Texas is a state in both the West and South regions of the United States of America. It is also considered part of the Southwest and the Great Plains. With an area of 268,581 square miles (695,622 km²) and a population of 22.8 million, Texas is second to Alaska in area, and second to California in population.
Abilene Addison Alamo Alba Alice Allen Alpine Alvarado Alvin Amarillo Andrews Angleton Anthony Aransas Pass Arlington Athens Atlanta Austin Azle Balch Springs Bastrop Bay City Baytown Beaumont Bedford Beeville Bellmead Belton Benbrook Big Spring Bishop Boerne Borger Bowie Brady Brenham Bridgeport Brookshire Brownfield Brownsville Brownwood Bryan Buda Buffalo Burkburnett Burleson Burnet Cameron Canton Canyon Carrizo Springs Carrollton Carthage Cedar Hill Cedar Park Center Centerville Channelview Childress Cisco Clarendon Cleburne Cleveland Clifton Clute Coleman College Station Colorado City Columbus Comanche Conroe Copperas Cove Corpus Christi Corsicana Dalhart Dallas Dayton Decatur Deer Park Del Rio Denison Denton Dickinson Dilley Donna Dumas Duncanville Eagle Pass Early Eastland Edinburg Edna El Paso Elmendorf Ennis Euless Fabens Fairfield Falfurrias Farmers Branch Flatonia Floresville Forney Fort Stockton Fort Worth Franklin Fredericksburg Freer Frisco Fulton Gainesville Galveston Garland Gatesville George West Georgetown Giddings Glen Rose Gonzales Graham Granbury Grand Prairie Grapevine Greenville Groves Gun Barrel City Haltom City Hankamer Harker Heights Harlingen Hearne Hempstead Henderson Henrietta Hereford Hewitt Hidalgo Hillsboro Hondo Horseshoe Bay Houston Humble Huntsville Hurst Hutchins Ingleside Irving Jacksonville Jasper Jefferson Johnson City Junction Katy Kaufman Kemah Kenedy Kerrville Kilgore Killeen Kingsville Kingwood Kountze La Feria La Grange La Marque La Porte Lago Vista Lajitas Lake Dallas Lake Jackson Lake Worth Lakeway Lancaster Laredo League City Levelland Lewisville Lindale Lindsay Littlefield Livingston Llano Lockhart Longview Lubbock Lufkin Lytle Madisonville Manor Mansfield Marble Falls Marshall Mathis Memphis Mercedes Mesquite Mexia Midland Mineola Mineral Wells Mission Monahans Montgomery Mount Pleasant Mount Vernon Nacogdoches Navasota New Boston New Braunfels North Richland Hills Odessa Olmito Orange Ozona Palestine Pampa Paris Pasadena Pearland Pearsall Pecos Perryton Pharr Plainview Plano Port Aransas Port Arthur Port Isabel Port Lavaca Portland Post Pottsboro Quanah Rancho Viejo Raymondville Red Oak Refugio Richardson Rio Grande City Riviera Roanoke Robstown Rockdale Rockport Rockwall Rosenberg Round Rock Rowlett Salado San Angelo San Antonio San Augustine San Benito San Marcos Schertz Schulenburg Seabrook Seagoville Sealy Segovia Seguin Shamrock Shenandoah Sherman Sinton Smithville Snyder Somerville Sonora South Houston South Padre Island Spring Stafford Stephenville Sugar Land Sweetwater Temple Terrell Texarkana Texas City The Woodlands Three Rivers Tomball Tyler Universal City Uvalde Van Horn Vega Vernon Victoria Vidor Waco Waller Waxahachie Weatherford Webster Weslaco West Columbia Westlake Wharton Wichita Falls Willis Willow Park Winnie Woodland Woodville Woodway Zapata
Those Who are Friends
The state name derives from a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai: táysha?, tecas, or tejas (the Spanish spelling); meaning "those who are friends," "friends," or "allies".
Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the independent Republic of Texas for nearly 10 years. It joined the United States in 1845 as the 28th state. Texas is known for its large size, and its "larger than life" reputation. The state is often used as a point of reference for large geographical areas.
The geography of Texas spans a wide range of features and timelines. Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. It is in the south-central part of the United States of America. It is considered to form part of the U.S. South and also part of the U.S. Southwest.
rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River
The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River all provide natural state lines where Texas borders Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, and New Mexico and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south.
By residents, the state is generally divided into North Texas, East Texas, South Texas, and West Texas, but according to the Texas Almanac, Texas has four major physical regions: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and The Basin and Range Province. This is the difference between human geography and physical geography.
Southern or South Western?
