Texas State Flag |
Texas State Seal |
Texas Location |
Texas
Texas
is a state located in the United
States of America. The 28th U.S. state, Texas
joined the United States in
1845. Its postal abbreviation is TX.
The state name derives
from a word in a Caddoan language of the Hasinai, táysha? (or
tejas, as the Spaniards spelled it), meaning friends or allies. Spanish
explorers mistakenly applied the word to the people and their location.
With an area of
696,241 km2 and a population of 22.5 million, Texas
is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the
largest state in the contiguous 48 states in area. (Alaska is the largest
U.S. state in area and California
is the most populous.) Texas
has historically had a "larger than life" reputation, especially
in cowboy films.
| Capital |
Austin |
|
| Largest
City |
Houston |
| Governor
(2005) |
Rick
Perry (R) |
Area
- Total
- Land
- Water
- % water |
696,241 km² (2nd)
678,907 km²
17,333 km²
2.5% |
Population
- Total (2000)
- Density |
20,851,820 (2nd)
30.75 /km² (28th) |
Admittance
into Union
- Date
- Order |
December 29, 1845
28th |
| Time
zone |
Central: UTC-6/-5
Mountain: UTC-7/-6 (part of west Texas) |
Latitude
Longitude |
25°50'N
to 36°30'N
93°31'W to 106°38'W |
Width
Length
Elevation
- Highest
- Mean
- Lowest |
1,065
km
1,270 km
Guadalupe Peak, 2,667 m
520 m
0 m |
| ISO
3166-2 |
US-TX
|
| State
nickname |
Lone
Star State |
| Official
Languages |
None.
English and Spanish are de facto. |
|
|
Geography
Texas
borders New Mexico on the
west, Oklahoma on the north
(across the Red River), and Louisiana
(across the Sabine River) and Arkansas
on the east. To the southwest, across the Rio Grande, Texas
borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León,
and Tamaulipas. To the southeast of Texas lies the Gulf of Mexico.
Texas
lies in the south-central part of the United
States of America. Texas
is considered to form part of the US South and part of the U.S. Southwest.
Some regions of Texas are
associated with the Southwest more than the South, while other regions
are associated with the South more than the Southwest. Texas
shares some cultural elements with both regions, with more similarities
with the South, especially Arkansas
and Louisiana, in East Texas,
and more similarities with the Southwest, especially Mexico and New
Mexico, in West Texas and South Texas.
Natural
Geography
Texas
has five major topographic regions:
The Coastal Plain,
from the Gulf of Mexico inland to about San
Antonio and just southeast of Austin
The Hill Country and Edwards Plateau, a hilly rocky area in central
Texas bordered on the east by the Balcones Fault zone and Blackland
Prairie.
The Great Plains region extends into northern Texas, including the Llano
Estacado and the Panhandle High Plains
The North Central Plains
The Trans-Pecos Desert, a subdivision of the Chihuahuan Desert, in extreme
western Texas, west of the Pecos River
   
Geology
Texas
is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south
against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. It is mostly sedimentary
rocks, with east Texas underlain by a Cretaceous and younger sequence
of sediments, the trace of ancient shorelines east and south until the
active continental margin of the Gulf of Mexico is met. This sequence
is built atop the subsided crest of the Appalachian Mountains–Ouachita
Mountains–Marathon Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental
collision, which collapsed when rifting in Jurassic time opened the
Gulf. West from this orogenic crest, which is buried beneath the Dallas–Waco–Austin–San
Antonio trend, the sediments are Permian and Triassic in age. Oil
is found in the Cretaceous sediments in the east, the Permian sediments
in the west, and along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental
shelf. A few exposures of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks
are found in the central and western parts of the state, and Oligocene
volcanic rocks are found in far west Texas, in the Big
Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala
formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer.
Texas has no active or dormant
volcanoes and few earthquakes, being situated far from an active plate
tectonic boundary.
History
Texas
can claim that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the Fleur-de-lis
of France, and the national flags of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of
Texas, the United States of America
and the Confederate States of America.
Native American
tribes that once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas
include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa,
and Wichita. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native
American tribes which reside in Texas:
the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe
of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.
