Stretching 1,244 km (773 mi) from east to westand 1,289 km
(801 mi) from north tosouth, Texas,the Lone Star State,occupies
almost7.5 percent of the total U.S. land area.
By 1994 Texas had grown to become the second most populous
U.S. state, moving ahead of New York and following California.
It derives its name from the Spanishand Indian words tejas
andtechas, meaning «friends» or «allies.»
Early European explorers in the area werethe Spaniards Alon-
soAlvarez de Pineda, Alvar Nunez CABEZA DE VACA , and Francisco
CORONADO.
American Interest in Texas
The sale (1803) of Louisianato the United States increased
interestin Texas fromthe east.
Augustus Magee, a U.S.army officer in Louisiana,befriended
the Mexican patriot Bernardo Gutierrez, who had been fighting for
hiscountry's independence from Spain.
They led an expedition into Texas and captured Nacogdoches,
Goliad,and San Antoniobefore Magee died mysteriously in Goliad.
In 1819, Dr. James Long of Natchez, Miss., led another expe-
ditionto Texas,hoping to make the region an independent state.
He captured Nacogdoches, but his forces were soondefeated.
A year later, Moses Austin visited San Antonio and sought
permissionto settle Americans in Texas.
Upon returning to Missouri, his dying request was that his
son, Stephen AUSTIN, carry out his plans, which the Spanish had
approved.
A new law required that agents introduceat least 200 famili-
es ofcolonists, so Austin made an agreement with theMexican go-
vernor to settle 300 American families.
Colonization was so successful, however,that by 1836 the po-
pulationof Texas was50,000.
Revolution and Republic
In 1830 the Mexican congress enacted alaw to limit immigra-
tion to Texas.
Most settlers found unacceptable the requirement thatthey
becomeRoman Catholics because most of them were Protestants.
War broke out between the Americansettlers and the Mexican
governmentin 1835
The Texans won the first battle atGonzales on Oct. 2, 1835.
The same year the Texans captured San Antonio.
A provisional government was set up onMar. 2, 1836.
Sam HOUSTON was named commander in chiefof the Texasarmies.
Stephen Austin having gone to Washington to solicitaid.
In February and March 1836 one of themost heroic battles in
historyoccurred at the Alamo.
The 187 defenders, commanded by Travis,James BOWIE, and Davy
CROCKETT,then held the Alamo for another five daysbefore it fell.
Despite reverses, the Texans declaredtheir independence.
On Mar. 2, 1836, David Burnet was named provisional presi-
dent.
Statehood and the MexicanWar
The Texas republic, whose independence had beenrecognized by
the United States, Great Britain, France,Holland, and Belgium, was
soonstruggling with Indian wars, raids byMexican forces, and fi-
nancialproblems.
InSeptember 1836, Texans voted for annex ation by the United
States.
On Dec. 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress accepted the Texas state
constitution,and Texasbecame the 28th state, with legal slavery.
The MEXICAN WAR between the United States and Mexico followed
within afew months of Texas'entry into the union.
The U.S. victory in that war established the Rio Grande as
the border between Mexicoand the United States.
MODERN.
The modern economic development of Texas started in January
1901 with the eruption of an oil well drilled atSpindletop, near
Beaumont.
The economy of Texas has become highly diversified, and its
populationhas more than quintupled during the 20th century.
Texasis divided into 14 land resource areas.
The soils vary greatly in depth from one region to another
and showdifferent physical properties.
Texashas two sources of water: aquifers and streams with
theirreservoirs.
Water from the former has traditionallybeen an essential so-
urce ofmunicipal supplies.
Texashas relatively few natural lakes buthundreds of arti-
ficialones.
Texasis the temporary home every year for many migratory
birds.
The state's indigenous animals includethe mule and white-ta-
ileddeer, black bear, mountain lion, antelope, and bighorn.
The American bison, or buffalo, is found only in zoos and on
a fewranches.
Among the smaller animals are themuskrat, raccoon, opossum,
jackrabbit,fox, mink, coyote, and armadillo.
Minerals represent a very significantpart of the state's na-
turalwealth.
