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Texas (State of Texas) (реферат)

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Texas (State of Texas)

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Flag_of_Texas.svg” \o
“Flag of Texas”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_state_seal.png”
\o “State seal of Texas”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Texas” \o “Flag of
Texas” Flag of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_of_Texas” \o “Seal of
Texas” Seal

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_nicknames”
\o “List of U.S. state nicknames” Nickname(s) : Lone Star State

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_mottos” \o
“List of U.S. state mottos” Motto(s) : Friendship.

Before Statehood Known as

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o
“Republic of Texas” Republic of Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Previous_flag_of_Texas.svg” \o
“Previous flag of Texas.svg”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Map_of_USA_TX.svg” \o
“Map of the United States with Texas highlighted”

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_States” \o
“Languages of the United States” Official language(s) No official
language

See HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_spoken_in_Texas”
\o “Languages spoken in Texas” languages of Texas

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States” \o
“List of capitals in the United States” Capital HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states%27_largest_cities” \o
“List of U.S. states’ largest cities” Largest city HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston, Texas”
Houston

Largest HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_metropolitan_area” \o
“United States metropolitan area” metro area HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%E2%80%93Fort_Worth_Metroplex” \o
“Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex” Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-0” \o “” [1]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area” \o “Area” Area  
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_area” \o
“List of U.S. states by area” Ranked 2nd in the US

 – Total 261,797  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_mile”
\o “Square mile” sq mi

(678,051 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_kilometre” \o
“Square kilometre” km? )

 – Width 773 miles (1,244 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometre” \o “Kilometre” km )

 – Length 790 miles (1,270 km)

 – % water 2.5

 – Latitude 25°?50? N to 36°?30? N

 – Longitude 93°?31? W to 106°?39? W

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population” \o “Population”
Population   HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population” \o
“List of U.S. states by population” Ranked 2nd in the US

 – Total 20,851,820

 – HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_population_density”
\o “List of U.S. states by population density” Density 79.6/sq mi 

30.75/km? (28th in the US)

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_elevation” \o “List
of U.S. states by elevation” Elevation  

 – Highest point HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalupe_Peak” \o “Guadalupe Peak”
Guadalupe Peak HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-usgs” \o “” [2]

8,749 ft  (2,667 m)

 – Mean 1,700 ft  (520 m)

 – Lowest point HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico” \o “Gulf of Mexico” Gulf
of Mexico coast HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-usgs” \o “” [2]

0 ft  (0 m)

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_date_of_statehood”
\o “List of U.S. states by date of statehood” Admission to Union  
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_29” \o “December 29”
December 29 , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1845” \o “1845”
1845 (28th)

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor” \l “United_States”
\o “Governor” Governor HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Perry” \o “Rick Perry” Rick Perry
(R)

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate” \o
“United States Senate” U.S. Senators HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Bailey_Hutchison” \o “Kay Bailey
Hutchison” Kay Bailey Hutchison (R)

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cornyn” \o “John Cornyn”
John Cornyn (R)

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress” \o
“United States Congress” Congressional Delegation HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_congressional_delegations_fr
om_Texas” \o “United States congressional delegations from Texas” List

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_time_zone” \o “List
of U.S. states by time zone” Time zones  

 – most of state HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Standard_Time_Zone” \o “Central
Standard Time Zone” Central : HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC” \o “UTC” UTC -6/ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time” \o “Daylight saving
time” -5

 – tip of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas” \o “West
Texas” West Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Standard_Time_Zone” \o “Mountain
Standard Time Zone” Mountain : HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTC” \o “UTC” UTC -7/ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time” \o “Daylight saving
time” -6

Abbreviations HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_postal_abbreviations” \o
“United States postal abbreviations” TX HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_traditional_abbrevi
ation” \o “List of U.S. states by traditional abbreviation” Tex.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-2” \o “ISO 3166-2”
US-TX

Web site HYPERLINK “http://www.texas.gov/” \o “http://www.texas.gov/”
www.texas.gov

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:National-atlas-texas.png” \o “Map of
Texas, showing major cities and roads”

/?t?ks?s/) is a HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state” \o
“U.S. state” state geographically located in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_South_Central_States” \o “West South
Central States” West South Central United States . With an area of
261,797 square miles (678,050 km?) and a rapidly growing population of
23.5 million spread among 254 counties, Texas is the second largest U.S.
state in both area and population. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas” \o “Dallas” Dallas and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston” \o “Houston” Houston
are the centers of the state’s two largest HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_area” \o “Metropolitan area”
metropolitan areas . Other major cities include the state capital of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin,
Texas” Austin , the state’s oldest major city of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio” \o “San Antonio” San Antonio
, and the western city of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso” \o “El Paso” El Paso .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-1” \o “” [3]

Topographically, the easternmost section of the state is covered by the
same HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine” \o “Pine” piney
woods that cover much of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_South” \o “Deep South” Deep South .
Moving westward, the state gradually becomes more arid, turning into
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie” \o “Prairie” prairie
and eventually HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert” \o
“Desert” desert in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bend” \o “Big Bend” Big Bend region
surrounding HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso” \o “El
Paso” El Paso . Also, the wide open spaces of the Texan prairie have
lent currency to the phrase that “everything is bigger in Texas.” Due to
its long history as a center of the American cattle industry, Texas is
associated throughout much of the world with the image of the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy” \o “Cowboy” cowboy .

Because of its large size and unique history, the regional affiliation
of Texas is often debated. Historically and culturally, it has very
strong ties to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” American South . However, due to Texas’s history as a
Spanish colony, its border with HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico , and its
large HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino” \o “Latino”
Latino population, Texas can also be considered a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States” \o
“Southwestern United States” Southwestern state . Nevertheless, while
most residents acknowledge the state belonging to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” Southern and/or HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Western United States , many claim an independent “Texan”
identity superceding regional labels.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain” \o “Spain” Spain was
the first European country to claim Texas. Starting in the 1820s,
American and European immigrants began arriving in the area. Texas
declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the
independent HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas”
\o “Republic of Texas” Republic of Texas for nearly a decade. In 1845,
it joined the United States as the 28th state. Texas is one of only four
independent states to enter the US federation.[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed” \o
“Wikipedia:Citation needed” citation needed ] Annexation of Texas led
the United States HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War” \o “Mexican-American
War” to war with Mexico leading to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Cession” \o “Mexican Cession”
Mexican Cession and helping plant seeds for the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American Civil
War” American Civil War . Texas was the 7th state to join the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America”
\o “Confederate States of America” Confederate States of America . Near
the turn of the 19th century, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop” \o “Spindletop” discovery of
oil led to an economic boom in the state and greatly increased
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_University_Fund” \o
“Permanent University Fund” funding for higher education . Texas grew
rapidly, becoming the second largest state in population 1994, and
became economically diversified, with a growing base in high technology.

Contents

[ HYPERLINK “javascript:toggleToc()” hide ]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Etymology” 1 Etymology

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “History” 2 History

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Colonization” 2.1
Colonization

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Independence” 2.2
Independence

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Statehood” 2.3
Statehood

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“Confederate_States_of_America” 2.4 Confederate States of America

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Modern_Texas” 2.5
Modern Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Geography” 3 Geography

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Geology” 3.1 Geology

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Climate” 4 Climate

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Demographics” 5
Demographics

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Race_and_ethnic_origins”
5.1 Race and ethnic origins

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Religion” 5.2 Religion

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Major_cities” 5.3 Major
cities

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Government_and_politics”
6 Government and politics

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Political_system” 6.1
Political system

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Justice_system” 6.2
Justice system

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“Administrative_divisions” 6.3 Administrative divisions

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Economy” 7 Economy

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Culture” 8 Culture

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Arts_and_theatre” 8.1
Arts and theatre

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Sports” 8.2 Sports

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Architecture” 9
Architecture

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Transportation” 10
Transportation

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Highways” 10.1 Highways

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Airports” 10.2 Airports

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“Passenger_rail_transportation” 10.3 Passenger rail transportation

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Healthcare_and_medicine”
11 Healthcare and medicine

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “Education” 12 Education

Etymology

The state’s name derives from taysha?, a word in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddoan_languages” \o “Caddoan languages”
Caddoan language of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasinai” \o “Hasinai” Hasinai , which
means “friends” or “allies”. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-Txfacts” \o “” [4] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-2” \o “” [5] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-3” \o “” [6]

The word Texas has found its way into the English vernacular in ways not
directly related to the actual state. Due to the state’s large
geographic size, the term “Texas sized” is often used to describe large
things. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-TSize1” \o
“” [7] HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-TSize2” \o
“” [8] The state’s name has been used as part of several brands such
as the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisville%2C_Kentucky”
\o “Louisville, Kentucky” Louisville, Kentucky restaurant chain,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Roadhouse” \o “Texas
Roadhouse” Texas Roadhouse , the horror movie franchise HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre_%28film_series
%29” \o “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (film series)” The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre , and the multinational semiconductor corporation HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments” \o “Texas Instruments”
Texas Instruments .

A shortened form of Texas, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex” \o “Tex” Tex , has been used as a
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickname” \o “Nickname”
nickname for someone having been born and/or raised in the state. Some
people nicknamed “Tex” include basketball coach HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Winter” \o “Tex Winter” Tex Winter
and original HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Cowboys”
\o “Dallas Cowboys” Dallas Cowboys owner HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Schramm” \o “Tex Schramm” Tex Schramm
. Tex also has been used as a prefix for several words related to Texas
including the food style HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex-Mex” \o “Tex-Mex” Tex-Mex or the
city HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texarkana” \o “Texarkana”
Texarkana .

The common nickname for the state, The Lone Star State comes from the
single star of the former HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic of Texas”
Republic of Texas . The star is still found on the state seal and flag,
symbolizing Texas’s fight for independence and that Texas was an
independent republic. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-nickname” \o “” [9]

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_%28disambiguation%29” \o “Texas
(disambiguation)” Texas (disambiguation)

History

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas” \o “History of Texas”
History of Texas

Prior to European colonization, Texas was inhabited by HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American” \o “Native American”
Native American nations such as the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddo” \o “Caddo” Caddo , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche” \o “Comanche” Comanche and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache” \o “Apache” Apache .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain” \o “Spain” Spain was
the first European country to claim the territory of Texas. Starting in
the 1820s, American and European immigrants began arriving in the area.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico
declared its independence from Spain, and Texas declared its
independence from Mexico in 1836. Following this date, Texas existed as
the independent HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic of Texas”
republic for nearly a decade. In 1845, it joined the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States as the 28th state. Texas is one of only four independent states
to enter the US federation.[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed” \o
“Wikipedia:Citation needed” citation needed ] Annexation of Texas led
the United States HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican-American_War” \o “Mexican-American
War” to war with Mexico leading to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Cession” \o “Mexican Cession”
Mexican Cession . In the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American Civil
War” American Civil War , Texas was the 7th state to join the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America”
\o “Confederate States of America” Confederate States of America . Near
the turn of the 19th century, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop” \o “Spindletop” discovery of
oil led to an economic boom in the state. Texas grew rapidly, becoming
the second largest state in population 1994, diversifying its economy,
with a growing base in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_technology” \o “High technology”
high technology .

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Six_Flags_of_Texas.jpg”
\o “Enlarge”

The display of the ” HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_flags_over_Texas” \o “Six flags over
Texas” Six Flags ” in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin, Texas includes the flags of (left to right) HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain” \o “Spain” Spain , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France” \o “France” France , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico , the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America”
\o “Confederate States of America” Confederate States of America , the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic
of Texas” Republic of Texas , and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_of_America” \o “United
States of America” United States of America .