On November 6, 1528
shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza
de Vaca became the first known European to set foot on Texas.
A member of the Narváez expedition, he was later enslaved by
a Native American tribe of the upper Gulf coast, and explored what are
now the U.S. states of Texas,
New Mexico and Arizona
on foot from coastal Louisiana
to Sinaloa, Mexico, over a period of roughly six years. He returned
to Europe in 1537, where he wrote about his experiences in a work called
La relación ("The Tale").
 Prior
to 1821, Texas was part
of the Spanish colony of New Spain. After Mexican independence in 1821,
Texas became part of Mexico
and in 1824 became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On 3 January
1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 American families along
the Brazos River in present-day Fort Bend County and Brazoria County,
centered primarily in the area of what is now Sugar
Land. This group became known as the "Old Three Hundred."
The "Conventions" of 1832 and 1833 responded to rising unrest
at the policies of the ruling Mexican government. Policies that most
irritated the Texians included the Mexican ban on slavery, the forcible
disarmament of Texian settlers, and the expulsion of illegal immigrants
from the United States of America.
The example of the Centralista forces' suppression of dissidents in
Zacatecas also inspired fear of the Mexican government.
On March 2, 1836,
the "Convention of 1836" signed the Texas "Declaration
of Independence," declaring Texas
an independent nation. On April 21, 1836 the Texians won their independence
when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of
San Jacinto. Santa Anna himself passed into captivity, and on May 14,
Republic of Texas officials and General Santa Anna signed the treaty
of Velasco. The Republic of Texas included all the area now included
in the state of Texas, although
its self-proclaimed western and northwestern borders extended as far
west as Santa
Fe and as far northwest as present-day Wyoming,
respectively.
 In
1845, Texas was admitted
to the United States as a constituent
state of the Union. Annexation was mutually beneficial to Texas
and the United States. Texas
was in a very susceptible position following independence, with a weak
government, little industry, and minimal infrastructure. The U.S. could
not allow such a tenuous nation to sit right on its border. Texas
also lay partially in the way of the U.S. expansion to the Pacific,
and its "Manifest Destiny." The major stumbling block of annexation,
besides the potential for war with Mexico, was the fact that Texas
was a slave state and potentially would tip the balance between free
and slave states due to its huge size. Some southerners were pushing
for the ability to divide Texas
into multiple states, thereby increasing the number of slave states
even more. A compromise was reached in that if Texas
were divided, any states north of the Missouri Compromise would be free
states.
During the Civil
War, Texas seceded from
the Union and joined the Confederate States of America. In 1870, the
United States Congress readmitted Texas
into the Union.
Texas
today is a state thoroughly steeped in tradition, yet equally embracing
of new social and technological developments. From the state capital
of Austin (also
headquarters of Dell Computers and known as "Silicon Hills")
to the cosmopolitan air of Dallas,
to the oil-and-finance rich industry of Houston
to the Latinesque cultures of San
Antonio and El
Paso, the state tourism slogan truly fits: "Texas: It's like
a whole other country."
Law and Government
State Law and Government
 Austin
is the capital of Texas.
The State Capitol resembles the federal Capitol Building in Washington,
DC, but is faced in pink granite and is topped by a statue of the
"Goddess of Liberty" holding aloft a five-point Texas star.
Like several other southern state capitols, it faces south instead of
north. The capitol building is taller than the U.S. national capitol,
but less massive.
Republican Rick
Perry has served as Governor of Texas since December 2000 when George
W. Bush vacated the office to assume the Presidency. Two Republicans
represent Texas in the U.S.
Senate: Kay Bailey Hutchison (since 1993) and John Cornyn (since 2002).
Texas has 32 representatives
in the U.S. House of Representatives: 21 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
The current Texas
constitution, adopted in 1876, is the second longest in the nation.
As with many 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 Bill of Rights, and includes
some provisions unique to Texas.
The executive branch
consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public
Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner,
the three-member Railroad Commission, the State Board of Education,
and the Secretary of State. The Comptroller decides if expected state
income is sufficient to cover the propsed state budget. Except for the
Secretary of State—who is appointed by the Governor with the advice
and consent of the Senate—each of these officials is elected.