The Texas Panhandle is one of the world'sgreat natural-gas
reservoirs.
The state's great variety of soils mustalso be considered as
aresource.
PEOPLE
Although surpassed in population only by California, Texasis
stillconsiderably less crowded than the nation as a whole.
Texasis made up of whites, who constitute about 75 percent
of thepopulation; blacks, about 12 percent; and other nonwhites,
about 13percent.
Counties and Cities
Texashas 254 counties.
Major cities include the capital, AUSTIN; the state'slargest
city, Houston,Dallas and other.
Culture.
Texashas several hundred public libraries--the largest being
those inDallas and Houston.
There are more than 300 museums, and there are 3 major symp-
honyorchestras--in Dallas, Houston,and San Antonio.
Communications
The first newspaper in Texas, the Gaceta de Texas (Texas Ga-
zette), was published in 1813 at Nacogdoches.
Among the oldest English newspapers are theGalveston Daily
News(1842) and the DallasMorning News (1885).
Mining
Texasis among the nation's most important producers of mine-
rals.
It leads the nation in the production ofnatural gas and ura-
nium and is second, after Alaska, in crude petroleum production.
Texasin recent years has supplied about one-third of the
U.S. production of natural gas and about 25 percent of the U.S.
productionof oil.
Iron is also mined.
Tourism
Texasattracts millions of out-of-state visitors annually.
Many visitors explore Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Fort
Worth, El Paso, Austin,and other cities.
Texas'stwo national parks, BIG BEND and Guadalupe Mountains,
are also popular.
Hunting and fishing are popular pastimesfor visitors and
Texasalike, as are professional andcollege sports events.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The present Texas constitution was adopted on Feb. 15, 1876,
but hasbeen amended many times.
Cowboys
The cowboy of the American West, a dashing figure in popular
novels and films, was in reality a poorly paid laborer engaged in
difficultand usually monotonous work.
Although some of the young men who worked on ranches were
from thenortheastern states.
Not all cowboys were whites; about a third were African-Ame-
ricans or Mexican-Americans.
The work year centered on two events, the roundup and the
longdrive.
Roundups were held in the spring and often also in thefall.
After cowboys had herded cattle to acentral location.
They branded newborn calves, castrated and dehorned older
animals.
Working up to 20 hours a day, cowboys drove the animals from
onewatering place to the next.
For his hard and dirty work the typicalcowboy earned between
$25 and$40 a month.
By about 1890 the cattle ranges had been fenced in and the
extensionof the railroads had eliminated the need for long cattle
drives.
Thus the era of the old-fashioned cowboycame to an end.
At this point, although far removed from the drab truth,
novelsand works such as The Virginian (1902) of Owen WISTER began
presentingto a nostalgic public the romantic cowboy hero.
MODERN ERA
When the 20th century began, about 3 million people lived in
Texas.
Agriculture dominated the economy.
USAhad two presedent from Texas: Lyndon B. JOHNSON and Ge-
orge BUSH.
Stretching 1,244 km (773 mi) from east to westand 1,289 km
(801 mi) from north tosouth, Texas,the Lone Star State,occupies
almost7.5 percent of the total U.S. land area--a region as large
as allof New England, New York,Pennsylvania, Ohio, andnois combi-
ned. By 1994 Texas had grown to become the second most populous
U.S. state, moving ahead of New York and following California. It
derivesits name from the Spanish and Indian words tejas and tec-
has,meaning «friends» or «allies.»
Texasshows the influence of both the Indians and the Spa-
nish, French, and other European explorers and missionaries. In
1820, Moses and Stephen F. Austin started theAnglo-American colo-
nizationthat culminated in the organization of a provisional go-
vernment at San Felipe on Nov. 3, 1835, and in independence from
Mexicoon Mar. 2, 1836. After almost ten years asan independent
republic,Texas became a U.S. state on Dec. 29, 1845.
The modern economic development of Texasstarted in January
1901with the eruption of an oil well drilled at Spindletop, near
Beaumont. The rapid discovery of oil in other parts of the state
led to aboom that has never really stopped. Theeconomy of Texas
hasbecome highly diversified, and its population has more than qu-
intupledduring the 20th century.
