwest for eighteen miles to its mouth on the Pecos River, 1½ miles east of Sheffield (at 30°4' N, 101°45' W). Musk Hog Canyon is characterized by a broad floodplain at its mouth draining to the southwest above the east floor of the Pecos River valley. Numerous header canyons drain into Musk Hog Canyon. The canyon lies in a natural geologic floodplain composed of massive limestone with sand, gravel, and mud substrate and some bedrock areas. Clay and sandy loam soils support water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, grasses, oak, juniper, and some mesquite. In the 1970s archeological surveys were conducted in Musk Hog Canyon along the proposed right-of-way of Interstate Highway 10 before highway construction began. Evidence of prehistoric man in the canyon was found in the form of middens, hearths, and rockshelters as well as numerous artifacts, including projectile points, beads, and various tools. Radiocarbon dates in the canyon ranged from A.D. 660 to 1200. Construction of I-10 through Musk Hog Canyon was completed by 1982.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Clive J. Luke, Continuing Archaeology on Interstate Highway 10 (Austin: State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, 1983).