Some regions of Texas are associated with the South more than the Southwest (primarily East Texas), while other regions share more similarities with the Southwest than the South (primarily West Texas and South Texas). Even the northwestern part of the state seems to have more in common with parts of the United States (Kansas and Nebraska) that are considered "midwestern" and never "southern". The size of Texas prohibits easy categorization of the entire state wholly in any recognized region of the United States; geographic, economic, and even cultural diversity between regions of the state preclude treating Texas as a region in its own right.
Texas boasts that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the Fleur-de-lis of France, and the national flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
Native American Indians
Native American tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, and Wichita. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.
European and American settlement
On November 6, 1528, shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European in Texas; in 1537, he wrote about his experiences in a work called La relación ("The Relation").
Prior to 1821, Texas was part of the Spanish dominions of New Spain. Moses Austin bought 200,000 acres (800 km²) of land of his choice. In 1821, Texas became part of Mexico and in 1824 became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On January 3, 1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 American families along the Brazos River. This group became known as the "Old Three Hundred." The "Conventions" of 1832 and 1833 responded to rising unrest at the policies of the ruling Mexican government.
War for Independence
In 1835, Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico, proclaimed a unified constitution for all Mexican territories, including Texas. North American settlers in Texas announced they intended to secede from Mexico rather than be forced to the new Mexican constitution and instead, asked for consideration under the original 1824 Mexican Constitution which allowed: freedom of religion, freedom of thought and the press and also enslavement, which Mexico had abolished under this new constitution. Other policies that irritated the Texians included the forcible disarmament of Texian settlers, and the expulsion of immigrants and legal land owners originally from the United States. The example of the Centralista forces' suppression of dissidents in Zacatecas also inspired fear of the Mexican government.
On March 2, 1836, the Convention of 1836 signed the Texas "Declaration of Independence," declaring Texas an independent nation. On April 21, 1836, the Texans won their independence when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. A factor in the defeat of Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto was the time the Texas Army got to gather itself, thanks to a small group of defenders at The Alamo and General Sam Houston's strategy of giving up land until he had rallied an army.
Santa Anna was captured and signed the Treaties of Velasco, which gave Texas firm boundaries; Mexico repudiated the treaties, considered Texas a breakaway province, and vowed to reconquer it. However the Mexican political system was so unstable that it was never able to make good on its threats. Later in 1836, the Texans adopted a constitution that formally legalized slavery in Texas. The Republic of Texas included all the area now included in the state of Texas, and additional unoccupied territory to the west and northwest.
Annexation and Statehood
Texans strongly wanted annexation to the United States. Mexico threatened war if this happened. Great Britain tried to maintain Texas independence (as a counterweight to the United States), maintained a Texas Embassy in London, and tried to convince Mexico to stop threatening war. Texas was fast-growing and quite wealthy, and quite capable of protecting itself by the mid 1840s. However, American politics intruded; strong Northern opposition to adding another slave state blocked annexation until the election of 1844 was won on a pro-annexation platform by James K. Polk. In 1845, Texas was admitted to the United States as a constituent state of the Union. War with Mexico followed, with decisive American victories. Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the rich cotton lands.
Civil War
During the American Civil War, Texas seceded from the United States on February 1, 1861 and joined the Confederate States of America March 2, 1861. Texas was most useful for supplying hardy soldiers for Confederate forces (veterans of the Mexican War), and in cavalry. As a whole, Texas was mainly a "supply state" for the Confederate forces until mid 1863, when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men or cattle impossible. Texas regiments fought in every major battle throughout the war.
The last battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Palmito Ranch, was fought in Texas, on May 12, 1865, well after Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Texas descended into near-anarchy during the two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by (Union) General Gordon, as Confederate forces demobilized or disbanded and government property passed into private hands through distribution or plunder.
Reconstruction and New South: 1865–1913
Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, by General Gordon Granger; nearly 1-1/2 years after the original announcement of January 1, 1863. On March 30, 1870, although Texas did not meet all the requirements, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union.
Texas in Prosperity, Depression, and War: 1914–1945
The first major oil well in Texas was drilled at Spindletop, the little hill south of Beaumont, on the morning of January 10, 1901. Other oil fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, in West Texas and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting “Oil Boom” permanently transformed the economy of Texas. Oil production averaged three million barrels of oil per day at its peak.
The economy, which had experienced significant recovery since the Civil War, was dealt a double blow by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
Immediately preceding and during WWII, existing military bases in Texas were expanded and numerous new training bases were built, especially for Naval and Military Aviation training. Many Americans and allied troops (including Free French Air Forces) came to Texas as part of the military mobilization.
Texas modernizes: 1945—
From 1950 through the 1960s, Texas modernized and dramatically expanded its system of higher education. Under the leadership of Governor John B. Connally, the state produced a long-range plan for higher education, a more rational distribution of resources, and a central state apparatus that managed state institutions with greater efficiency. Because of these changes, Texas universities received federal funds for research and development during the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations.[Blanton 2005]
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is a governmental agency and its purpose is to "provide safe, effective, and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with maintenance of the state's immense highway system, the agency is also responsible for aviation in the state and overseeing public transportation systems.