LAND AND RESOURCES
Topography and Soils
Four major physiographic subdivisionsof North America are
found in Texas: the Gulf Coastal Plain in the east andsoutheast,
theNorth Central Plains running north to southeastward in the cen-
ter ofthe state, the Great High Plains in thenorthwest, and t he
Trans-PecosMountainsto the extreme west and southwest.The topog-
raphy ofTexas risesgradually from east to west, reaching its hig-
hestpoint in Guadalupe Peak (2,667 m/8,749 ft)in the Trans-Pecos.
The Gulf Coastal Plain, extending about 80 to 100 km (50 to
60 mi) inland from the Gulf of Mexico, from sea level to an altitu-
de ofabout 150 m(500 ft), has a rolling to hilly surface. Its
westernpart consists of a fertile belt of land of irregular wid th
known asthe Blackland Prairie.
Inland from the Coastal Plain, the North Central Plains of
Texasare the southern extension of the GREAT PLAINS, and they re-
achsouthwestward across the entire state to the Rio Grande river.
Theplains' southern portion is known as the Edwards Plateau. T he
borderof the North Central Plains on the west is the Staked Plain,
or Llano Estacadoin Spanish. It consists of a flat-toppedtable-
landwith an elevation of about 1,200 m (4,000 ft). Lying between
Mexico and New Mexico, the barren Trans-Pecos region in southwes-
tern Texas alternates between rolling hills in the Pecos Riverval-
ley andthe isolated high ridges of the Guadalupe and Davis mounta-
ins.
Texasis divided into 14 land resource areas that have simi-
lar orrelated soils, vegetation, topography,and climate. The so-
ils varygreatly in depth from one region to another and show dif-
ferentphysical properties; all needfertilizing, however, and so
me needirrigating to make them productive.
Rivers and Lakes
Texashas two sources of water: aquifers, found under more
thanhalf the state, and streams with theirreservoirs. Water from
theformer has traditionally been an essential source of municipal
supplies; because of falling water tables, however, cities mo re
and moremust now depend on surface reservoirs.
The state's 3,700 streams have a combinedlength of approxi-
mately 130,000 km (80,000 mi). Among the major rivers are the RIO
GRANDE, which drops about 3,650 m (12,000 ft) from source tomouth
andconstitutes the border with Mexico;the RED RIVER, which p art-
lyseparates Texas from Oklahomaand Arkansas; the COLORADO RIVER
of Texas (965 km/600mi), which is the longest river entirelywit-
hin thestate; and the Sabine, which forms the southern half of the
boundarybetween Texas and Louisiana. Other rivers i nclude the PE-
COS andthe Devils, both tributaries of the Rio Grande;the Nueces;
and theGuadalupe.
Texashas relatively few natural lakes buthundreds of arti-
ficialones. These were developed to providehydroelectricity, to
store water, or to irrigate farmland. Amongthe largest are Lake
Texoma(partly in Oklahoma) on the Red River, the Falcon and Ami
stadreservoirs on the Rio Grande,Sam Rayburn Reservoir on the An-
gelinaRiverin eastern Texas, LakeTexarkana on the Sulphur River,
Toledo Bend Reservoiron the Sabine, LakeTravis on the Colorado,
and Lake Livingstonon the Trinity River north of Hous ton.
Climate
The climates of Texas range from the hot subhumid found in
the Rio Grande valley to the cold semiarid of the northernpart of
thePanhandle, and from the warm humid inthe east to the arid of
theTrans-Pecos. Rainfall varies from 1,400 mm (55 in) in the east
to lessthan 250 mm(10 in)in the west. The average number of days
with some precipitation ranges from 44 in El Pasoto 110 inHous-
ton.Drought can be a serious problem, especially in the Great High
Plains,where an average of seven droughts occur in a 10-year peri-
od.Temperatures, too, vary greatly, ranging from 49 degrees C (120
degreesF) to — 31 degrees C ( — 23 degrees F). Each year about 100
tornadoesoccur, most frequently in the Red Rivervalley.
