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TEXAS.

A giant among states, vast Texas was once a sovereign nation. During 300

years of rule by Spain, it had sprawled like a sleeping giant, its riches

undeveloped and its colonization limited to a few missions, supported by

presidios (military posts). When Mexico became an independent country in

1821, Texas became a Mexican state and new settlers from the United States

were welcomed. The large influx of Anglo-American colonists and African

American slaves led to skirmishes with Mexican troops.

After a successful war of independence against Mexico, the Texans raised

the Lone Star flag over their own republic in 1836. This government was

officially recognized by the United States and by several European

countries. Then in 1845 Texas accepted annexation by the United States and

was admitted to the Union as the 28th state.

Texas is second only to Alaska in area. It covers more territory than the

total area of five Midwestern states--Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,

and Michigan. There are 254 counties in Texas. Its largest county,

Brewster, is about as big as Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Its

smallest, Rockwall, is only 147 square miles (381 square kilometers) in

area. For a time Texas had a peak mileage of more than 17,000 miles (27,358

kilometers) of main-track railroad, but the total has been declining ever

since the 1930s.

Cotton, first raised on the Blackland Prairies, has long been the most

important crop of Texas. Much of it is now grown on the Great Plains, an

achievement made possible by the discovery of a sandy, water-laden subsoil

beneath the area's dry surface. On the Rio Grande irrigation has given rise

to a great fruit-growing belt, while along the Nueces River vegetable crops

are harvested in an 11-month growing season. Texas leads the nation in beef

production, an industry that began to flourish in 1866, when cowboys first

drove wild longhorns north to market. Today scientifically bred cattle are

raised on the plains.

"Black gold," or crude oil, was found in Texas in the 19th century, but it

was the discovery of the gigantic east Texas oil field in 1930 that

revolutionized the agrarian state. Although much of the wealth of modern

Texas stems from its widespread petroleum-bearing formations, industry has

become increasingly diversified since the end of World War II.

The name Texas comes from a Caddo Indian word meaning "friends" or

"allies." The Spanish explorers pronounced the word tejas and gave this

name to the area. The nickname Lone Star State comes from the single star

in the Texas flag, which was officially adopted by the Republic of Texas in

1839. The Texas and Hawaii flags are the only state emblems that originally

flew over recognized independent countries.

Survey of the Lone Star State

Texas lies in the south-central region of the United States. Its

southwestern and southern boundary is formed by the Rio Grande. Across the

river are the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leуn, and

Tamaulipas. On the southeast Texas borders on the Gulf of Mexico for 367

miles (591 kilometers). To the east are Louisiana and Arkansas, with the

Sabine River forming the boundary with Louisiana for 180 miles (290

kilometers). To the north is Oklahoma, with the Red River providing the

boundary line for 480 miles (772 kilometers). New Mexico is to the west.

The Lone Star State is both longer and wider than any other state except

Alaska. Its greatest length, from north to south, is 801 miles (1,289

kilometers)--a figure that includes the Panhandle, which extends north of

the upper Red River for about 133 miles (214 kilometers). The state's

greatest width is 773 miles (1,244 kilometers). Both of the overall

distances are greater than the airline mileage between New York City and

Chicago. The area of the state is 266,807 square miles (691,027 square

kilometers), including 4,790 square miles (12,406 square kilometers) of

inland water surface.

Natural Regions

Texas has a wide variety in its geology, minerals, soils, vegetation, and

wildlife. Its elevation ranges from sea level along the coast of the Gulf

of Mexico to 8,751 feet (2,667 meters) at Guadalup

The Gulf Coastal Plain covers southern and eastern Texas and includes

about 40 percent of the state's area. Along the coast are many long barrier

beaches, such as Padre Island, separated from the mainland by lagoons.

Galveston is the largest of the bays. The plain extends 150 to 250 miles

(240 to 400 kilometers) inland to a series of hills that sweep across Texas

from Denison on the Red River to Del Rio on the Rio Grande. The western

part of this line (between Austin and Del Rio) is called the Balcones

Escarpment.

The Gulf Coastal Plain may be divided into five distinct sections. They

are: the Rio Grande plain, in the south; the coastal prairies, from the San

Antonio River to the Sabine River; the Pine Belt, or Piney Woods, from the

Louisiana line westward about 100 miles (160 kilometers); the Post Oak

Belt, west of the Pine Belt; and the Blackland Prairies, along the western

edge of the Gulf Coastal Plain from the Red River to a point near San

Antonio.

e Peak in Culberson County. Within the state are four large natural

regions.

