The Cast Iron Forest
Subtitle: A Natural and Cultural History of the North American Cross Timbers
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Published: April 15, 2000
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 294
ISBN-13: 9780292725164
Subjects: Forests, rainforests; Regional geography; History; Nature; History: American; North Central & Mid-West states; Essays; Trees & Forests - General; United States - State & Local - General; History / United States / State & Local; Cross Timbers (Okla. and Tex.); Human ecology; Natural history
Description: "A complex mosaic of dense post oak and blackjack oak forests interspersed with prairies, the Cross Timbers cover large portions of southeastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, and north central Texas.

Home to Native Americans over several thousand years, the Cross Timbers were considered a barrier to westward expansion in the nineteenth century, until roads and railroads opened up the region to farmers, ranchers, coal miners, and modern city developers, all of whom changed its character in far-reaching ways." "This landmark book describes the natural environment of the Cross Timbers and the defining role that people have played in transforming the region.".

"Illustrated with many historical and contemporary maps and photographs and amplified by earlier writers' descriptions of the region, this book offers a rich historical understanding of what the Cross Timbers once were, what they have become in our time, and how they may fare in the future."--BOOK JACKET.