Vegetation and Animal Life
The dense pine forests of eastern Texas contrast with thede-
serts of thewestern part of the state, and thegrassy plains of
thenorth contrast with the semiarid brushes of southern Texas.
Eastern Texas vegetation is characterized by dense pine forests a
nd avariety of hardwoods, including oak,hickory, ash, and magno-
lia. The central region is dominated by oak, elm, and pecan, as
wellas, on the Edwards Plateau, by cedar and mesquite. Shrubs of
the grasslands of the lower altitudes of the westinclude a cacia,
mesquite,and mimosa; the Trans-Pecos Mountains have pine, fir,and
spruce.The Rio Grandevalley is mostly covered by brush, mesquite,
cedar, post oak, and in places a dense growth of prickly pear. In
thesouthwest are found cactus, agave, and yu cca.
Texasis the temporary home every year for many migratory
birds.Aransas Wildlife Refuge, for example, on the Gulf above Cor-
pus Christi, provides the winter quarters forthe almost extinct
whoopingcrane. The state's indigenous animalsinclude the mule a
ndwhite-tailed deer, black bear, mountain lion, antelope, and big-
horn,but the American bison, or buffalo, is found only in zoos and
on a fewranches. Among the smaller mammals are the muskrat, racco-
on,opossum, jackrabbit, fox, mink, coyote, and armadi llo.
Resources
Minerals represent a very significantpart of the state's na-
turalwealth. The known petroleum deposits of Texas--about8 billi-
onbarrels--make up approximately one-third of the known U.S. supp-
ly. The Texas Panhandle is one of theworld's great natural-ga s
reservoirs. Mineral fuels generally account for over 90percent of
thevalue of all minerals produced in the state, although Texasis
also aleading producer of natural graphite, magnesium, sulfur, and
cement and has considerable reserves of lignite (low-grade coal).
Uraniumwas discovered in 1954 inthe Coastal Plain, and additional
deposits have been found in various other parts of thestate. The
state'sgreat variety of soils must also be considered as a resour-
ce.
PEOPLE
Although surpassed in population only by California, Texasis
stillconsiderably less crowded than the nation as a whole; the hu-
ge area of Texas means that the state's populationdensity is less
thanthat of the nation as a whole. Yet the state's populat ion has
increasedsignificantly in recent decades, morethan doubling bet-
ween1940 and 1980 and increasing by 19.4 percent in the decade
from 1980 to 1990 (well above the 1980-90 national average of 9.8
percent). The increases have resulted in part throu ghin-migrati-
on, although there was also some out-migrationduring the 1980s.
Texas' two extensive metropolitan areasare the DALLAS-FORT WORTH
and the HOUSTON-Galveston-Brazoria consolidatedmetropolitan sta-
tisticalareas. Together they constitute about 45percent of the
state'spopulation. In addition there are 23 metropolitan statisti-
calareas (mainly single-city metropolitan regions) that together
with theconsolidated areas account for more than 80 percent of the
population.
Racially, Texas is made up of whites, who constituteabout 75
percent of thepopulation; blacks, about 12 percent; and other
nonwhites, about 13 percent. Hispanics account for 25.5percent of
the population. European settlers during the 19th and early 20 th
centuriesincluded Germans, Swedes, and Czechs.
Counties and Cities
Texashas 254 counties ranging in population from 107 (Loving
County, 1990) to 2,818,199 (Harris, 1990), and in size from Rock-
wall's386 sq km (149 sq mi) to Brewster's 16,035 sq km (6,191 sq
mi), nearly equal to the combined areas of Connecticutand Rho de
Island. Major cities include the capital, AUSTIN; the state's lar-
gestcity, Houston; and Dallas and Fort Worth, only about 50 km (30
mi)apart. SAN ANTONIO is a fast- growing shippingcenter for oil
andagricultural products; other importantcommercia l centers are
ABILENE, AMARILLO,BEAUMONT, BROWNSVILLE,CORPUS CHRISTI, EL PASO,
GALVESTON, LAREDO, LUBBOCK,MIDLAND, PORT ARTHUR,WACO, and WICHITA
FALLS.
