St. Edward’s University campus on a Balcones bluff

St. Edward’s University occupies a campus perched on a prominent hill formed by the Balcones Escarpment, giving it one of the more noticeable elevation changes within central Austin. The campus bluff sits on Cretaceous limestone and provides views down toward the central city across lower-lying areas developed on younger coastal plain sediments. The site is often noted in local descriptions of Austin’s geologic boundary between the Hill Country and the coastal plain. The university campus is a well-known local landmark illustrating the escarpment’s urban expression.