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texasflaginstate.PNG” \o
“Image:Texasflaginstate.PNG”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas” \o “History
of Texas” History of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Texas” \o “Spanish
Texas” Spanish Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Saint_Louis” \o “Fort
Saint Louis” French Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Texas” \o “Mexican
Texas” Mexican Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o
“Republic of Texas” Republic of Texas

State of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Texas”
\o “History of slavery in Texas” Slavery

Texas boasts that ” HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_flags_over_Texas” \o “Six flags over
Texas” Six Flags ” have flown over its soil: the national flags of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain” \o “Spain” Spain , the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis” \o “Fleur-de-lis”
Fleur-de-lis of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France” \o
“France” France , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o
“Mexico” Mexico , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic of Texas”
Republic of Texas , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America” \o
“Confederate States of America” Confederate States of America , and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United
States” United States of America . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-4” \o “” [10]

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States” \o
“Native Americans in the United States” American Indian tribes who
once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Tribe” \o “Apache Tribe”
Apache , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atakapan” \o
“Atakapan” Atakapan , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bidai&action=edit” \o “Bidai”
Bidai , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caddo” \o “Caddo”
Caddo , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche” \o
“Comanche” Comanche , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherokee” \o “Cherokee” Cherokee ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiowa” \o “Kiowa” Kiowa ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkawa” \o “Tonkawa” Tonkawa ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wichita_%28tribe%29” \o
“Wichita (tribe)” Wichita , Hueco and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karankawa” \o “Karankawa” Karankawa of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston” \o “Galveston”
Galveston . Currently, there are three federally recognized Native
American tribes which reside in Texas: the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama-Coushatta” \o “Alabama-Coushatta”
Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickapoo” \o “Kickapoo” Kickapoo
Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ysleta_Del_Sur_Pueblo” \o “Ysleta Del Sur
Pueblo” Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-5” \o “” [11]

Colonization

Main articles: HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Texas”
\o “Spanish Texas” Spanish Texas and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Texas” \o “Mexican Texas” Mexican
Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alonso_%C3%81lvarez_de_Pineda”
\o “Alonso Alvarez de Pineda” Alonso Alvarez de Pineda , creator of the
first map of the northern HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Coast” \o “Gulf Coast” Gulf Coast ,
made the first documented European citing of Texas in 1519. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-chipman243” \o “” [12]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber34” \o “” [13]
On HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_6” \o “November
6” 6 November HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1528” \o
“1528” 1528 , shipwrecked Spanish HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquistador” \o “Conquistador”
conquistador HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81lvar_N%C3%BA%C3%B1ez_Cabeza_de_Vaca”
\o “Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca” Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca became the
first known European in Texas. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-6” \o “” [14] Texas was
immediately claimed by Spain as part of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Spain” \o “New Spain” New Spain .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-7” \o “” [15] but
was not settled immediately. In 1685 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle” \o “La Salle” La Salle
established the first HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_ethnic_groups” \o “European
ethnic groups” European community in Texas, the French colony of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Saint_Louis” \o “Fort Saint
Louis” Fort Saint Louis . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-weber149” \o “” [16] The colony, located along HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matagorda_Bay” \o “Matagorda Bay”
Matagorda Bay , lasted only four years before succumbing to harsh
conditions and hostile natives. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-chipman83” \o “” [17]

Due to the perceived French encroachment, Spain established its first
presence in Texas in 1691 constructing of several missions in
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o “East Texas”
East Texas . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-chipman89” \o “” [18] The missions failed quickly, and Spain
did not resettle Texas until two decades had passed. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber155” \o “” [19] Spain
returned to East Texas in 1716, establishing several missions and a
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidio” \o “Presidio”
presidio to maintain a buffer between Mexico and the French territory
of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Louisiane” \o “La
Louisiane” Louisiana . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-chipman111and2” \o “” [20] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber160” \o “” [21]
Two years later, the first civilian settlement in Texas, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio%2C_Texas” \o “San Antonio,
Texas” San Antonio , was established as a way station between the
missions and the nearest existing Spanish settlement. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber163” \o “” [22] San
Antonio quickly became a target for raids by the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lipan_Apache” \o “Lipan Apache” Lipan
Apache . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber188”
\o “” [23] In 1749, the Spanish signed a peace treaty with the Apache,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber193” \o “”
[24] which angered the enemies of the Apache and resulted in raids by
the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comanche” \o “Comanche”
Comanche , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonkawa” \o
“Tonkawa” Tonkawa , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasinai” \o “Hasinai” Hasinai tribes.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber189” \o “”
[25] Fear of Indian attacks and remoteness from the rest of the kingdom
discouraged settlers from moving to Texas, and it remained one of the
least populated provinces of New Spain. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-chipman205” \o “” [26]

The Comanche signed a treaty with Spain in 1785 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-8” \o “” [27] and later
assisted in defeating the Lipan Apache and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karankawa” \o “Karankawa” Karankawa
tribes which had continued to cause difficulties for HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_people” \o “Spanish people”
Spanish settlers. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-weddle164” \o “” [28] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-chipman200” \o “” [29] An
increase in the number of missions in the province allowed for a
peaceful conversion of other tribes, and by the end of the 1700s only a
few of the hunting and gathering tribes had not been HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianization” \o “Christianization”
Christianized . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-chipman202” \o “” [30]

Although Spain also held Louisiana for several years, in 1799 it ceded
the neighboring territory back to France. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon” \o “Napoleon” Napoleon
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase” \o
“Louisiana Purchase” selling of Louisiana to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States the following year, led to a border dispute of Texas. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber291” \o “” [31] U.S.
President HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson” \o
“Thomas Jefferson” Thomas Jefferson insisted that the purchase
included all land to the east of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains” \o “Rocky Mountains”
Rocky Mountains and to the north of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande” \o “Rio Grande” Rio Grande .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-9” \o “” [32] The
dispute was resolved in 1819, with the signing of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adams-On%C3%ADs_Treaty” \o “Adams-Onis
Treaty” Adams-Onis Treaty recognizing the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_River” \o “Sabine River” Sabine
River as Texas’s eastern boundary. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber299” \o “” [33] Two
years later, the state became a province of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico after the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_War_of_Independence” \o
“Mexican War of Independence” Mexican War of Independence . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-weber300” \o “” [34]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stephen_f_austin.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Austin” \o “Stephen
F. Austin” Stephen F. Austin

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Austin” \o “Moses
Austin” Moses Austin was the first Anglo American to receive
permission to settle in Texas, but died before he could bring settlers
to Texas. His son, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Austin” \o “Stephen F. Austin”
Stephen F. Austin , continued his father’s work. In 1821, Texas became
part of the newly independent Republic of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico and, in 1824,
became the northern section of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coahuila_y_Tejas” \o “Coahuila y Tejas”
Coahuila y Tejas . Spain’s policy of allowing only full-blooded
Spaniards to settle Texas also ended with Mexico’s independence. On
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_3” \o “January 3” 3
January HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1823” \o “1823” 1823
, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 297 Anglo-American families known
as the ” HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Three_Hundred” \o
“Old Three Hundred” Old Three Hundred ” along the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazos_River” \o “Brazos River” Brazos
River , after Austin was authorized to do so by Governor Antonio Maria
Martinez and then successive Mexican officials as Mexico went through
tumultuous political regime changes. Austin soon organized even more
groups of immigrants, with authorization from the Mexican government. By
1830, the 30,000 Anglo settlers in Texas outnumbered HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejanos” \o “Tejanos” Tejanos two to
one.

Independence

Main articles: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Revolution” \o “Texas Revolution”
Texas Revolution and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic of Texas”
Republic of Texas

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1832” \o
“Convention of 1832” Convention of 1832 and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1833” \o “Convention of
1833” Convention of 1833 were responses to rising unrest at policies
of the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico”
Mexican government, which included ending duty free imports from the
United States and the threat of losing a special allowance for slavery
in the state. Slavery was abolished in Mexico after its independence.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-HBOT_MEX” \o “”
[35] In 1835, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_L%C3%B3pez_de_Santa_Anna” \o
“Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna” Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna , President
of Mexico, proclaimed a unified constitution for all Mexican
territories, including Texas. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-HBOT_MEX” \o “” [35] The new Constitution ended the republic
and the federation, imposed a central style of government with power
concentrated in the President, and turned states into provinces with
governors appointed from Mexico City. Some states around Mexico rebelled
against this imposition, including HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua” \o “Chihuahua” Chihuahua ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas” \o “Zacatecas”
Zacatecas and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucatan” \o
“Yucatan” Yucatan . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texan” \o
“Texan” Texans were also irritated by other policies including the
forcible disarmament of Texan settlers, and the expulsion of immigrants
and legal landowners originally from the United States. Centralista
forces’ suppression of dissidents in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas” \o “Zacatecas” Zacatecas also
inspired fear of the Mexican government. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-HBOT_REV” \o “” [36]

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wpdms_republic_of_texas.png” \o
“Republic of Texas. The present-day outlines of the U.S. states are
superimposed on the boundaries of 1836–1845”

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wpdms_republic_of_texas.png” \o
“Enlarge”

Republic of Texas. The present-day outlines of the U.S. states are
superimposed on the boundaries of 1836–1845

On HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_2” \o “March 2” 2
March HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1836” \o “1836” 1836 ,
the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_of_1836” \o
“Convention of 1836” Convention of 1836 signed a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Declaration_of_Independence” \o
“Texas Declaration of Independence” Declaration of Independence .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-10” \o “” [37]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-11” \o “” [38] On
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_21” \o “April 21” 21
April HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1836” \o “1836” 1836 ,
the Texans—led by General HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston” \o “Sam Houston” Sam Houston
—won their independence at the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto” \o “Battle of San
Jacinto” Battle of San Jacinto . Santa Anna’s capture led to the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaties_of_Velasco” \o
“Treaties of Velasco” Treaties of Velasco , which gave Texas firm
boundaries; Mexico repudiated the treaties, considered Texas a breakaway
province, and vowed to reconquer it. Later in 1836, the Texans adopted a
constitution that formally legalized HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery” \o “Slavery” slavery . The
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o “Republic
of Texas” Republic of Texas included the area of the present state of
Texas, and additional unoccupied territory to the west and northwest.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-HBOT_REV” \o “”
[36]

Statehood

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Annexation” \o “Texas Annexation”
Texas Annexation

Most Texans wanted their Republic to be HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Annexation” \o “Texas Annexation”
annexed into the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States because of the Republic’s defensive and financial difficulties.
Events such as the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_Massacre” \o “Dawson Massacre”
Dawson Massacre and two recaptures of Bexar in Texas of 1842 added
momentum to the desire for statehood. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-12” \o “” [39] However,
strong Northern opposition to adding another slave state blocked Texas’s
admission until pro-annexation HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk” \o “James K. Polk” James
K. Polk won the election of 1844. On HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_29” \o “December 29” 29 December
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1845” \o “1845” 1845 , Texas
was admitted to the U.S. as a constituent HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._State” \o “U.S. State” state of the
Union. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-13” \o “”
[40] Texas was the only state to enter the United States by treaty
instead of territorial annexation.[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed” \o
“Wikipedia:Citation needed” citation needed ] The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War” \o
“Mexican–American War” Mexican–American War followed, with decisive
victories by the U.S. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-14” \o “” [41] Post war Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured
into the cotton lands of the state. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-15” \o “” [42]

Confederate States of America

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_in_the_American_Civil_War” \o “Texas
in the American Civil War” Texas in the American Civil War

Just before the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American Civil
War” American Civil War , elected delegates met in convention and
authorized secession from the U.S. on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1” \o “February 1” 1 February
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1861” \o “1861” 1861 . Texas
voters later approved the measure in referendum, and the state was
accepted as a charter member by the provisional government of the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America”
\o “Confederate States of America” Confederate States of America on
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_1” \o “March 1” 1 March
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1861” \o “1861” 1861 .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-16” \o “” [43]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-Txfacts” \o “” [4]
Partly due to its distance from the front lines of the war, a major role
for Texas was to supply men, especially cavalry, for Confederate forces,
many veterans of the Mexican–American War. Texan regiments fought in
every major battle throughout the war. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-17” \o “” [44] Texas was a
“supply state” for the Confederate forces until mid-1863, when the Union
capture of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River” \o “Mississippi River”
Mississippi River made large movements of men or cattle impossible. The
last battle of the Civil War was fought in Texas, at HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Palmito_Ranch” \o “Battle of
Palmito Ranch” Palmito Ranch , on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_12” \o “May 12” 12 May HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1865” \o “1865” 1865 , well after Lee’s
surrender on HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_9” \o
“April 9” 9 April HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1865” \o
“1865” 1865 at HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appomattox_Court_House” \o “Appomattox
Court House” Appomattox Court House in Virginia. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-18” \o “” [45]

Texas descended into near-anarchy during the two months between the
surrender of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_of_Northern_Virginia” \o “Army of
Northern Virginia” Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of
authority by Union General HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Granger” \o “Gordon Granger”
Gordon Granger , as Confederate forces demobilized or disbanded and
government property passed into private hands through distribution or
plunder. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-19” \o “”
[46] HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth” \o
“Juneteenth” Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation” \o
“Emancipation Proclamation” Emancipation Proclamation on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_19” \o “June 19” 19 June
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1865” \o “1865” 1865 in
Galveston by General Gordon Granger; nearly 1-1/2 years after the
original announcement of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1” \o “January 1” 1 January
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1863” \o “1863” 1863 .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-20” \o “” [47]
President Johnson, on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_20” \o “August 20” 20 August
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1866” \o “1866” 1866 , declared
that civilian government had been restored to Texas. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-21” \o “” [48] On
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_30” \o “March 30” 30
March HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1870” \o “1870” 1870 ,
despite not meeting all requirements for readmission, the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress” \o “United States
Congress” Congress readmitted Texas into the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” Union .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-22” \o “” [49]

Modern Texas

The first major oil well in Texas was HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spindletop” \o “Spindletop” Spindletop ,
a little hill south of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont” \o “Beaumont” Beaumont , on the
morning of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_10” \o
“January 10” 10 January HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1901” \o “1901” 1901 . Other oil fields
were later discovered nearby in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o “East Texas” East Texas ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas” \o “West Texas”
West Texas , and under the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico” \o “Gulf of Mexico” Gulf
of Mexico . The resulting “Oil Boom” permanently transformed the economy
of Texas. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-23” \o “”
[50] Oil production eventually averaged three million barrels of oil
per day at its peak in 1972. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-24” \o “” [51] The economy, which had shown significant
progress since the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American Civil
War” American Civil War , was dealt a double blow by HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Depression” \o “The Great
Depression” the Great Depression and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl” \o “Dust Bowl” Dust Bowl .

