In 1936 Red Bluff Dam and Reservoir qv were completed on the Pecos between the southern edge of New Mexico and five miles north of Orla, Texas. Pope's Crossing was inundated. The crossing had a rocky bed and was surrounded by light sand and gravel when Pope found it. He reported the area vegetation as mesquite bushes and abundant grama grasses. Current area topography is flat to rolling with locally steep slopes of windblown sand, alluvial material, and calichified bedrock.
Vegetation consists primarily of sparse grasses, cacti, creosote bush, and scrub brush.
The Handbook of Texas Online. The Texas State Historical Association, 1997,1998,1999.