There are also a large number of state agencies and numerous boards
and commissions. Partly because of the large number of elected officials,
the Governor's powers are quite limited in comparison to other state
governors or the U.S. President. In popular lore and belief the Lieutenant
Governor, who heads the Senate and appoints its committees, has more
power than the Governor. The Governor commands the state militia and
can veto bills passed by the Legislature and call special sessions of
the Legislature. He or she also appoints members of various executive
boards and fills judicial vacancies between elections.
The Legislature
of Texas, like the legislature of every other state except Nebraska,
is bicameral (that is, has two chambers). The House of Representatives
has 150 members, while the Senate has 31. The speaker of the house,
currently Tom Craddick (R-Midland) leads the House, and the Lieutenant
Governor (currently Republican David Dewhurst) leads the State Senate.
The Legislature meets in regular session only once every two years.
The judicial system
of Texas has a reputation as one of the most complex in the United
States—if not in the world—with many layers and many
overlapping jurisdictions. Texas
has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court—which hears
civil cases—and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except in
the case of some municipal benches, partisan elections choose all of
the judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies
by appointment.
County Government
Texas
has a total of 254 counties, by far the most counties of any state.
Each county is run by a "commissioners court" consisting of
four elected commissioners (one from each of four precincts drawn based
on population) and a "county judge" elected from all the voters
of the county. The county judge does not have authority to veto a decision
of the commissioners court, s/he votes along with the commissioners.
In smaller counties, the county judge actually does perform judicial
duties, but in larger counties the judge's role is limited to serving
on the commissioners court. Certain officials such as the sheriff and
tax collector are elected separately by the voters and state law specifies
their salaries, but the commissioners court determines their office
budgets.
Municipal Government
Texas
does not have townships; areas within a county are either "incorporated"
(i.e., part of a city, though the city may contract with the county
for needed services) or "unincorporated" (i.e., not part of
a city, in these areas the county has authority for law enforcement
and road maintenance).
Cities are classified
as either "general law" or "home rule". A city may
elect "home rule" status (i.e., draft an independent city
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. One example of the difference in the two structures
regards annexation. General law cities cannot annex adjacent unincorporated
areas without the property owner's consent; home rule cities may annex
without consent, but must provide essential services within a specified
period of time or the property owner may file suit to be deannexed.
School and Special Districts
In addition to
cities and counties, Texas
has numerous "special districts". The most common is the independent
school district, which (with one exception) has a board of trustees
that is independent of any other governing authority. School district
boundaries are not coaligned with city or county boundaries; it is not
uncommon for a school district to cover one or more counties or for
a large city to be served by several school districts.
Other special districts
include water supply, public hospitals, and community colleges.
Politics
Texas
politics is currently dominated by the Republican Party, which has strong
majorities in the Texas Senate and House of Representatives. Every executive
branch official elected statewide is Republican, as is every member
of Texas's two courts of last resort; no Democrat has won a statewide
election since 1994. The majority of the state's delegation to the U.S.
House of Representatives is Republican, as are both U.S. Senators.
Like other Southern
states, Texas historically
was a one-party state of the Democratic Party. The Democrats controlled
a majority in the Texas House and in the state's Congressional delegation
until the 2002 and 2004 elections, respectively. One of the most famous
Texans was a Democrat: Lyndon Baines Johnson served in the U.S. House
of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as vice-president and president
of the United States.
Demographics
|
The people of Texas, historically often known as
Texians, are now generally referred to as Texans.
As
of 2004, the state had a population of 22,490,022. The state has
3,450,500 foreign-born residents (15.6% of the state population),
of which an estimated 1.2 million are illegal aliens (illegal
aliens account for more than one-third of the foreign-born population
in Texas and 5.4%
of the total state population). The state's population grew 5.5
million between 1990 and 2004, a growth of 32.4%
Ethnic origins
More than
one-third of Texas
residents are of Hispanic origin and may be of any racial groups.
Some are recent arrivals from Mexico, Central America, or South
America, while others, known as Tejanos, have ancestors who have
lived in Texas since
before Texan independence, or at least for several generations.