Texas Freeways
Texas freeways are heavily traveled and are often under construction to meet the demands of continuing growth. As of 2005, there were 79,535 miles of public highway in Texas (up from 71,000 in 1984). Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) planners have sought ways to reduce rush hour congestion, primarily through High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for vans and carpools. The "Texas T," an innovation originally introduced in Houston, is a ramp design that allows vehicles in the HOV lane, which is usually the center lane, to exit directly to transit centers or to enter the freeway directly into the HOV lane without crossing multiple lanes of traffic.
Timed freeway entrances, which regulate the addition of cars to the freeway, are also common. Houston and San Antonio have extensive networks of freeway cameras linked to transit control centers to monitor and study traffic.
Frontage Raods
One characteristic of Texas's freeways are its frontage roads (also known as feeder roads). Alongside most freeways are two to four lanes in each direction parallel to the freeway permitting easy access to individual city streets. Other states have frontage roads, but in Texas they can be found even in the most remote areas. Frontage roads provide access to the freeway from businesses alongside, such as gas stations and retail stores, and vice versa. New landscaping projects and a longstanding ban on new billboards are ways Houston has tried to control the potential side effects of convenience.
Another common characteristic found near Texas overpasses are the Texas U-turns which is a lane allowing cars traveling on one side of a one-way frontage road to U-turn into the opposite frontage road (typically crossing over or under a freeway or expressway) without being stopped by traffic lights or crossing the highway traffic at-grade.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
The Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, located nearly equidistant from downtown Dallas and downtown Fort Worth, is the largest airport in the state, the second largest in the United States, and fourth largest in the world. In terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, fourth busiest in the United States, and sixth busiest in the world. The airport serves 135 domestic destinations and 37 international, and is the largest and main hub for American Airlines (900 daily departures), the world's largest airline, and also the largest hub for American Eagle.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
Texas's second-largest air facility is the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). The airport is the ninth-busiest in the United States for total passengers, and nineteenth-busiest worldwide. Houston is the headquarters of Continental Airlines, and the airport is Continental Airlines' largest hub, with over 750 daily departures (over 250 operated by Continental Airlines). Because of Houston's proximity to American Airlines' hub at DFW in Dallas-Fort Worth, that airline also maintains a large presence at IAH. A long list of cities within Texas, as well as international destinations are served directly from this airport. With 30 destinations in Mexico, IAH offers service to more Mexican destinations than any other U.S. airports. IAH currently ranks second among U.S. airports with scheduled non-stop domestic and international service (221 destinations), trailing only Atlanta Hartsfield with 250 destinations.
Some other airports that are served by airlines are Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby Airport, San Antonio International Airport, and El Paso International Airport.
DART
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the Dallas area public transportation authority, providing buses, rail, and HOV lanes. DART began operating the first light rail system in the Southwest United States in 1996 and continues to expand its coverage. The DART light rail system remained the only one in Texas until METRORail opened in Houston in 2004.
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Buses
The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO) operates bus, lift bus, and light rail service in Harris County, which includes Houston. METRO also operates bus service to two cities in Fort Bend County. METRO began running light rail service (METRORail) in Houston on January 1, 2004. Currently the track is rather short. It runs about 8 miles (13 km) from Downtown Houston to the Texas Medical Center and Reliant Park.
The city of Austin will add a commuter rail line called Capitol Metro in 2008.
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The people of Texas, historically often known as Texians, are now generally referred to as Texans.
Melting Pot
Due to immigration in the United States history, the culture of Texas has been a melting pot of different cultures around the world. Texas is a diverse and an international place to live, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries.
Texas also has an influx of people from the central United States moving in to find jobs. Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska and the Dakotas have experienced a "brain drain" as their university graduates move to other states to find employment. There is a common joke among native Texans that a "Yankee" is someone from the North who comes to Texas to visit, and a "damn Yankee" is someone from the North who buys a house and stays.
There are many popular events held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans. The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that is held over 20 days from late February through early March. The event begins with trail rides that originate from several points throughout the state, all of which convene at Reliant Park for a barbeque cook-off. The rodeo includes typical rodeo events, as well as concert performances from major artists and carnival rides. Another large celebration is the annual gay pride parade held during summer months in several Texas cities to commemorate the struggle for gay liberation, gay rights, gay pride, and the Stonewall riots of the late 1960s in New York City.
Music Scene
Texas has a vibrant live music scene in Austin boasting more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city as the Austin's official slogan is The Live Music Capital of the World. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film, music, and multimedia festival known as South by Southwest. The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is videotaped on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Austin City Limits and Waterloo Records run the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin.
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