From 1950 through the 1960s, Texas modernized and dramatically expanded
its system of higher education. Under the leadership of Governor
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Connally” \o “John B.
Connally” John B. Connally , the state created a long-range plan for
higher education, a more rational distribution of resources, and a
central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more
efficiently. These changes, helped Texas universities receive federal
research funds during the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy” \o “John F. Kennedy”
Kennedy and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson” \o “Lyndon B. Johnson”
Johnson administrations. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-25” \o “” [52]

Geography

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas” \o “Geography of
Texas” Geography of Texas

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:El_Capitan_base_2005-03-12.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Capitan_%28Texas%29” \o “El
Capitan (Texas)” El Capitan

The geography of Texas spans a wide range of features and timelines.
Texas is the southernmost part of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains” \o “Great Plains” Great
Plains , which ends in the south against the folded HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madre_Oriental” \o “Sierra Madre
Oriental” 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 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o
“Southern United States” U.S. South and also part of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States” \o
“Southwestern United States” U.S. Southwest .

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande” \o “Rio
Grande” Rio Grande , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_%28Mississippi_watershed%29” \o
“Red River (Mississippi watershed)” Red River and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_River_%28Texas-Louisiana%29” \o
“Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)” Sabine River all provide natural
state lines where Texas borders HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma” \o “Oklahoma” Oklahoma on the
north, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana” \o
“Louisiana” Louisiana and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkansas” \o “Arkansas” Arkansas on the
east, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico” \o “New
Mexico” New Mexico on the west, and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexican states of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chihuahua_%28state%29” \o
“Chihuahua (state)” Chihuahua , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coahuila” \o “Coahuila” Coahuila ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuevo_Le%C3%B3n” \o “Nuevo Leon”
Nuevo Leon , and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamaulipas”
\o “Tamaulipas” Tamaulipas to the south.

Some residents divide Texas into five regions: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o “North Texas” North ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o “East Texas”
East , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Texas” \o
“Central Texas” Central , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas” \o “South Texas” South , and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas” \o “West Texas”
West . Texas Almanac divides Texas into four physical regions:
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas” \l
“The_Gulf_Coastal_Plains” \o “Geography of Texas” Gulf Coastal Plains ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas” \l
“The_Interior_Lowlands” \o “Geography of Texas” Interior Lowlands ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas” \l
“The_Great_Plains” \o “Geography of Texas” Great Plains , and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Texas” \l
“The_Basin_and_Range_Province” \o “Geography of Texas” The Basin and
Range Province . This is the difference between HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_geography” \o “Human geography”
human geography and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_geography” \o “Physical
geography” physical geography .

Some regions of Texas are more associated with the South than the
Southwest (primarily HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o “East Texas” East Texas ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Texas” \o “Central
Texas” Central Texas , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o “North Texas” North Texas
), while others share more similarities with the latter (primarily far
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas” \o “West Texas”
West Texas and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas”
\o “South Texas” South Texas ). The upper HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Panhandle” \o “Texas Panhandle”
Texas Panhandle and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Plains” \o “South Plains” South
Plains parts of West Texas do not easily fit into either category. The
former has much in common with the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwestern_United_States” \o “Midwestern
United States” Midwestern United States , while the latter, originally
settled primarily by anglo Southerners, yet with a notable Hispanic
population, is somewhat of a blend of South and Southwest.

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.

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Irrigation_Canals” \o “Texas
Irrigation Canals” Texas Irrigation Canals

Geology

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Texas” \o “Geology of Texas”
Geology of Texas

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LlanoEstacadoShadedRelief.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Shaded Relief Map of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llano_Estacado” \o “Llano Estacado” Llano
Estacado

Texas is the southernmost part of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains” \o “Great Plains” Great
Plains , which ends in the south against the folded HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Madre_Occidental” \o “Sierra Madre
Occidental” Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_crust” \o “Continental crust”
continental crust here is a stable HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoproterozoic” \o “Mesoproterozoic”
Mesoproterozoic HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craton” \o
“Craton” craton which changes across a broad continental margin and
transitional crust into true HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanic_crust” \o “Oceanic crust” oceanic
crust of the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico”
\o “Gulf of Mexico” Gulf of Mexico . The oldest rocks in Texas date
from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old. These
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precambrian” \o “Precambrian”
Precambrian HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous” \o
“Igneous” igneous and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphic” \o “Metamorphic” metamorphic
rocks underly most of the state, and are exposed in three places:
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llano%2C_Texas” \o “Llano,
Texas” Llano uplift, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Horn%2C_Texas” \o “Van Horn, Texas”
Van Horn , and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Mountains_%28Texas%29” \o
“Franklin Mountains (Texas)” Franklin Mountains , near HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso” \o “El Paso” El Paso . This is
overlain by mostly HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedimentary_rocks” \o “Sedimentary rocks”
sedimentary rocks . The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of
a rifted continental margin, or HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_margin” \o “Passive margin”
passive margin that developed during HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian” \o “Cambrian” Cambrian time.
This margin existed until Laurasia and Godwana collided in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvanian” \o “Pennsylvanian”
Pennsylvanian time to form HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangea” \o “Pangea” Pangea . This is the
buried crest of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains” \o “Appalachian
Mountains” Appalachian Mountains — HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouachita_Mountains” \o “Ouachita
Mountains” Ouachita Mountains — HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marathon_Mountains&action=edi
t” \o “Marathon Mountains” Marathon Mountains zone of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvanian” \o “Pennsylvanian”
Pennsylvanian HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_collision” \o “Continental
collision” continental collision . This HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orogeny” \o “Orogeny” orogenic crest is
today buried beneath the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%2C_Texas” \o “Dallas, Texas”
Dallas — HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco%2C_Texas” \o
“Waco, Texas” Waco — HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin — HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio%2C_Texas”
\o “San Antonio, Texas” San Antonio trend. During this time E. Texas
was a region of high mountains and shallow seas covered W. Texas.

The late HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleozoic” \o
“Paleozoic” Paleozoic mountains collapsed as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifting” \o “Rifting” rifting in
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic” \o “Jurassic”
Jurassic time began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break
up in the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triassic” \o
“Triassic” Triassic but HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seafloor_spreading” \o “Seafloor
spreading” seafloor spreading to form the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico” \o “Gulf of Mexico” Gulf
of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic” \o “Jurassic” Jurassic . The
shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf
of Mexico HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_margin” \o
“Passive margin” passive margin began to form. Today there are 9 miles
(14 km) to 12 miles (19 km) of sediments buried beneath the Texas
continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum” \o “Petroleum” oil reserves
are to be found here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf
of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely
to form thick HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporite” \o
“Evaporite” evaporite deposits of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic” \o “Jurassic” Jurassic age.
These salt deposits have buoyantly risen up through the passive margin
sediments to form HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_dome”
\o “Salt dome” salt dome HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diapir” \o “Diapir” diapirs , commonly
found in East Texas, along the Gulf coast.

East Texas outcrops consist of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cretaceous” \o “Cretaceous” Cretaceous
and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleogene” \o “Paleogene”
Paleogene sediments with contain important deposits of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eocene” \o “Eocene” Eocene HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lignite” \o “Lignite” lignite .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum” \o “Petroleum” Oil
is found in the Mississippian ad Pennsylvanian sediments in the north,
Permian sediments in the west, Cretaceous sediments in the east, and
along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_shelf” \o “Continental shelf”
continental shelf . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligocene”
\o “Oligocene” Oligocene HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic” \o “Volcanic” volcanic rocks
are found in far west Texas, in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bend%2C_Texas” \o “Big Bend, Texas”
Big Bend area. A blanket of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miocene” \o “Miocene” Miocene sediments
known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an
important HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer” \o
“Aquifer” aquifer . Texas has no active or dormant volcanoes and few
earthquakes, being situated far from an active HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonic” \o “Plate tectonic” plate
tectonic boundary.

Climate

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Texas” \o “Climate of Texas”
Climate of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Palm_Trees_and_Snow.jpg”
\o “Enlarge”

2004 Christmas Eve snowstorm in South Texas

The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of several
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification” \o
“Koeppen climate classification” climate zones gives the state highly
variable weather. In general, though, there are three main climate
zones: the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humid_subtropical_climate” \o “Humid
subtropical climate” humid subtropical climate ( HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification” \o
“Koeppen climate classification” Koppen Cfa) of the eastern half of
Texas, the temperate HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-arid” \o “Semi-arid” semi-arid
(Koppen BSk) steppe climate of the northwestern part, including the
Panhandle, and the subtropical steppe climate (nearly an HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arid” \o “Arid” arid desert climate,
Koppen BSh) of the southern parts of West Texas, particularly around El
Paso.

The Panhandle of the state is colder in winter than North Texas, while
the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in
precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state,
averages as little as 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rainfall while
Houston, on the southeast Texas averages as much as 54 inches (1,400 mm)
per year. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-26” \o “”
[53] Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate
37 inches (940 mm) per year. Snowfall often falls in the winter months
in the north. Maximum temperatures in the summer months average from the
80s ° HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit” \o
“Fahrenheit” F (26 ° HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius”
\o “Celsius” C ) in the mountains of West Texas and on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston_Island” \o “Galveston Island”
Galveston Island to around 100  HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit” \o “Fahrenheit” °F (38 
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celsius” \o “Celsius” °C ) in
the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Valley” \o “Rio
Grande Valley” Rio Grande Valley . Nighttime summer temperatures range
from the upper 50s °F (14 °C) in the West Texas mountains HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-27” \o “” [54] to 80 °F
(27 °C) in Galveston. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-28” \o “” [55]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderstorms” \o
“Thunderstorms” Thunderstorms are very common in Texas, especially the
eastern and northern portion of the state. Texas also experiences the
highest number of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado” \o
“Tornado” tornadoes out of every state in the Union, with an average
of around 139 a year. Although these tend to strike most frequently in
North Texas and the Panhandle, every part of the state is subject to
these violent storms. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-Annual_average_number_of_tornadoes” \o “” [56] Tornadoes occur
mostly between the months of April-July but may strike at any time of
the year.

Texas emits the most HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas” \o “Greenhouse gas”
greenhouse gases out of any state. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-29” \o “” [57] The state’s
annual carbon dioxide emissions are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680
billion kg). Texas would be the world’s seventh-largest producer of
greenhouse gases if it were its own country. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-30” \o “” [58] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-31” \o “” [59] Much of the
greenhouse gas emissions come from the state’s refining and
manufacturing industries which provide the bulk of the United States’s
petroleum and plastics.