Tejanos are the largest ancestral group in southern Duval County.
Perhaps numerically Mexican-Texans dominate south, south-central,
and west Texas and are a significant part of the work force of
cities of Dallas
and Houston.
Other population
groups in Texas also
exhibit great diversity. Frontier Texas saw settlements of Germans,
particularly in Fredericksburg
and New
Braunfels. In fact, the largest family in Texas
today is of German descent. After the European revolutions of
1848, German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and French immigration
grew, and continued until World War I. The influence of the diverse
immigrants from Europe survives in the names of towns, styles
of architecture, genres of music, and varieties of cuisine. Texans
of German descent dominate much of central and southeast-central
Texas and one county in the area, Lavaca, is predominately Czech.
In recent
years, the Asian population in Texas
has grown, especially in Houston
and in Dallas.
People from mainland China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand,
Indonesia India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan and other
countries have settled in Texas.
In August
2005, it was announced by the United States Census that Texas
has become the fourth minority-majority state in the nation (after
Hawaii, New
Mexico, and California).
According to the Texas
state Data Center, if current trends continue, Hispanics will
become a majority in the state by 2030.
| Demographics
of Texas |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
| Total |
22,490,022 |
22,103,374 |
21,723,220 |
21,334,855 |
20,851,820 |
| White
(Non-Hispanic) |
10,986,937 |
11,049,172
|
11,094,951 |
11,138,076 |
11,190,222
|
| |
49.8% |
50.4% |
51.1% |
51.8% |
52.7%
|
| Hispanic
(of any race) |
7,781,211 |
7,519,603 |
7,258,302 |
6,993,458 |
6,669,666 |
| |
34.6% |
34.0% |
33.4% |
32.8% |
32.0% |
| Black
(Non-Hispanic) |
2,535,285 |
2,500,125 |
2,463,047 |
2,426,088 |
2,378,444 |
| |
11.3% |
11.3% |
11.3% |
11.4% |
11.4%
|
| Asian
(Non-Hispanic) |
695,293 |
666,261 |
636,223 |
604,846 |
567,526
|
| |
3.1% |
3.0% |
2.9% |
2.8% |
2.7%
|
| Native
American (Non-Hispanic) |
77,662 |
76,071 |
74,538 |
72,762 |
70,405
|
| |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.3% |
0.3%
|
| Mixed/Other |
210,349 |
203,238 |
196,159
|
188,529
|
178,812
|
| |
0.9% |
0.9% |
0.9% |
0.9% |
0.9% |
All data comes
from the United States Census state population estimates.
The largest
reported ancestry groups in Texas
include: Mexican (24.3%), African American (11.5%), German (9.9%),
American (7.2%), and Irish (7.2%).
Much of east,
central, and north Texas is inhabited primarily by Texans of White
Anglo Saxon Protestant heritage, primarily descended from the
British Isles. African Americans, who historically made up one-third
of the state population, are concentrated in those parts of East
Texas where the ante-bellum cotton plantation culture was most
prominent.
Census data
reports 7.8% of Texas's population as under 5, 28.2% under 18,
and 9.9% over 64 years. Females made up 50.4% of the population.
|
| Historical
populations |
Census
year |
Population
|
1850 |
212,592 |
1860 |
604,215 |
1870 |
818,579 |
1880 |
1,591,749 |
1890 |
2,235,527 |
1900 |
3,048,710
|
1910 |
3,896,542 |
1920 |
4,663,228 |
1930 |
5,824,715 |
1940 |
6,414,824 |
1950 |
7,711,194 |
1960 |
9,579,677 |
1970 |
11,196,730 |
1980 |
14,229,191 |
1990 |
16,986,510 |
2000 |
20,851,820 |
|
Economy
 Texas
remained largely rural until World War II, with cattle ranching, oil,
and agriculture as its main industries. Contrary to popular mythology,
cattle ranching was never Texas's chief industry. Before the oil boom,
back to the period of the first anglo settlers, this was cotton farming
(as in most of the South).
In 1926 San
Antonio had over 120,000 people, the largest population of any city
in Texas. After World War
II, Texas became increasingly
industralized.