The Central Lowland covers the eastern edge of the Panhandle and the north-

central part of the state. It extends southward to include Fort Worth,

Abilene, and Colorado City. The eastern part of this region includes the

Grand, or Fort Worth, Prairie, sandwiched between the East and West Cross

Timbers belts. The remainder of the Central Lowland consists of rolling

plains.

The Great Plains extend over most of the Panhandle and west-central and

central Texas. This vast tableland ranges in elevation from 2,500 to 4,700

feet (760 to 1,430 meters). In the Panhandle are the High Plains, or Llano

Estacado (Staked Plain), a dry, flat, treeless area. To the east the

central Texas section extends almost as far as Waco and Austin. The

southeastern extension of the Great Plains is the Edwards Plateau. Across

the lower Pecos River the plain continues westward as the Stockton Plateau.

This section is sometimes called the Trans-Pecos.

The Basin and Range Region covers the extreme western part of the state. It

has a series of rugged mountain ranges and dry, sandy basins. In Hudspeth

County is the Diablo Plateau, or Bolston, between the Guadalupe and Hueco

mountains. In a southward loop of the Rio Grande is a rugged area that

includes Big Bend National Park. The Chisos Mountains lie within the park.

Thousands of acres in the upper Rio Grande valley near El Paso are

irrigated from Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico.

Most of the rivers of Texas flow in a southeasterly direction into the Gulf

of Mexico. From the state's eastern border to its western border, the

largest of these rivers are the Sabine, Neches, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado

(of Texas), Guadalupe, San Antonio, Nueces, and Rio Grande with its chief

branch, the Pecos. The northern edge of the state lies in the Mississippi

River basin. Within this section are the Canadian River, which flows across

the Panhandle, and the Red River, on the Texas-Oklahoma border.

Climate

Texas has three main types of climate. A narrow strip along the coast has a

marine climate tempered by winds from the Gulf of Mexico. Here temperatures

are fairly uniform, with pleasant summers and mild winters. The Gulf coast

area, from Brownsville northward, can experience severe ocean-borne storms,

including destructive hurricanes. The mountain climate of western Texas

brings dry, clear days with dramatic dips in temperature at nightfall. The

rest of the state has a continental climate with cold winters and hot

summers. Quick temperature changes are common in this area. The warmest

part of the state is the lower Rio Grande valley, which has an average

annual temperature of 74° F (23° C). The coldest is the northwest

Panhandle, with a 54° F (12° C) average.

Average annual precipitation (rain and melted snow) varies from 58 inches

(147 centimeters) in the extreme eastern part of the state to less than 10

inches (25 centimeters) near El Paso. In most parts of the state, the

greatest amount of rainfall occurs between April and July and is especially

heavy during May. Snowfall is generally limited to the northern plains

area, where it averages about 15 inches (38 centimeters) annually.

Natural Resources

Texas has a rich supply of natural resources. The eastern part of the state

is a productive farming region with fertile soil and ample rainfall. Where

western Texas can be irrigated, it has huge grazing areas and valuable

cropland. Almost 10 percent of the state is forested. The largest amount of

timber is in eastern Texas, where the forest area extends over 43 counties.

The chief commercial trees are several varieties of pine and oak, elm,

hickory, magnolia, sweet gum, black gum, and tupelo.

The mineral resources, led by petroleum, are the most valuable in the

nation. The major commercial advantages of the state are its excellent

ports for trade with Central and South America. The Gulf coast yields

valuable catches of shrimp.

The chief conservation problem is the maintenance of an adequate water

supply, particularly in western Texas and in the large urban and industrial

centers. Since 1930 many dams have been built to provide flood control,

power, and irrigation. Today about one fourth of the reservoirs they formed

have a storage capacity of more than 100,000 acre-feet each. The largest is

Toledo Bend, on the Sabine River. Next in size are Amistad, on the Rio

Grande, and Sam Rayburn, on the Angelina. Other large projects include Lake

Texoma, formed by Denison Dam, on the Red River and Falcon Reservoir, on

the Rio Grande. Amistad and Falcon benefit both the United States and

Mexico.