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catastrophic_Texas_Hurricanes_since_1900”
\o “Catastrophic Texas Hurricanes since 1900” Catastrophic Texas
Hurricanes since 1900

Demographics

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Texas” \o “Demographics of
Texas” Demographics of Texas

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_population_map.png” \o “Texas
Population Density Map”

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_population_map.png” \o
“Enlarge”

Texas Population Density Map

As of 2006, the state has an estimated population of 23,507,783, an
increase of 579,275 (2.5%) from the prior year and an increase of
2,655,993 (12.7%) since the year 2000. Texas has seen an increase in
population in all three subcategories—natural (births less deaths), net
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration” \o “Immigration”
immigration , and net migration. The natural increase since the last
census was 1,389,275 people (2,351,909 births minus 962,634 deaths),
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States” \o
“Immigration to the United States” immigration from outside the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United
States” United States resulted in a net increase of 801,576 people,
and migration within the country produced a net increase of 451,910
people. The state passed New York in the 1990s to become the
second-largest U.S. state in population.

As of 2004, the state has 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6
percent of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States”
\o “Illegal immigration to the United States” illegal immigrants
(illegal immigrants account for more than one-third of the foreign-born
population in Texas and 5.4 percent of the total state population).

Race and ethnic origins

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Houston_International_Festival.jpg”
\o “Enlarge”

The annual Houston International Festival spotlights a different culture
each year

As of the 2005 US Census estimates, the racial distribution in Texas are
as follows: 84.14%  HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_American” \o “White American” White
; 12.09%  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American” \o
“African American” African American or HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africans_in_the_United_States” \o
“Africans in the United States” African ; 3.62%  HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_American” \o “Asian American” Asian
; 0.17%  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Hawaiian” \o
“Native Hawaiian” Native Hawaiian or HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Islander” \o “Pacific Islander”
Pacific Islander ; and 1.1%  HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas” \o
“Indigenous peoples of the Americas” American Indian or Alaskan
Native. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-32” \o “”
[60] Persons of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanics_in_the_United_States” \o
“Hispanics in the United States” Hispanic origin accounted for 35.31
percent of the population and may be of any race. Texas is one of four
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority-minority_state” \o
“Majority-minority state” majority-minority states .

The largest reported ancestry groups in Texas include: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_American” \o “Mexican American”
Mexican (25.3%), HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American” \o “German American”
German (10.9%), HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American” \o “African American”
African American (10.5%), HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_American” \o “English American”
English (7.2%), and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots-Irish_American” \o “Scots-Irish
American” Scots-Irish (7.2%). Descendants from some of these ancestry
groups are underreported.

Much of east, central, and north Texas is inhabited by HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_%28people%29” \o “White (people)”
white HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant” \o
“Protestant” Protestant heritage, primarily descended from ancestors
from HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain” \o “Great
Britain” Great Britain and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland” \o “Ireland” Ireland . Much of
central and southeast-central Texas is inhabited by whites of German
descent. African Americans, who historically made up one-third of the
state population, are concentrated in those parts of East Texas where
the cotton plantation culture was most prominent prior to the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American
Civil War” American Civil War , as well as in Dallas and Houston.

Other population groups in Texas also exhibit great diversity. Frontier
Texas saw settlements of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germans” \o “Germans” Germans ,
particularly in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredericksburg%2C_Texas” \o
“Fredericksburg, Texas” Fredericksburg and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Braunfels%2C_Texas” \o “New Braunfels,
Texas” New Braunfels . After the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1848” \o “Revolutions of
1848” European revolutions of 1848 , German, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_American” \o “Polish American”
Polish , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_American” \o
“Swedish American” Swedish , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_American” \o “Norwegian
American” Norwegian , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_American” \o “Czech American” Czech
and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Americans” \o
“French Americans” French immigration grew, and continued until
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I” \o “World War I”
World War I . The influence of the diverse HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_the_United_States” \o
“Immigration to the United States” immigrants from Europe survives in
the names of towns, styles of architecture, genres of music, and
varieties of cuisine. Lavaca County is predominantly HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechs” \o “Czechs” Czech .

More than one-third of Texas residents are of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic” \o “Hispanic” Hispanic origin
and may be of any racial group. Some are recent arrivals from Latin
America, while others, known as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejanos” \o “Tejanos” Tejanos in
English, have ancestors who have lived in Texas for several generations.
Hispanics dominate south, south-central, and west Texas and are a
significant part of the residents in San  Antonio, Houston, and Dallas.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration” \o
“Illegal immigration” Illegal immigrants —primarily from far southern
Mexico and Central America— who look for work in Texas also contribute
to the state’s growth. The influx of illegal immigration is partially
responsible for Texas having a population younger than the U.S. average.

Recently, the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_American”
\o “Asian American” Asian population in Texas has grown—primarily in
Houston and Dallas. People with ancestry from HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_American” \o “Cambodian
American” Cambodia , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_American” \o “Indian American”
India , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistani_American” \o
“Pakistani American” Pakistan , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_American” \o “Vietnamese
American” Vietnam , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_people” \o “Chinese people” China
, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipino_people” \o
“Filipino people” the Philippines , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_people” \o “Korean people” Korea ,
and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_people” \o
“Japanese people” Japan make up the largest Asian-American groups in
Texas.

Religion

Texas a part of the strong socially conservative HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelical” \o “Evangelical” Evangelical
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant” \o “Protestant”
Protestant , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Belt” \o
“Bible Belt” Bible Belt . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas-Fort_Worth%2C_Texas” \o
“Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas” Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas is home to three
major evangelical seminaries, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Theological_Seminary” \o “Dallas
Theological Seminary” Dallas Theological Seminary , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_Baptist_Theological_Seminary”
\o “Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary” Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criswell_College” \o “Criswell College”
Criswell College . The city has several of America’s largest HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachurches” \o “Megachurches”
megachurches including the Potter’s House pastored by T.D Jakes.
Houston is home to the largest church in the nation, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood_Church” \o “Lakewood Church”
Lakewood Church , which is pastored by HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Osteen” \o “Joel Osteen” Joel Osteen
. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lubbock%2C_Texas” \o
“Lubbock, Texas” Lubbock, Texas has the most churches per capita in
the nation. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-33” \o
“” [61]

The religious demographics of Texas are: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-isbn0-517-58789-0” \o “” [62]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity” \o
“Christianity” Christian – 92%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestantism” \o
“Protestantism” Protestant – 66%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist” \o “Baptist” Baptist
– 32%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodism” \o “Methodism”
Methodist – 9%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostalism” \o
“Pentecostalism” Pentecostal – 3%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheranism” \o “Lutheranism”
Lutheran – 2%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyterianism” \o
“Presbyterianism” Presbyterian – 2%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episcopalianism” \o
“Episcopalianism” Episcopalian – 2%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ” \o “Church
of Christ” Church of Christ – 2%

Other Protestant – 14%

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_the_United_States” \o
“Roman Catholicism in the United States” Roman Catholic – 23%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latter-day_Saint” \o
“Latter-day Saint” Latter-day Saint – 1% HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-titleLDSNewsroom-USA-Texas” \o
“” [63]

Other Christian – 2%

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish” \o “Jewish” Jewish –
1%

Other Religions – 2%

Non-Religious – 5%

Major cities

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Texas” \o “List of
cities in Texas” List of cities in Texas , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_of_Texas_cities_in_2000” \o
“Population of Texas cities in 2000” Population of Texas cities in 2000
, and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_metropolitan_areas” \o “List
of Texas metropolitan areas” List of Texas metropolitan areas

The largest cities figure prominently in the economy, culture, and
heritage of Texas, the American HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” South and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest . As of 2000, six incorporated places in Texas had
populations greater than 500,000, of which two are HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city” \o “Global city” global
cities : Houston and Dallas. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-34” \o “” [64] Texas has a total of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_metropolitan_areas” \o “List
of Texas metropolitan areas” 25 metropolitan areas , with four having
populations over 1 million and two over 5 million.

Texas is the only state in the U.S. to have three cities with
populations exceeding 1 million: Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas; which
are also among the 10 largest cities of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o
“Austin, Texas” Austin and Fort Worth are in the top 20 largest U.S.
cities. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-35” \o “”
[65]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Downtown_Houston_7.jpg”
\o “Enlarge”

Houston

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Downtown-san-antonio.jpeg” \o
“Enlarge”

San Antonio

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Xvisionx_Dallas_Stemmons.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Dallas

Texas

rank U.S.

rank City Population

within

city limits Metro

Population Land Area

square miles (km?) Texas

Region U.S.

Region

1 4 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o
“Houston, Texas” Houston 2,144,491 5,539,949 601.7 sq mi

(1,558 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o
“East Texas” East Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” South

2 7 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio%2C_Texas” \o
“San Antonio, Texas” San Antonio 1,296,682 1,942,217 412.1 sq mi

(1,067 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas” \o
“South Texas” South Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest

3 9 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%2C_Texas” \o
“Dallas, Texas” Dallas 1,232,940 6,003,967 385.0 sq mi

(997 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o
“North Texas” North Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” South

4 16 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o
“Austin, Texas” Austin 709,893 1,513,565 258.4 sq mi

(669 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Texas” \o
“Central Texas” Central Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest

5 18 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas” \o
“Fort Worth, Texas” Fort Worth 653,320 6,003,967 298.9 sq mi

(774 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o
“North Texas” North Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest

6 21 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso%2C_Texas” \o “El
Paso, Texas” El Paso 609,415 415,810 250.5 sq mi

(649 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Texas” \o “West
Texas” West Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest

7 49 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington%2C_Texas” \o
“Arlington, Texas” Arlington 362,805 6,003,967 99.0 sq mi

(257 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o
“North Texas” North Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_United_States” \o “Western United
States” Southwest

8 63 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi%2C_Texas”
\o “Corpus Christi, Texas” Corpus Christi 283,474 736,310 460.2 sq mi

(1,192 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas” \o
“South Texas” South Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwestern_United_States” \o
“Southwestern United States” Southwest

9 69 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plano%2C_Texas” \o
“Plano, Texas” Plano 250,096 6,003,967 71.6 sq mi

(186 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o
“North Texas” North Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” South

10 86 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garland%2C_Texas” \o
“Garland, Texas” Garland 216,346 6,003,967 57.1 sq mi

(148 km?) HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas” \o
“North Texas” North Texas HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” South

Government and politics

Main articles: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Texas” \o “Government of
Texas” Government of Texas and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Texas” \o “Politics of Texas”
Politics of Texas

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Constitution” \o
“Texas Constitution” Texas Constitution —adopted in 1876—is the
second-oldest state constitution still in effect. As with many
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_constitution_%28United_States%29” \o
“State constitution (United States)” state constitutions , it
explicitly provides for the separation of powers and incorporates its
bill of rights directly into the text of the constitution (as Article
I). The bill of rights is considerably lengthier and more detailed than
the federal HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights” \o “United
States Bill of Rights” Bill of Rights , and includes provisions unique
to Texas.

Political system

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_capitol_day.jpg”
\o “Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Capitol” \o “Texas
State Capitol” Texas State Capitol

The executive branch consists of the Governor, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Texas” \o
“Lieutenant Governor of Texas” Lieutenant Governor , Comptroller of
Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Agriculture
Commissioner, the three-member HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Railroad_Commission” \o “Texas
Railroad Commission” Texas Railroad Commission , the State Board of
Education, and the Secretary of State. All of these positions are
elected by the populace, with the exception of the Secretary of State,
who is appointed by the Governor. The Comptroller decides if expected
state income is sufficient to cover proposed state budgets. The
executive branch also consists of state agencies, and boards and
commissions. The Governor commands the state militia and can veto bills
passed by the Legislature and call special sessions of the Legislature
(this power is exclusive to the Governor and can be exercised as often
as desired). The Governor also appoints members of various executive
boards and fills judicial vacancies between elections.

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature_of_Texas” \o
“Legislature of Texas” Legislature of Texas is bicameral with The
House of Representatives having 150 members and the Senate 31. The
speaker, currently Tom Craddick (R–Midland) leads the House, and the
Lieutenant Governor (currently Republican HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Dewhurst” \o “David Dewhurst” David
Dewhurst ) leads the Senate. The Legislature meets in regular session
only once every two years. Only the Governor may call a special session,
and may do so as often as desired.

The HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_judicial_system” \o
“Texas judicial system” judicial system of Texas has a reputation as
one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and many
overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Supreme_Court” \o “Texas
Supreme Court” Texas Supreme Court , for civil cases, and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Court_of_Criminal_Appeals”
\o “Texas Court of Criminal Appeals” Texas Court of Criminal Appeals .
Except for some municipal benches, partisan elections selects judges at
all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by
appointment.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RickPerry2006.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Governor Rick Perry

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:6thmarch.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Protesters at the 6th Annual March to Stop Executions

Republican HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Perry” \o
“Rick Perry” Rick Perry has served as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_Texas” \o “List of
Governors of Texas” Governor of Texas since December 2000, when
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush” \o “George W.
Bush” George W. Bush vacated the office to assume the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States” \o
“President of the United States” Presidency . Two Republicans represent
Texas in the U.S. Senate: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Bailey_Hutchison” \o “Kay Bailey
Hutchison” Kay Bailey Hutchison (since 1993) and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cornyn” \o “John Cornyn” John Cornyn
(since 2003). There are 32 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Congressional_Districts” \o “Texas
Congressional Districts” congressional districts in Texas , the
second-most after California. 19 seats are held by Republicans and 13 by
Democrats.

The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29” \o
“Democratic Party (United States)” Democratic Party held a monolithic
political presence in Texas from the beginning of its statehood until
the late 20th century. Texas harbored a deep resentment towards the
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_%28United_States%29” \o
“Republican Party (United States)” Republican Party for the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Reconstruction” \o
“Radical Reconstruction” Reconstruction after the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War” \o “American Civil
War” American Civil War . Conservative Democrats however, but endorsed
many Republican presidential candidates because they perceived a liberal
shift in the national Democratic Party. When President HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Johnson” \o “Lyndon Johnson”
Lyndon Johnson signed the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964” \o “Civil Rights
Act of 1964” Civil Rights Act of 1964 , he reportedly said “We have
lost the South.” After that, the Democrats gradually lost influence in
Texas. In 1978, the state elected its first post-reconstruction
governor, and in 2003, Republicans gained control of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_House_of_Representatives” \o “Texas
House of Representatives” state legislature for the first time. Today,
Republicans control most of Texas’s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._House_of_Representatives” \o “U.S.
House of Representatives” House delegation, and both U.S. Senators.
Since 1994 no Democrat has been elected to a statewide office in Texas.
The remains of the state’s Democratic presence is primarily comprised of
African-Americans, Hispanics, and urban voters, particularly in
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin,
Texas” Austin . Democrats and independents still hold many positions in
city governments, including the mayors and most city council positions
in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

The Texas political atmosphere leans towards HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_conservatism” \o “Fiscal
conservatism” fiscal and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_conservatism” \o “Social
conservatism” social conservatism . Texas leads the country in
executions performed. The state recently adopted a resolution defining
marriage as between a man and a woman. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin , is considered the state’s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_liberalism_in_the_United_States” \o
“Modern liberalism in the United States” liberal or “populist”
bastion, though Austin’s suburbs generally vote conservative.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston,
Texas” Houston and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%2C_Texas” \o “Dallas, Texas”
Dallas are among the few urban areas that consistently vote Republican,
but their metropolitan areas are very divided politically. These cities
tend to favor a more socially tolerant, pro-business brand of
Republicanism. In Houston, the election of conservative commentator
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Patrick_%28politics%29” \o
“Dan Patrick (politics)” Dan Patrick to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_Senate” \o “Texas State
Senate” State Senate in 2006 sparked an outcry from the city’s
moderate Republican establishment.

Justice system

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_Texas” \o “Capital
punishment in Texas” Capital punishment in Texas

The justice system in Texas has a strict sentencing for criminals. Texas
leads the nation in executions, with 400 executions from 1982 to 2007.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-36” \o “” [66]
Only HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_murder” \o
“Capital murder” capital murder is eligible for the death penalty. A
bill making the rape of a child a capital crime in some instances is
currently under consideration. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-37” \o “” [67] Before 2005,
the alternate sentence was HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment” \o “Life imprisonment”
life with the possibility of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parole” \o “Parole” parole after 40
calendar years; in 2005, the law was modified to make the alternate
sentence HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_imprisonment” \o
“Life imprisonment” life without parole.

Known for their role in Texas law enforcement history, the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Ranger_Division” \o “Texas Ranger
Division” Texas Ranger Division of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Department_of_Public_Safety” \o
“Texas Department of Public Safety” Texas Department of Public Safety
continue to provide special law enforcement services to the state. Texas
Game Wardens—law enforcement officers working for the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Parks_and_Wildlife_Department” \o
“Texas Parks and Wildlife Department” Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department —are given the same amount of authority as any other law
enforcement officer. It is a common myth that they can enter private
property without a search warrant and search people or vehicles with no
probable cause.[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed” \o
“Wikipedia:Citation needed” citation needed ]

Administrative divisions

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_counties_map.gif”
\o “Enlarge”

Map outlining 254 counties of Texas

Texas has a total of 254 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counties_of_the_United_States” \o
“Counties of the United States” counties —the most of any state. Each
county is run by a commissioners’ court consisting of four elected
commissioners and a county judge elected from all the voters of the
county. County government is similar to the “weak” HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor-council” \o “Mayor-council”
mayor-council system; the county judge has no veto authority, but votes
along with the other commissioners. All county elections are HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_parties” \o “Political parties”
partisan .

Unlike other states, Texas does not allow for consolidated city-county
governments, nor does it have a form of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_government” \o “Metropolitan
government” metropolitan government . Cities and counties are permitted
to enter “interlocal agreements” to share services. Further, counties
are not granted “home rule” status; their powers are strictly defined by
state law and the Texas Constitution.

Texas does not have townships— areas within a county are either
incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a
municipality either as a town or a city, though it may contract with the
county for needed services. Unincorporated areas are not part of a
municipality; in these areas, the county has authority for law
enforcement and road maintenance. Municipalities are classified as
either “general law” or “home rule”. A municipality may elect home rule
status (draft an independent charter) once it exceeds 5,000 population
and the voters agree to home rule. Otherwise, it is classified as
general law and has very limited powers. All municipal elections in
Texas are HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonpartisan” \o
“Nonpartisan” nonpartisan . Once a municipality elects home rule
status, it keeps that status even if the population later falls below
5,000.

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_counties” \o “List of Texas
counties” List of Texas counties , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_county_name_etymologies” \o
“List of Texas county name etymologies” List of Texas county name
etymologies , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_county_seat_name_etymologies
” \o “List of Texas county seat name etymologies” List of Texas county
seat name etymologies

Economy

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Texas” \o “Economy of Texas”
Economy of Texas

Texas’s economy is known for its energy and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronautics” \o “Aeronautics” aeronautics
industries, and for the ship channel at the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Houston” \o “Port of Houston”
Port of Houston —the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and
the sixth-largest port in the world. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-38” \o “” [68] The state is
home to the most HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_500”
\o “Fortune 500” Fortune 500 companies and has the second-largest
economy in the United States. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-39” \o “” [69] HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-texasfortune500” \o “” [70] The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Medical_Center” \o “Texas Medical
Center” Texas Medical Center in Houston contains the world’s largest
concentration of research and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare” \o “Healthcare” healthcare
institutions. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-texasmedical” \o “” [71]

In 2006, Texas had a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_domestic_product” \o “Gross domestic
product” gross state product of $1.09 trillion, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-40” \o “” [72] the
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_GDP_%28nominal%29”
\o “List of U.S. states by GDP (nominal)” second highest in the U.S.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-41” \o “” [73]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_state_product” \o “Gross
state product” Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,975.
Texas leads the nation in number of cattle, which usually exceed 16
million head. Cotton is the leading crop and the state’s
second-most-valuable farm product. Texas also leads nationally in
production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and spinach. Wheat,
corn, and other grains are also important.

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_quarter%2C_reverse_side%2C_200
4.jpg” \o “Enlarge”

The “tails” side of the Texas quarter

Texas’s growth can be attributed to the availability of jobs, the low
cost of housing, the lack of a personal HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_income_tax” \o “State income tax”
state income tax , high quality of education, low taxation and limited
regulation of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business” \o
“Business” business , a geographic location in the center of the
country, limited government (the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Legislature” \o “Texas Legislature”
Texas Legislature meets only once every two years), favorable climate
in many areas of the state, and vast, plentiful supplies of oil and
natural gas. The known petroleum deposits of Texas are about 8 billion
barrels, which makes up approximately one-third of the known U. S.
supply. Texas has 4.6 billion barrels of proven crude HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum” \o “Petroleum” oil reserves.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-Petrol” \o “” [74]
There are currently 33 billionaires residing in Texas today. Dallas has
11 billionaires, the most of any city in Texas.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Texas_economy.gif” \o
“Enlarge”

Economic trends in Texas.

Texas remained largely rural until HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II” \o “World War II” World War
II , with HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranching” \o
“Ranching” cattle ranching , oil, and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farming” \o “Farming” agriculture as its
main industries. The sprawling 320,000 deeded HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acre” \o “Acre” acre (1,200 km?) La
Escalera Ranch, located 20 miles (32 km) south of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stockton” \o “Fort Stockton” Fort
Stockton , Texas, is one of the largest cattle HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranches” \o “Ranches” ranches in the
Southwestern United States. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_ranching” \o “Cattle ranching”
Cattle ranching was never Texas’s chief industry – before the oil boom
back to the period of the first Anglo settlers, the chief industry was
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton” \o “Cotton” cotton
farming. After HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II”
\o “World War II” World War II , Texas became increasingly
industrialized. Its economy today relies largely on information
technology, oil and natural gas, fuel processing, electric power,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture” \o “Agriculture”
agriculture , and manufacturing. Much economic activity in Texas is
regional– for example, the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_industry” \o “Timber industry”
timber industry is important in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Texas” \o “East Texas” East Texas ‘s
economy but a non-factor elsewhere, while HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston” \o “Houston” Houston , the
state’s largest urban economic enclave stands at the center of the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrochemical” \o
“Petrochemical” petrochemical , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomedical” \o “Biomedical” biomedical
research trades, and aerospace (particularly HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA” \o “NASA” NASA ). Meanwhile, Dallas
houses the state’s predominant HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_industry” \o “Defense industry”
defense manufacturing interests and the expansive HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology” \o “Information
technology” information technology labor market.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:PortofHouston.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Houston” \o “Port of
Houston” Port of Houston .

Texas has the second highest number of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_500” \o “Fortune 500” Fortune 500
company headquarters, fifty-six. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-42” \o “” [75] This has been
attributed to both the growth in population in Texas and the rise of oil
prices in 2005, which resulted in the growth in revenues of many Texas
oil drilling and processing companies.

In 2006, for the fifth year in a row, Texas led the nation in export
revenues. Texas exports for 2006 totaled $150.8 billion, which is $22.1
billion more than 2005 and represents a 17.2 percent increase. In 2002,
the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Houston” \o “Port
of Houston” Port of Houston was 6th among the top sea ports in the
world in terms of total cargo volume; HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-43” \o “” [76] Air Cargo
World rated HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas-Fort_Worth_International_Airport”
\o “Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport” Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport as “the best air cargo airport in the world”.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-44” \o “” [77]

Texans pride their state’s history, but they also seek new social and
technological developments. Austin and its surrounding area is often
nicknamed “Silicon Hills”. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell%2C_Inc.” \o “Dell, Inc.” Dell’s
headquarters is located in the city’s suburb, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Rock%2C_Texas” \o “Round Rock,
Texas” Round Rock . Dallas is the birthplace of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_circuit” \o “Integrated
circuit” integrated circuit . North Dallas along with surrounding
suburbs has been called the “Silicon Prairie” for the area’s high
concentration of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology” \o “Information
Technology” Information Technology companies such as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Instruments” \o “Texas Instruments”
Texas Instruments and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Data_Systems” \o “Electronic
Data Systems” EDS . In addition, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq” \o “Compaq” Compaq , at one time
one of the world’s largest computer companies, was based in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston” \o “Houston” Houston .
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewlett-Packard” \o
“Hewlett-Packard” Hewlett-Packard currently employs more employees in
Houston, than anywhere else in the world.

Houston is a global leader in the energy industry. Since 2003, Texas
state officials have created various initiatives like the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Enterprise_Fund” \o “Texas
Enterprise Fund” Texas Enterprise Fund and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Emerging_Technology_Fund” \o “Texas
Emerging Technology Fund” Texas Emerging Technology Fundto develop the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Texas” \o “Economy
of Texas” economy of Texas . Texas is a leader in alternative energy
sources, producing the most HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power_in_Texas” \o “Wind power in
Texas” wind power of any state, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-wind2” \o “” [78] as well as
small solar powered efforts and the experimental installation of
wave-powered generators.