Its economy (circa
2000) relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas,
energy exploration and energy trading, agriculture, and manufacturing.
The state has two major economic centers: the Greater Houston
area and the Dallas/Fort
Worth Metroplex. Houston
stands at the center of the petrochemical and biomedical research trades
while Dallas
functions as the center of the agricultural and information technology
labor market in Texas. Other
major cities include San
Antonio, Austin,
Brownsville,
Lubbock, Amarillo,
Abilene, Beaumont,
McAllen, Tyler,
Odessa and Midland.
Other important cities include Killeen,
home to Fort
Hood the largest military Post in the U.S., El
Paso, Eagle
Pass, and Laredo;
these have particular significance due to their location on the border
with Mexico, making them important trade points.
The state passed
New York in the 1990s to
become the second-largest U.S. state in population (after California).
In 2001 Texas had a gross
state product of $764 billion. Texas's growth is often attributed to
the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing (housing values in
the Dallas and
Houston areas,
while generally rising, have not risen at the astronomical rates of
other areas such as San
Francisco), the lack of a personal state income tax, low taxation
of business, limited government (the state legislature of Texas meets
only once every two years), and favorable climate.
Film and television
Texas
is one of the top filmmaking states in the United
States, just after California
and New York. More than
$1.2 billion has been spent in Texas
just for filming since 1990.
The Texas Film Commission
was founded for free services to filmmakers, from location research
to traveling.
Important Cities and Towns
San Antonio |
Austin |
Fort Worth
|
Texas
has two global cities as Houston
and Dallas hold
the title of "Gamma World City" by the Globalization and World
Cities Study Group & Network (GaWC).
Ranked by population
of cities (incorporated municipalities), the five largest cities in
Texas are Houston,
San Antonio,
Dallas, Austin,
and Fort Worth.
Texas is the only state
to have three cities with populations exceeding 1 million (California
has two, no other state has more than one)--Houston,
San Antonio,
and Dallas,
which are also among the 10 largest cities of the United
States. Austin
and Fort Worth
are in the top 20 largest US cities.
Some cities not
listed are still considered important on the basis of other factors
and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics.
| Texas
rank |
U.S.
rank |
City |
Population |
Region |
1 |
4 |
|
2,012,626
|
Southeast
Texas |
2 |
8 |
|
1,236,249
|
Central
Texas |
3 |
9 |
|
1,210,393 |
North
Texas |
4
|
16 |
|
681,804 |
Central
Texas |
5 |
19 |
|
603,337 |
North
Texas |
Metropolitan areas
Texas
has 25 metropolitan areas (MSAs) defined by the United States Census
Bureau. The two largest are ranked among the top 10 United States metropolitan
areas. In 2003, the U.S. Census introduced "metropolitan divisions"
within some metropolitan areas. Texas
has two metropolitan divisions within the Dallas–Fort
Worth–Arlington
MSA.
The following table
lists population figures for those metropolitan areas, in rank of population.
Population figures are as of the 2003 U.S. Census estimates.
| Rank |
Metropolitan
Area |
Metropolitan
Division |
Population |
| 1 |
Dallas–Fort
Worth–Arlington
|
|
5,589,670 |
| |
|
Dallas–Plano–Irving
|
3,739,509 |
| |
|
Fort
Worth–Arlington |
1,850,161 |
| 2 |
Houston–Sugar
Land–Baytown |
|
5,075,733 |
| 3 |
San
Antonio |
|
1,820,719 |
| 4 |
Austin–Round
Rock |
|
1,377,633 |
| 5 |
El
Paso |
|
705,436 |
| 6 |
McAllen–Edinburg–Mission |
|
635,540 |
| 7 |
Corpus
Christi |
|
406,830 |
| 8 |
Beaumont–Port
Arthur |
|
382,629 |
| 9 |
Brownsville–Harlingen |
|
363,092 |
| 10 |
Killeen–Temple |
|
343,329 |
| 11 |
Lubbock |
|
257,188 |
| 12 |
Odessa–Midland
|
|
241,316 |
| 13 |
Amarillo |
|
233,231 |
| 14 |
Waco |
|
219,807 |
| 15 |
Laredo |
|
213,615 |
| 16 |
Longview–Marshall |
|
198,155 |
| 17 |
College
Station–Bryan |
|
192,603 |
| 18 |
Tyler |
|
184,015 |
| 19 |
Abilene |
|
158,488 |
| 20 |
Wichita
Falls |
|
149,653 |
| 21 |
Texarkana |
|
131,591 |
| 22 |
Sherman–Denison |
|
115,153 |
| 23 |
Victoria |
|
112,965 |
| 24 |
San
Angelo |
|
105,270 |
Education
Public schools
The public school
systems are administered by the Texas Education Agency.