Education
In 1839, Texaspresident Mirabeau B. LAMAR set aside land in
each county for public schools and for a state university. Today
theenrollment in Texaspublic schools exceeds 3 million, andhig-
her education in the state includes about 100public institutio ns
(see TEXAS, STATEUNIVERSITIES OF). Additional thousands of elemen-
tary and secondary students attend privateschools, and Texas has
severaldozen private institutions of higher education (including
BAYLOR,RICE, and Southern Methodist universities).
Culture and Historical Sites
Texashas several hundred public libraries--the largest being
those inDallas and Houston; the libraries of the University of Te-
xas at Austin have the state'slargest collections. There are more
than 300museums (up from only 82 in1964), and there are 3
major symphony orchestras--in Dallas,Houston, and San Antonio.
Among the outstanding museums are the Dallas and Fort Worth
museumsof fine arts, the Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum and Witte
Museumin San Antonio, the Museum of Fine Artsand the Contemporary
ArtsMuseumin Houston, and the Amon Carter Museumin Fort Worth.
Well-known symphony orchestras are also in Amarillo , Fort Worth,
and Austin. There are ballet companies in Austin andHouston, and
theAlley Theatre in Houstonhas a national reputation. The Dallas
Operaand the Houston Grand Opera are the state' s major opera com-
panies.
The ALAMO in San Antoniois the most famous historical site;
othersare San Antonio MissionsNational HistoricPark, San Jacinto
monument east of Houston, Fort Davis National Historic Site, and
theLyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library--part of the Univer-
sity of Texas in Austin.
Communications
The first newspaper in Texas, the Gaceta de Texas (Texas Ga-
zette), was published in Spanish in 1813 at Nacogdoches. Among the
oldest English newspapers are the Galveston Daily News (1842) and
the Dallas Morning News(1885). There are numerous othermorni ng
and evening dailies, and Texasis well supplied with radio stati-
ons, bothAM and FM, as well as with television stations.
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
For decades oil influenced every aspectof the economic de-
velopmentof Texas. This included the taxstructure, since a high
percentageof the state's tax revenues was derived from oil and
gas. This changed in the mid-1980s when oil pricescollapsed devas
tatingly, greatly diminishing tax revenues andadversely affecting
not onlyoil-related industries but also many others, such as real
estateand banking. Slow economic recoverybegan in 1987, however,
helpedby the industrial diversification that had alr eady begun in
Texasand that was now intensified. The service industries, notably
retailand wholesale trade, contribute wellover half of the gross
stateproduct of Texas.
Agriculture
Texas is a leading agricultural state, frequently ranking
third(after California and Iowa) in gross farm income. Agricultu-
ralstatistics in Texas have been affected by modern technology,
whichincreases productivity: in consequence,the number of person
s livingon farms has markedly decreased in recent decades. Another
trendhas been a decline in the total number of farms and ranches.
The largest share of agricultural incomeis derived from beef
cattle; Texas leads the nation in the number of beefcattle, which
usuallyexceed 13 million head. Cotton is theleading crop and the
state'ssecond most valuable farm product. Texasis also a leader
innational production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and
spinach.Wheat, corn, and other grains are also important. There is
good farmland located in most parts of thestate, some of it made
moreproductive by use of irrigation and of dry-farming techniques
(used inthe Panhandle, for example, for wheat production).
Forestry and Fishing
Production of timber--more softwoods than hardwoods--repre-
sents asmall share of the gross state product of Texas, but ship-
ments of lumber and wood products and of paper andallied products
areworth many times that share. As forfishing, shrimp accounts
for most of Texas's total commercial catch. Other species caught
includecrabs, oysters, flounder, and red snapper.
Mining
Texas is among the nation's mostimportant producers of mine-
rals. Itleads the nation in the production of natural gas and ura-
nium andis second, after Alaska, in crude petroleum production.
Texas inrecent years has supplied about one-third of the U.S. pro-
ductionof natural gas and about 25 percent of the U.S. production
of oil.A foremost state in nonfuel minerals, Texas is an important
producerof magnesium, sulfur, sand and gravel,stone, talc, sodi-
um, and cement.The eastern part of the state has l ignite coal mi-
nes.Iron is also mined.