Texas has a large tourism industry. The state tourism slogan is “Texas:
It’s like a whole other country”, a nod to Texas’s diversity and
history. Tourists might enjoy HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio” \o “San Antonio” San Antonio
and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Paso” \o “El Paso” El
Paso ‘s hispanic culture, or HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth” \o “Fort Worth” Fort Worth
western attractions. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corpus_Christi” \o “Corpus Christi”
Corpus Christi and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padre_Island” \o “Padre Island” Padre
Island are some of the popular Texas resort areas located on the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico” \o “Gulf of
Mexico” Gulf of Mexico .

Texas is a top filmmaking state. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin is now one of the leading filmmaking locations in the country.
During 1995-2004, more than $2.75 billion has been spent in Texas for
film and television production. The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_Film_Commission&action=
edit” \o “Texas Film Commission” Texas Film Commission was founded for
free services to filmmakers, from location research to traveling.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-Film” \o “” [79]
Also many HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California” \o
“Hollywood, Los Angeles, California” Hollywood studios are relocating
parts of their production divisions to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%E2%80%93Fort_Worth_Metroplex” \o
“Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex” Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-Film” \o “” [79]

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_installations_in_Texas”
\o “List of military installations in Texas” List of military
installations in Texas

Culture

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Texas” \o “Culture of Texas”
Culture of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Big_Tex.JPG” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tex” \o “Big Tex” Big Tex
has presided over every HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Fair_of_Texas” \o “State Fair of
Texas” Texas State Fair since 1952

Immigration has made the culture of Texas become a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting_pot” \o “Melting pot” melting pot
of different cultures around the world. Texas’s diverse and
international culture is partly due to its academic institutions and
strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries.

Many popular events are held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans.
The annual HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Livestock_Show_and_Rodeo” \o
“Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo” Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is
held over 20 days from late February through early March and is the
largest rodeo in the world. The event begins with trail rides that
originate from several points throughout the state, all of which convene
at HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Park” \o “Reliant
Park” Reliant Park for a barbecue cook-off. The rodeo includes typical
rodeo events, as well as concert performances from major artists and
carnival rides. The World’s first rodeo was held in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecos%2C_Texas” \o “Pecos, Texas” Pecos,
Texas on HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_4” \o “July 4”
4 July HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883” \o “1883” 1883
. The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Southwestern_Livestock_Show_a
nd_Rodeo&action=edit” \o “Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo”
Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas” \o “Fort Worth,
Texas” Fort Worth, Texas lasts three weeks in late January and early
February. It has many traditional rodeos, but also a cowboy rodeo, and a
Mexican rodeo in recent years that each have a large fan base. The
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Fair_of_Texas” \o “State
Fair of Texas” State Fair of Texas is held in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%2C_Texas” \o “Dallas, Texas”
Dallas, Texas each year at Fair Park.

Texas has a vibrant live HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Austin” \o “Music of Austin”
music scene in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin%2C_Texas” \o “Austin, Texas”
Austin boasting more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city,
befitting the city’s official slogan as
The Live Music Capital of the World. Austin’s music revolves around the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightclub” \o “Nightclub”
nightclubs on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Street_%28Austin%29” \o “6th Street
(Austin)” 6th Street and an annual HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film” \o “Film” film , music, and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia” \o “Multimedia”
multimedia festival known as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_by_Southwest” \o “South by
Southwest” South by Southwest . The longest-running concert music
program on American television, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_City_Limits” \o “Austin City
Limits” Austin City Limits , is videotaped on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_University_of_Texas_at_Austin” \o “The
University of Texas at Austin” The University of Texas at Austin
campus or in Zilker Park. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_City_Limits” \o “Austin City
Limits” Austin City Limits and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Records” \o “Waterloo Records”
Waterloo Records run the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_City_Limits_Music_Festival” \o
“Austin City Limits Music Festival” Austin City Limits Music Festival ,
an annual music and art festival held at HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zilker_Park” \o “Zilker Park” Zilker Park
.

Over the past couple of decades, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio%2C_Texas” \o “San Antonio,
Texas” San Antonio evolved into the “Nashville of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejano_music” \o “Tejano music” Tejano
music .” The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejano_Music_Awards” \o “Tejano Music
Awards” Tejano Music Awards have provided a forum to create greater
awareness and appreciation for Tejano music and culture.

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_from_Texas” \o “List of
people from Texas” List of people from Texas , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_symbols” \o “List of Texas
symbols” List of Texas symbols , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Mess_with_Texas” \o “Don’t Mess
with Texas” Don’t Mess with Texas , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_to_Texas” \o “Gone to Texas” Gone to
Texas

Arts and theatre

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:IMG_1244.JPG” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobby_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts” \o
“Hobby Center for the Performing Arts” Hobby Center for the Performing
Arts in Houston

Known for the vibrancy of its HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_arts” \o “Visual arts” visual and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performing_arts” \o
“Performing arts” performing arts , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Theatre_District” \o “Houston
Theatre District” Houston Theatre District —a 17-block area in the
heart of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Houston” \o
“Downtown Houston” Downtown Houston —is ranked second in the country in
the number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area with 12,948
seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-45” \o “” [80]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston,
Texas” Houston is also one of only five American cities with permanent
professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts
disciplines (the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Grand_Opera” \o “Houston Grand
Opera” Houston Grand Opera , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Symphony_Orchestra” \o “Houston
Symphony Orchestra” Houston Symphony Orchestra , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Ballet” \o “Houston Ballet”
Houston Ballet , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alley_Theatre” \o “The Alley Theatre”
The Alley Theatre ). HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-46” \o “” [81] HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston, Texas”
Houston, Texas is widely recognized as the nation’s third most
important city for contemporary HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_arts” \o “Visual arts” visual arts
.

Fort Worth and Dallas serve as epicenters of the North Texas region’s
art scene. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Art_Museum_of_Fort_Worth” \o
“Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth” The Modern (formerly the Modern Art
Museum of Fort Worth), founded in 1892, is the oldest art museum in
Texas. The city is also home to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbell_Art_Museum” \o “Kimbell Art
Museum” Kimbell Art Museum , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Carter_Museum” \o “Amon Carter
Museum” Amon Carter Museum , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cowgirl_Museum_and_Hall_of_Fame”
\o “National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame” National Cowgirl Museum
and Hall of Fame , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Rogers_Memorial_Center” \o “Will
Rogers Memorial Center” Will Rogers Memorial Center , and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_Performance_Hall” \o “Bass
Performance Hall” Bass Performance Hall downtown. The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arts_District%2C_Dallas” \o “Arts
District, Dallas” Arts District of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Dallas” \o “Downtown Dallas”
Downtown Dallas is home to several arts venues. Notable venues in the
district include the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Museum_of_Art” \o “Dallas Museum of
Art” Dallas Museum of Art , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_H._Meyerson_Symphony_Center” \o
“Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center” Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trammell_%26_Margaret_Crow_Collection_
of_Asian_Art” \o “The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art”
The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art , and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasher_Sculpture_Center” \o
“Nasher Sculpture Center” Nasher Sculpture Center .

Also within Dallas is the notable HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Ellum” \o “Deep Ellum” Deep Ellum
district which originally became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as
the prime HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz” \o “Jazz”
jazz and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blues” \o “Blues”
blues hotspot in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States” \o “Southern
United States” Southern United States . The name HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Ellum” \o “Deep Ellum” Deep Ellum
is thought to have originally derived from local tongues saying “Deep
Elm”, but that came out as “Deep Ellum”. Artists such as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_Lemon_Jefferson” \o “Blind Lemon
Jefferson” Blind Lemon Jefferson , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Johnson_%28musician%29” \o “Robert
Johnson (musician)” Robert Johnson , Huddie ” HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadbelly” \o “Leadbelly” Leadbelly ”
Ledbetter, and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Smith”
\o “Bessie Smith” Bessie Smith played in original Deep Ellum clubs
like The Harlem and The Palace. Today, Deep Ellum is home to hundreds of
artists who live in lofts and operate in studios throughout the district
alongside bars, pubs, and concert venues. One major art infusion in the
area is the city’s HYPERLINK “http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lax” \o
“wiktionary:lax” lax stance on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti” \o “Graffiti” graffiti , thusly
several public ways including tunnels, sides of buildings, sidewalks,
and streets are covered in murals.

Sports

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Tbia.jpg” \o “Enlarge”

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangers_Ballpark_in_Arlington”
\o “Rangers Ballpark in Arlington” Rangers Ballpark in Arlington , home
of the Texas Rangers

Texans are known for their love of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_football” \o “American football”
American football and are noted for their intense following of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school_football” \o “High
school football” high school and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_football” \o “College football”
college football teams—often the dominate social and leisure activity.
Texas is home to two NFL teams, the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Texans” \o “Houston Texans”
Houston Texans and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Cowboys” \o “Dallas Cowboys”
Dallas Cowboys , sometimes referred to as “America’s Team”.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball” \o “Baseball”
Baseball has a strong presence in Texas, with HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball” \o “Major League
Baseball” Major League Baseball teams the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Rangers_%28baseball%29” \o “Texas
Rangers (baseball)” Texas Rangers and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Astros” \o “Houston Astros”
Houston Astros . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_league_baseball” \o “Minor league
baseball” Minor league baseball is also closely followed in
Texas—especially in the smaller metropolitan areas. The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Cats” \o “Fort Worth Cats”
Fort Worth Cats are a team in Fort Worth, Texas that has won 3 straight
championships, one in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Baseball_League” \o “Central
Baseball League” Central Baseball League and the last two in the
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Association_of_Independent_Profes
sional_Baseball” \o “American Association of Independent Professional
Baseball” American Association .

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball” \o “Basketball”
Basketball is also popular, and Texas hosts three HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association” \o
“National Basketball Association” NBA teams: the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Rockets” \o “Houston Rockets”
Houston Rockets , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs” \o “San Antonio Spurs”
San Antonio Spurs , and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Mavericks” \o “Dallas Mavericks”
Dallas Mavericks . All three have reached the NBA Finals and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Rockets” \o “Houston
Rockets” Houston Rockets and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs” \o “San Antonio Spurs”
San Antonio Spurs have won championships. Additionally, Texas is home
to two HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_National_Basketball_Association”
\o “Women’s National Basketball Association” WNBA teams, the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Comets” \o “Houston
Comets” Houston Comets and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Silver_Stars” \o “San Antonio
Silver Stars” San Antonio Silver Stars . The Comets were the winners of
the first four HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNBA” \o “WNBA”
WNBA Championships in league history, in the 1997–2000 seasons.

Many Texas universities have rich athletic traditions. Originally, most
Texas HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_I” \o “Division
I” Division I universities were part of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Conference” \o “Southwest
Conference” Southwest Conference until it dissolved in 1996. Four of
the largest programs in Texas are now part of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_12_Conference” \o “Big 12 Conference”
Big 12 Conference : the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_Bears” \o “Baylor Bears” Baylor
Bears , HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_Aggies” \o
“Texas A&M Aggies” Texas A&M Aggies , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorns” \o “Texas Longhorns”
Texas Longhorns , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Tech_Red_Raiders” \o “Texas Tech Red
Raiders” Texas Tech Red Raiders . In addition to the four Big 12
schools, Texas is home to six other Division I (Bowl Sub-Division)
teams: the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TCU_Horned_Frogs”
\o “TCU Horned Frogs” TCU Horned Frogs of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_West_Conference” \o “Mountain
West Conference” Mountain West Conference ; the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMU_Mustangs” \o “SMU Mustangs” SMU
Mustangs , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Cougars” \o “Houston Cougars”
Houston Cougars , the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_Owls” \o “Rice Owls” Rice Owls and
the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_at_El_Paso” \o
“University of Texas at El Paso” UTEP Miners , all of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conference_USA” \o “Conference USA”
Conference USA ; and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Texas_Mean_Green” \o “North Texas
Mean Green” North Texas Mean Green of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Belt_Conference” \o “Sun Belt
Conference” Sun Belt Conference . Texas has the most Division I-FBS
schools in America, ten.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey” \o “Hockey” Hockey
has been a growing participatory sport in the Dallas/Fort Worth area
since the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_North_Stars” \o “Minnesota North
Stars” Minnesota North Stars became the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Stars” \o “Dallas Stars” Dallas
Stars in 1993. Minor league professional hockey has become popular in
the last few decades; such as the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Skippers” \o “Houston Skippers”
Houston Skippers HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USHL” \o
“USHL” USHL HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louden_Cup&action=edit” \o
“Louden Cup” Louden Cup winners in 1948 with legendary coach
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toe_Blake” \o “Toe Blake” Toe
Blake . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHL” \o “AHL” AHL
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Aeros” \o “Houston
Aeros” Houston Aeros who won the IHL’s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turner_Cup” \o “Turner Cup” Turner Cup
in 1999 and the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHL” \o “AHL”
AHL HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calder_Cup” \o “Calder
Cup” Calder Cup in 2003 and two HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Avco_Cups&action=edit” \o
“Avco Cups” Avco Cups in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WHA” \o “WHA” WHA . The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Rampage” \o “San Antonio
Rampage” San Antonio Rampage also play in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AHL” \o “AHL” AHL . Texas is home to
seven of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Hockey_League” \o “Central Hockey
League” Central Hockey League ‘s seventeen teams.

