Cedar Creek (Brewster County)

Cedar Creek rises on the northern slopes of Nine Point Mesa fifty-five miles southeast of Alpine in south central Brewster County (at 29°41' N, 103°27' W) and follows an arc to the north and east of Nine Point Mesa across a rolling tableland, then runs southeast through sharply eroded desert terrain for 13½ miles to its mouth on Nine Point Draw, on the broad, open flats northwest of the Rosillos Mountains (at 29°34' N, 103°18' W). Though the creek has flowing water through its entire length only after rainstorms, at least three permanent springs, including Cedar Springs to the west of Nine Point Mesa, feed portions of the creek before their waters again disappear underground. The banks of the creek, particularly in its upper reaches, support a variety of desert riparian vegetation, including juniper, hackberry, Mexican walnut, and numerous Texas persimmons. The area surrounding Cedar Creek was once predominantly semiarid grassland, but overgrazing by livestock virtually eliminated the grass. As a consequence, much of the area terrain was in the 1980s dominated by Chihuahuan Desert scrub. However, much of the land through which the creek passes belongs to the Terlingua Ranch Resort, and on this land some scattered grassland remnants near available water had begun by the mid-1980s to show signs of modest recovery.