The Texas Water Commission administers water rights and control. There are

also many separate river authorities and water districts. Timber

conservation is directed by the Texas Forest Service, a division of Texas

A&M University. Wildlife is protected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife

Department. The federal Department of the Interior maintains 11 national

wildlife refuges, including the Aransas refuge, along the coast.

People of Texas

The early Native American residents of Texas were the Caddo in the

southeast, the Tonkawa in the southwest, and the Atakapa and Karankawa

along the coast. Later the Comanche moved into central and western Texas

from the north. Fierce Plains Indians, the Comanche were not brought under

outside control until about 1875. This action opened the Panhandle and the

western plains to settlement.

During the early days of Spanish rule, Texas attracted few new settlers

other than missionaries. By 1806 the population was no more than 7,000.

After the establishment of a colony of Anglo-Americans by Stephen Fuller

Austin in 1821, similar settlers came in increasing numbers. Many came from

the South, bringing slaves with them. Later, newcomers arrived from the

East and Midwest. Today most of the migration into Texas comes from

Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Of the Texas-born people living in other

states, the largest number are in California.

Texas has more than 3 million people of Hispanic origin, most of whom are

concentrated along the Rio Grande and in southern Texas . The state also

has more than 2 million African Americans, chiefly in the south and east.

Almost 6 percent of the people are foreign born--mainly emigrants from

Mexico. The population also includes about 50,000 Native Americans and

about 39,000 people of Chinese and Japanese descent.

Cities

Texas has 16 cities with a population of more than 100,000. The largest is

Houston, a financial and industrial center. The city is connected to

Galveston Bay by the 52-mile (84-kilometer) Houston Ship Channel, along

which is one of the world's greatest concentrations of industry. With the

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) nearby the area is also a focus of the space

industry. Dallas, the second largest city, is a fashion, insurance, and

finance center . Third in size is the historic city of San Antonio, home of

the famous mission turned military post--the Alamo--and the chief trade

center of southern Texas. Nearby are four bases of the United States Air

Force--Brooks, Kelly, Lackland, and Randolph.

Located on the Rio Grande, El Paso serves as a busy gateway to

Mexico and is the chief trade center of western Texas. West of Dallas is

Fort Worth, a noted livestock and grain market. Austin, the sixth largest

city, is the state capital; located in the south-central part of Texas, it

grew according to plans laid out in 1839. The next largest city in the

state is Corpus Christi, a year-round resort and deepwater port located on

the Gulf of.

Lubbock, the commercial hub of a rich cotton-growing area in the Great

Plains, and Amarillo are the chief cities of the Panhandle. Beaumont, the

chief city of the Sabine-Neches industrial area in the extreme southeast,

is noted for its shipments of petroleum. Waco is an agricultural and

industrial center on the Brazos River about halfway between Dallas and

Austin. Between Dallas and Fort Worth is Arlington, an industrial and

commercial center for the automotive and aerospace industries. Wichita

Falls is a petroleum center in north-central Texas. Galveston, a cotton-

and sulfur-shipping port on the Gulf of Mexico, also boasts a flourishing

tourism industry.

Manufacturing

In 1900 the two leading manufacturing industries in Texas were lumbering

and the processing of grain. Since that time there has been a rapid

increase in the number and types of manufacturing plants. During World War

II the value of Texas manufacturing multiplied almost four times.

Manufacturing value today exceeds 53 billion dollars. Texas is the chief

manufacturing state in the South, and the value of its manufacturing is

surpassed only by that of California among the states west of the

Mississippi River.

Most of the increase in industry has been due to the rise of petroleum

refining, which followed the discovery of the great Spindletop oil field in

1901 and has become the most important industry in Texas. Texas now refines

more petroleum than any other state. Ranked second is the manufacture of

chemicals and allied products, which includes organic chemicals and

plastics. The third most important industry is the processing of food

products. This includes meat-packing and the preparation of bakery goods,

flour and meal, and soft drinks. Fourth in importance is tourism.

Agriculture

In farm income, Texas is first among the Southern states and second or

third in the nation. The annual cash income from Texas agricultural

products, estimated at about 9 billion dollars, is usually surpassed only

by the agricultural income of California--and sometimes Iowa. Texas has

about 160,000 farms, more than any other state. Some farms contain

thousands of acres. The average size is about 838 acres (339 hectares).

Texas leads all the states in the production of cotton, cattle, wool, and

sorghum grain. Irrigation is a major factor in crop production. Much of the

irrigated land is in the High Plains. Other large irrigated areas are the

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