Burnet County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau
in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population was 34,147.
The 2008 Census Bureau Estimate was 44,488. Its county seat is
Burnet. Burnet is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first
(provisional) president of the Republic of Texas. The name of the
county is pronounced with the emphasis or accent on the first
syllable, just as its namesake David Burnet. Burnet County was
founded in 1852.
Burnet County, in central Texas, is bordered by Lampasas, Bell,
Williamson, Travis, Blanco, Llano, and San Saba counties. Burnet,
the county seat, is at the intersection of U.S. Highway 281 and
State Highway 29 and on the Austin and Northwestern Railroad, about
fifty miles northwest of Austin and 150 miles southwest of Fort
Worth. The county's center is about three miles northeast of Burnet
at 30º47' north latitude and 98º11' west longitude. The county,
situated on the northeastern edge of the Hill Country, comprises
roughly 1,000 square miles of gentle to broken hills with
elevations ranging from 700 to 1,700 feet above sea level. The
terrain in the northwestern, western, and southern parts of the
county is characterized by rolling hills with local deep and dense
dissections; fertile plateaus and valleys are found in the eastern
section, and rolling prairies dominate the north and northeast. The
land is drained by the Colorado River, which forms most of the
western county line before meandering across the southern part of
the county; by the San Gabriel River, which rises in three forks in
the northern and central parts of the county; and by the Lampasas
River, which cuts across the northeastern corner. Wildlife in
Burnet County includes deer, coyotes, bobcats, beaver, opossums,
ring-tailed cats, foxes, raccoons, turkeys, badgers, weasels,
skunks, and squirrels, as well as assorted birds, fish, and
reptiles. Among the county's mineral resources are granite,
limestone, industrial sand, and graphite. The average minimum
temperature is 37° F in January, and the average maximum is 96° in
July. The growing season averages 234 days annually, and the
rainfall averages about thirty inches. |
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