Other popular sports in Texas include HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf” \o “Golf” golf (played year-round
because of the mild climate), fishing, and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_racing” \o “Auto racing” auto racing
. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacrosse” \o “Lacrosse”
Lacrosse , originally played by some of the indigenous tribes, is a
visible sport and growing. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_%28soccer%29” \o “Football
(soccer)” Soccer is a popular participatory sport, especially among
children, but as a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectator_sport” \o “Spectator sport”
spectator sport it does not yet have a large following despite two
Texan teams in HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLS” \o “MLS”
MLS and the back to back 2006 and 2007 HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLS_Cup” \o “MLS Cup” MLS Cup winners
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Dynamo” \o “Houston
Dynamo” Houston Dynamo in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Soccer” \o “Major League
Soccer” Major League Soccer .

Further information: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_sports_teams” \o “List of
Texas sports teams” List of Texas sports teams

Architecture

In addition to Texas’s traditional HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture” \o “Architecture”
architecture the state also has noteworthy contemporary buildings. Many
world class architects and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pritzker_Prize” \o “Pritzker Prize”
Pritzker Prize winners have left their enriching marks on Texan cities
and landscapes. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright” \o “Frank Lloyd
Wright” Frank Lloyd Wright had four buildings in Texas, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-47” \o “” [82] while
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Ando” \o “Tadao Ando”
Tadao Ando ‘s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Art_Museum_of_Fort_Worth” \o
“Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth” Modern Art Museum and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Kahn” \o “Louis Kahn” Louis Kahn ‘s
famous HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimbell_Art_Museum” \o
“Kimbell Art Museum” Kimbell Art Museum are permanent landmarks of the
city of HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth” \o “Fort
Worth” Fort Worth . Other super architects such as HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I.M._Pei” \o “I.M. Pei” I.M. Pei and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Johnson” \o “Philip
Johnson” Philip Johnson have numerous works across the state. Among
their famous works one can mention the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Water_Gardens” \o “Fort Worth
Water Gardens” Fort Worth Water Gardens , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Carter_Museum” \o “Amon Carter
Museum” Amon Carter Museum , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_St._Basil” \o “Chapel of St.
Basil” Chapel of St. Basil , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_H._Meyerson_Symphony_Center” \o
“Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center” Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center
, and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanks-Giving_Square” \o
“Thanks-Giving Square” Thanks-Giving Square . In Austin, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Bunshaft” \o “Gordon Bunshaft”
Gordon Bunshaft ‘s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_Baines_Johnson_Library_and_Museum”
\o “Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum” Lyndon Baines Johnson
Library and Museum (also a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pritzker_Prize” \o “Pritzker Prize”
Pritzker Prize winner) is particularly noteworthy, while HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Holl” \o “Steven Holl” Steven Holl
, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._M._Stern” \o
“Robert A. M. Stern” Robert A. M. Stern , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Meier” \o “Richard Meier” Richard
Meier , and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Pelli”
\o “Cesar Pelli” Cesar Pelli are other architect legends who designed
buildings that grace the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas” \o “Dallas” Dallas and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston” \o “Houston” Houston
areas. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Foster%2C_Baron_Foster_of_Thames_Ba
nk” \o “Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank” Sir Norman Foster
‘s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Center_for_the_Performing_Arts” \o
“Dallas Center for the Performing Arts” Dallas Center for the
Performing Arts is the latest addition to such architectural landmarks
in Texas.

Some facilities even harbor the marks of multiple architects. Houston’s
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Fine_Arts%2C_Houston”
\o “Museum of Fine Arts, Houston” Museum of Fine Arts for example, was
designed by HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pritzker_Prize” \o
“Pritzker Prize” Pritzker Prize winner HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Moneo” \o “Rafael Moneo” Rafael
Moneo , landscape architect extraordinnaire HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isamu_Noguchi” \o “Isamu Noguchi” Isamu
Noguchi , and the pioneering master of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Architecture” \o “Modern
Architecture” Modern Architecture HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mies_van_der_Rohe” \o “Mies van der Rohe”
Mies van der Rohe .

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_J._Clayton” \o
“Nicholas J. Clayton” Nicholas J. Clayton ‘s “Old Red” built in 1891,
is on the campus of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Medical_Branch” \o
“University of Texas Medical Branch” University of Texas Medical Branch
in HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston” \o “Galveston”
Galveston and is a registered Texas historic landmark.

Texas is also home to some of the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_St
ates” \o “List of tallest buildings in the United States” tallest
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyscrapers” \o “Skyscrapers”
skyscrapers in the United States.

The Houston skyline has been ranked fourth-most impressive in the United
States when ranked by breadth and height, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-48” \o “” [83] being the
country’s third-tallest skyline and one of the top 10 in the world;
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-49” \o “” [84]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-50” \o “” [85]
however, because it is spread over a few miles, most pictures of the
city show only the main downtown area. Houston has a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Downtown_Tunnel_System” \o
“Houston Downtown Tunnel System” system of tunnels and skywalks
linking buildings in downtown. The tunnel system also includes shops,
restaurants, and convenience stores.

Images shown below are the eight HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Texas” \o
“List of tallest buildings in Texas” tallest buildings in Texas .

1. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPMorgan_Chase_Tower_%28Houston%29” \o
“JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)” JPMorgan Chase Tower

2. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo_Bank_Plaza” \o
“Wells Fargo Bank Plaza” Wells Fargo Bank Plaza

3. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America_Plaza_%28Dallas%29” \o
“Bank of America Plaza (Dallas)” Bank of America Plaza

4. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_Tower” \o
“Williams Tower” Williams Tower

5. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Tower” \o
“Renaissance Tower” Renaissance Tower

6. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comerica_Bank_Tower” \o
“Comerica Bank Tower” Comerica Bank Tower

7. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_America_Center%2C_Houston” \o
“Bank of America Center, Houston” Bank of America Center

8. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Plaza_%28building%29” \o
“Heritage Plaza (building)” Heritage Plaza

Houston

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_Houston” \o “Architecture
of Houston” Architecture of Houston

Transportation

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_Texas” \o
“Transportation in Texas” Transportation in Texas

The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Department_of_Transportation” \o
“Texas Department of Transportation” Texas Department of Transportation
(TxDOT, pronounced “tex-dot”) is a HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government” \o “Government” governmental
agency that “provide[s] 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
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway” \o “Highway” highway
system, the agency is also responsible for HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation” \o “Aviation” aviation in the
state and overseeing HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport” \o “Public transport”
public transportation systems.

Highways

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_state_highways” \o “Texas state
highways” Texas state highways

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:45intoI-10_2.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

I-10 and I-45 interchange in Houston

Texas HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeway” \o “Freeway”
freeways have been heavily traveled since the 1948 opening of the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Freeway” \o “Gulf Freeway”
Gulf Freeway in HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston” \o
“Houston” Houston , and they are often under construction to meet the
demands of continuing growth. As of 2005, there were 79,535 miles
(127,999 km) of public highway in Texas (up from 71,000 in 1984). Texas
Department of Transportation (TxDOT) planners have sought ways to reduce
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_hour” \o “Rush hour”
rush hour congestion, primarily through HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_occupancy_vehicle” \o “High occupancy
vehicle” high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for vans and carpools. The
” HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_T” \o “Texas T” 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, San Antonio, Dallas, and El Paso have extensive
networks of freeway cameras linked to transit control centers to monitor
and study traffic.

One characteristic of Texas’s freeways is the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontage_road” \o “Frontage road”
frontage road , found even in the most remote areas. Frontage roads
provide access to the freeway from businesses alongside, such as gas
stations and retail stores. Alongside most freeways, together with the
frontage roads are two to four lanes in each direction parallel to the
freeway permitting easy access to individual city streets. New
landscaping projects and a longstanding ban on new billboards are ways
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston,
Texas” Houston has tried to control the potential side effects of this
convenience road.

Another common characteristic found near Texas overpasses are the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_U-turn” \o “Texas U-turn”
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.

In the western part of the state, both HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-10” \o “I-10” I-10 and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-20” \o “I-20” I-20 have a speed limit
of 80 MPH, the highest in the nation.

Airports

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dfw_airport.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas-Fort_Worth_International_Airport”
\o “Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport” Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport

The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas-Fort_Worth_International_Airport”
\o “Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport” Dallas-Fort Worth
International Airport , located nearly equidistant from HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Dallas” \o “Downtown Dallas”
downtown HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas%2C_Texas” \o
“Dallas, Texas” Dallas and downtown HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth%2C_Texas” \o “Fort Worth,
Texas” Fort Worth , is the largest airport in the state, the second
largest in the United States, and fourth largest in the world.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-51” \o “” [86] In
terms of traffic, DFW is the busiest in the state, third busiest in the
United States, and sixth busiest in the world.[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed” \o
“Wikipedia:Citation needed” citation needed ] The airport serves 135
domestic destinations and 37 international. DFW is the largest and main
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_hub” \o “Airline hub”
hub for HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines” \o
“American Airlines” American Airlines (900 daily departures), the
world’s largest in terms of total passengers-miles transported
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-52” \o “” [87] and
passenger fleet size, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-53” \o “” [88] .

Texas’s second-largest air facility is Houston’s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bush_Intercontinental_Airport” \o
“George Bush Intercontinental Airport” George Bush Intercontinental
Airport (IAH), which is the ninth-busiest in the United States for
total passengers, and nineteenth-busiest worldwide. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston, Texas”
Houston is the headquarters of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Airlines” \o “Continental
Airlines” Continental Airlines , and is the airline’s largest hub, with
over 750 daily departures (most operated by Continental). A long list of
cities within Texas, as well as international destinations are served
directly from this airport; with 30 destinations in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico” \o “Mexico” Mexico , IAH offers
service to more Mexican destinations than any other U.S. airport. IAH
currently ranks second among U.S. airports with scheduled non-stop
domestic and international service (221 destinations), trailing only
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta%2C_Georgia” \o “Atlanta,
Georgia” Atlanta Hartsfield with 250 destinations.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Airlines” \o
“Southwest Airlines” Southwest Airlines , the largest domestic carrier
in the United States began its operations at HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Love_Field” \o “Dallas Love Field”
Dallas Love Field . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l
“_note-54” \o “” [89] and is still headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It
is the largest airline in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States by number of passengers carried domestically per year and the
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_largest_airlines” \l
“By_scheduled_passengers_carried” \o “World’s largest airlines” second
largest airline in the world by number of passengers carried.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-55” \o “” [90]

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airports_in_Texas” \o “List of
airports in Texas” List of airports in Texas

Passenger rail transportation

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:METRORail_5.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

METRORail in Houston

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Area_Rapid_Transit” \o
“Dallas Area Rapid Transit” Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), the
Dallas area public transportation authority, began operating the first
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail” \o “Light rail”
light rail system in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_United_States” \o “Southwest
United States” Southwest United States in 1996 and continues to expand
its coverage. The DART lightrail currently covers 48 miles (77 km) of
track. DART currently has three lines (Blue, Green, and Red) with 35
stations in multiple cities including Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and
Garland. Current construction will add an additional 46.2 miles of rail
with 28 new stations. The DART light rail system remained the only one
in Texas until METRORail opened in Houston in 2004.

The HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Transit_Authority_of_Harris_C
ounty%2C_Texas” \o “Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County,
Texas” Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas (METRO)
operates HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_rail” \o “Light
rail” light rail service in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris_County%2C_Texas” \o “Harris County,
Texas” Harris County , which includes HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston, Texas”
Houston . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Transit_Authority_of_Harris_C
ounty%2C_Texas” \o “Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County,
Texas” METRO ‘s light rail in Houston started on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_1” \o “January 1” January 1 ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004” \o “2004” 2004 .
Currently the track runs about 8 miles (13 km) from HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Houston” \o “Downtown Houston”
Downtown Houston to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Medical_Center” \o “Texas Medical
Center” Texas Medical Center and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Park” \o “Reliant Park” Reliant
Park . METRO also operates bus service in Harris County and to two
cities in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bend_County%2C_Texas” \o “Fort Bend
County, Texas” Fort Bend County . METRO is in the process of adding
over 30 more miles of light rail, as well as 28 miles (45 km) of
commuter rail by the year 2015.

Currently, intercity passenger rail service in Texas is limited from
both network and frequency viewpoint, with just three HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak” \o “Amtrak” Amtrak trains
serving the state: the daily HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Eagle” \o “Texas Eagle” Texas Eagle
(Chicago–San Antonio), the tri-weekly HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Limited” \o “Sunset Limited”
Sunset Limited (New Orleans–Los Angeles), and the daily HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_Flyer” \o “Heartland Flyer”
Heartland Flyer (Fort Worth–Oklahoma City).

Healthcare and medicine

HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:FlightHoustontoDallas086.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Aerial of Texas Medical Center in Houston

Texas is home to three of the world’s elite research medical centers:
the renowned HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Medical_Center” \o “Texas Medical
Center” Texas Medical Center in Houston, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_C
enter_at_Dallas” \o “University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas” UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas_Medical_Center” \o “South
Texas Medical Center” South Texas Medical Center in San Antonio—all
hosting some of the world’s most prestigious schools in the health
sciences.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas” \o “Houston,
Texas” Houston is home to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Medical_Center” \o “Texas Medical
Center” Texas Medical Center , the world’s largest concentration of
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research” \o “Research”
research and HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare” \o
“Healthcare” healthcare institutions. There are 45 member institutions
in the Texas Medical Center HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-56” \o “” [91] —all are HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-profit_organization” \o “Non-profit
organization” non-profit organizations , and are dedicated to the
highest standards of patient and preventive care, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research” \o “Research” research ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education” \o “Education”
education , and local, national, and international community well-being.
These institutions include 13 renowned hospitals and two specialty
institutions, two HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_school” \o “Medical school”
medical schools , four HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_school” \o “Nursing school”
nursing schools , and schools of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentistry” \o “Dentistry” dentistry ,
public health, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacy” \o
“Pharmacy” pharmacy , and virtually all health-related careers. It is
where one of the first, and still the largest, air emergency services
was created—a very successful inter-institutional transplant program was
developed—and the most HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_surgery” \o “Heart surgery” heart
surgeries are performed there in the world.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio” \o “San Antonio”
San Antonio ‘s HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas_Medical_Center” \o “South
Texas Medical Center” South Texas Medical Center facilities rank sixth
in clinical medicine research impact in the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States” \o “United States” United
States HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-57” \o “”
[92] with the HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTHSCSA” \o
“UTHSCSA” University of Texas Health Science Center recognized as a
“world leading research and educational institution”. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-58” \o “” [93] The
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas_Medical_Center” \o
“South Texas Medical Center” South Texas Medical Center hosts no less
than 12 hospitals, 45 medical institutions, and 3 universities, housing
the nation’s top schools in HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharmacy” \o “Pharmacy” pharmacy
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-59” \o “” [94] and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentistry” \o “Dentistry”
dentistry . HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-60” \o
“” [95]

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas” \o “Dallas” Dallas
is home to the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Heart_Association” \o “American
Heart Association” American Heart Association and the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_C
enter_at_Dallas” \o “University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas” UT Southwestern Medical Center , “among the top academic
medical centers in the world”. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-61” \o “” [96] The
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_S
chool” \o “University of Texas Southwestern Medical School” University
of Texas Southwestern Medical School at the center employs the most
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_laureates” \o “Nobel
laureates” Nobel laureates working of any medical school in the world.
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-62” \o “” [97]
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-63” \o “” [98]

Texas has eight medical schools, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-64” \o “” [99] three dental
schools, and one HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optometry” \o
“Optometry” optometry school, all involved in research and clinical
operations. These include the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_College_of_Medicine” \o “Baylor
College of Medicine” Baylor College of Medicine , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Health_Science_Center_
at_Houston” \o “University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston”
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Southwestern_Medical_C
enter_at_Dallas” \o “University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at
Dallas” UT Southwestern , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_Medical_Branch” \o
“University of Texas Medical Branch” University of Texas Medical Branch
, and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_University_of_Texas_M._D._Anderson_Can
cer_Center” \o “The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center”
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center . The M. D.
Anderson Cancer Center is widely considered one of the world’s most
productive and highly-regarded academic institutions devoted to cancer
patient care, research, education and prevention. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-65” \o “” [100]

Texas has two HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosafety_Level_4” \o “Biosafety Level 4”
Biosafety Level 4 laboratories: one at The University of Texas Medical
Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/”
\l “_note-66” \o “” [101] and the other at the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Foundation_for_Biomedical_Resear
ch” \o “Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research” Southwest
Foundation for Biomedical Research in San Antonio—the first privately
owned BSL-4 lab in the United States. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-67” \o “” [102]

In May 2006, Texas initiated the program “code red” in response to the
report that Texas—at 25.1 percent—has the largest un-insured population
of the nation. HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-68”
\o “” [103]

See also: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hospitals_in_Texas” \o “List of
hospitals in Texas” List of hospitals in Texas

Education

Main article: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Texas” \o “Education in
Texas” Education in Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Newmain.JPG” \o
“Enlarge”

Texas A&M University

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Lovett_Hall.jpg” \o
“Enlarge”

Rice University

There are more than 100 colleges and universities and dozens of
institutions engaged in research and development in Texas. Most public
universities are members of five different systems: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Houston_System” \o
“University of Houston System” University of Houston , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_North_Texas_System” \o
“University of North Texas System” University of North Texas ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_System” \o
“University of Texas System” University of Texas , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University_System” \o “Texas
A&M University System” Texas A&M University , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_State_University_System” \o “Texas
State University System” Texas State , and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Tech_University_System” \o “Texas
Tech University System” Texas Tech . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_at_Austin” \o
“University of Texas at Austin” The University of Texas at Austin ,
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University” \o
“Texas A&M University” Texas A&M University , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Texas_at_Dallas” \o
“University of Texas at Dallas” University of Texas at Dallas and
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Houston” \o
“University of Houston” University of Houston are Texas’s four largest
comprehensive doctoral degree-granting institutions with a combined
enrollment of over 145,000.

The state also has many private universities. HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_University” \o “Rice University”
Rice University —one of the country’s leading teaching and research
universities—ranked the 17th-best university overall in the nation by
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._News_%26_World_Report” \o
“U.S. News & World Report” U.S. News & World Report . HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_note-69” \o “” [104]
Additionally, HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baylor_University” \o “Baylor University”
Baylor University —the oldest university in the state—was chartered by
the Republic of Texas.

The state’s public school systems are administered by the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Education_Agency” \o “Texas
Education Agency” Texas Education Agency (TEA). Texas has over 1,000
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_district” \o “School
district” school districts —all but one of the school districts in
Texas are separate from any form of HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_government” \o “Municipal
government” municipal government . School districts may (and often do)
cross city and county boundaries—an exception to this rule is
HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Municipal_School_District” \o
“Stafford Municipal School District” Stafford Municipal School District
. School districts have the power to HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation” \o “Taxation” tax their
residents and to use HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain” \o “Eminent domain”
eminent domain .

Texas also has numerous HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_schools” \o “Private schools”
private schools of all types. The TEA has no authority over private
school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and
achievement tests are not required for private school graduating
seniors. Many private schools obtain accreditation and perform
achievement tests to show parents the school’s interest in educational
performance.

The state has some of the least restrictions on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling” \o “Homeschooling” home
school . Neither TEA nor the local school district has authority to
regulate home school activities. There is no minimum number of days in a
year, or hours in a day, that must be met, and achievement tests are not
required for home school graduating seniors. The validity of home
schooling was challenged in Texas, but a landmark case, Leeper v.
Arlington ISD, ruled that home schooling was legal and that the state
had little authority to regulate the practice.

Further information: HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Texas
” \o “List of colleges and universities in Texas” List of colleges and
universities in Texas and HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_districts_in_Texas” \o
“List of school districts in Texas” List of school districts in Texas .

See also

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas-related_topics”
\o “List of Texas-related topics” List of Texas-related topics

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Texas” \o
“List of cities in Texas” List of cities in Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Texas” \o “Mexican
Texas” Mexican Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Texas” \o “History
of Texas” History of Texas

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas” \o
“Republic of Texas” Republic of Texas

Footnotes

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-0” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/CBSA-est2006-pop-chg.htm
l” \o
“http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/CBSA-est2006-pop-chg.htm
l”
http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/CBSA-est2006-pop-chg.html

^ HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-usgs_0” \o “” a
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-usgs_1” \o “” b
HYPERLINK “http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html”
\l “Highest” \o
“http://erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/elvadist/elvadist.html#Highest”
Elevations and Distances in the United States . U.S Geological Survey (
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_29” \o “April 29” 29
April HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005” \o “2005” 2005
). Retrieved on November 8, 2006.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-1” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/CBSA-
EST2006-01.csv” \o
“http://www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/metro_general/2006/CBSA-
EST2006-01.csv” [1]

^ HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-Txfacts_0” \o “”
a HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-Txfacts_1” \o “”
b HYPERLINK “http://www.texasalmanac.com/facts/” \o
“http://www.texasalmanac.com/facts/” Texas Almanac . Retrieved on
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11” \o “11” 11 , HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006” \o “2006” 2006 . Retrieved on 07,
2006.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-2” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK “http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Texas” \o
“http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Texas” Texas . Online
Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007” \o “2007” 2007 – HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_25” \o “February 25” 02-25 .

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-3” \o “” ^
Wallace Chafe, p.c.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-TSize1_0” \o “” ^
Farivar, Cyrus ( HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007” \o
“2007” 2007 – HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_26” \o
“June 26” 06-26 ). HYPERLINK
“http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/sun_supercomputer
” \o
“http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/sun_supercomputer
” Texas-Sized Supercomputer to Break Computing Power Record (HTML).
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_News” \o “Wired News”
Wired News . Retrieved on [[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008” \o “2008” 2008 – HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_30” \o “January 30” 01-30 ]].

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-TSize2_0” \o “” ^
Blumenthal, Ralph ( HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007” \o
“2007” 2007 HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_30” \o
“July 30” July 30 ). [ HYPERLINK
“http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/30/news/lake.php” \o
“http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/30/news/lake.php”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/30/news/lake.php Texas-sized
noxious weed threatens State’s largest natural lake] (HTML). HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Herald_Tribune” \o
“International Herald Tribune” International Herald Tribune . Retrieved
on [[ HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008” \o “2008” 2008 –
HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_30” \o “January 30”
01-30 ]].

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-nickname_0” \o “”
^ HYPERLINK “http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/tx_intro.htm” \o
“http://www.netstate.com/states/intro/tx_intro.htm” Texas (HTML).
NETSTATE.COM ( HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=12/11/2007&action=edit” \o
“12/11/2007” 12/11/2007 ). Retrieved on [[ HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=01/19/2007&action=edit” \o
“01/19/2007” 01/19/2007 ]].

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-4” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/msf1.html” \o
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/msf1.html” Flags
of Texas from the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handbook_of_Texas” \o “Handbook of Texas”
Handbook of Texas Online

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-5” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/II/bzi4.html” \o
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/II/bzi4.html”
Native Americans from the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handbook_of_Texas” \o “Handbook of Texas”
Handbook of Texas Online

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43.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-weber34_0” \o “” ^
Weber (1992), p. 34.

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-6” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fca6.html” \o
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/fca6.html” Alvar
Nunez Cabeza de Vaca from the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handbook_of_Texas” \o “Handbook of Texas”
Handbook of Texas Online

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-7” \o “” ^
HYPERLINK
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/nps1.html” \o
“http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/SS/nps1.html”
Spanish Texas from the HYPERLINK
“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handbook_of_Texas” \o “Handbook of Texas”
Handbook of Texas Online

HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/” \l “_ref-weber149_0” \o “”
^ Weber (1992), p. 149.

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