Manufacturing
Before World War II, manufacturing in Texas centered on pro-
cessingthe raw materials, notably petroleum andagricultural pro-
ducts, available in the state. The decades since thewar have seen
anemphasis on diversification in manufacturing, however, as we ll
assignificant industrial expansion. In recent years, state leaders
haveattempted to attract more high-tech industries to Texas.
Manufactures include a wide range of petroleum and coal pro-
ducts,machinery, chemicals, and food products. Other broad catego-
ries ofTexan manufactures include electrical equipment, including
high-tech;fabricated metals; printed materials; and transport ati-
on equipment. Specific manufactures include such diverse items as
wristwatches, radios, cosmetics and drugs, leather goods,aircraft
and aircraft parts, computers, soft drinks, pipes and pipe fit-
tings, and synthetic rubber. A large number of the appro ximately
15 percent of the labor force employed inmanufacturing in Texas
work inthe Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas.
Tourism
Texas attracts millions of out-of-state visitors annually;
itstourist-related businesses compete with those of California and
Floridafor the U.S. travel market. Many visitors explore Dallas,
SanAntonio, Houston, Fort Worth, El Paso,Austin, and other citi-
es.Sites of special interest range from Nacogdoches in East Texas,
one of the state's oldest cities, to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space
Centernear Houston. Texas's two nationalparks, BIG BEND and Gua-
dalupeMountains, are also popular, as are the numer ous and varied
staterecreation areas. Hunting and fishingare popular pastimes
for visitors and Texans alike, as are professional and college
sportsevents.
Transportation and ForeignTrade
As befits its hugeness, Texas ranks firstnationally in total
highwayand railroad mileage. It also has themost airports (about
1,600).There are 13 major ports along the Gulf of Mexico, with Ho-
uston the busiest (and ranking among themost active of all U.S.
ports). The year 1988 commemorated the 135th anniversary of the
firstrailroad operation in Texas; railway mileage reached its peak
in 1922(approximately 27,500 km/17,000 mi), but the volume of rail
freightincreased again after World War II.
Texas is a major U.S. exporter of manufactured goods, inclu-
dingchemicals and allied products. Alsoexported are agricultural
products--especially cotton and food grains. Texas ishabitually
thenation's leading exporter of sulfur, andits exports of iro n
and steel scrap rank high. Other exportsinclude natural gas and
fisheryproducts, especially shrimp.
Energy
Texas consumes more energy than any otherstate--much of the
natural gas and oil produced in the state never leaveits borders.
About 85percent of the energy consumed in Texas comes from petro-
leum andnatural gas.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
The present Texas constitution wasadopted on Feb. 15, 1876,
but hasbeen amended many times. The chiefexecutive is the gover-
nor, who since 1975 serves for 4 years. Legislative authority is
exercisedby the senate, with 31 members elected for 4-year ter ms,
and the house of representatives, with 150 members elected for
2-yearterms. The legislature meets biennially in odd-numbered
years. The highest courts of Texas include thenine-member supreme
courtand the nine-member court of criminal appeals. Judg es of the
twocourts are elected to 6- year overlapping terms. The Texas sta-
tedelegation to the U.S. House of Representatives gained three ad-
ditionalseats following the 1990 census.
In 1978 the state elected its firstRepublican governor (Wil-
liam P.Clements, Jr.) since 1870, and Republican John Tower served
in theU.S. Senate from 1961 until hisretirement in 1985. Despite
thepopularity of some individual Republicans, including Ro nald
Reagan,Democrats have dominated state-level politics since Recons-
truction;competition occurs chiefly between the Democratic party's
liberal and conservative wings. Many Texans, such as former U.S.
HouseSpeaker Sam RAYBURN, have playedinfluential roles in natio-
nal affairs. Henry Cisneros attracted national attention after he
became(1981) the first Mexican-American mayor of a major U.S. city
(SanAntonio). In a 1993 special election, Republican Kay Hutchison
becameTexas's first woman senator.