All but one of the
school districts in Texas
are separate from any form of municipal government, hence they are called
"independent school districts," or "ISD" for short.
School districts may cross city and county boundaries. School districts
have the power to tax their residents and to use eminent domain.
The sole exception
to this rule is Stafford Municipal School District, which serves all
of the city of Stafford.
Colleges and Universities
 The
University of Texas System, established by the Texas Constitution in
1876, consisted of nine academic universities, six health institutions,
and UT System administration in 2004. UT System institutions enrolled
a total of 182,752 students in fall 2004 making it one of the largest
systems of higher education in the nation. In 2004, The University of
Texas at Austin,
which is the largest institution in the UT System and in the state
of Texas, maintained an enrollment of 50,377 students. The University
of Texas at Austin
was once the largest institution in the United
States, but it is now one of the top 3 largest by population and
is the world's 15th top ranking university. Seven doctoral programs
at UT Austin
rank in the top 10 in the nation and 22 degree programs rank in the
top 25, according to a comprehensive study of the quality of graduate
schools conducted by the United States National Research Council. Four
of the seven medical schools of Texas are within the University of Texas
System. In 2004, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
at Dallas was
ranked the 16th highest ranking medical school in the United
States, with four of Texas' eleven Nobel laureates.
The Texas A&M
University System is the second largest state university system of higher
learning in Texas. Its flagship
institution is Texas A&M University located in College
Station and is the state's oldest public institution of higher education.
Funded research generally exceeds that of all other Texas universities,
and Texas A&M ranks among the top ten national universities in research.
It is the second largest university in the state
of Texas and also one of the top 10 largest schools in the nation.
 The
University of Houston System is the largest urban state system of higher
education in the Gulf Coast, which has four universities with three
located in Houston.
Its flagship institution is the University of Houston, the only doctoral
degree granting extensive research institution in Houston
and is the third largest in the state
of Texas with an enrollment of over 36,000. The interdisciplinary
research conducted at UH breaks new ground in such vital areas as superconductivity,
space commercialization, biomedical engineering, economics, education,
petroleum exploration and management. UH is also home to over 40 research
centers and institutes. Amongst the most prestigious of the University
of Houston's colleges is the University of Houston Law Center (law school).
The UH Law Center's Health Law and Policy Institute is ranked number
one in the nation while the Intellectual Property Law Program is ranked
fifth, according to U.S. News & World Report.
 Houston
is home to the Texas Medical Center, the world's largest concentration
of research and healthcare institutions, such as Baylor College of Medicine,
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The University
of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, which now ranks as one of the
world's most productive and highly regarded academic institutions devoted
to cancer patient care, research, education, and prevention.
Houston
is the location of a well known prestigious private institution of Rice
University, which boasts one of the largest financial endowments of
any university in the world. The small undergraduate student body is
among the nation's most select and one of the highest percentages of
National Merit Scholarship winners. Rice University maintains a variety
of research facilities and laboratories. Rice is also associated with
the Houston Area Research Center, a consortium supported by Rice, the
University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, and the University
of Houston.
Transportation
| Interstate
highways
- Interstate
10
- Interstate
20
- Interstate
27
- Interstate
30
- Interstate
35
- Interstate
37
- Interstate
40
- Interstate
44
- Interstate
45
- Interstate
69 (proposed extension)
- Interstate
410
- Interstate
610 (Texas)
- Interstate
635
- Interstate
820
|
United
States highways
North-south routes
- U.S. Highway
59
- U.S. Highway
259
- U.S. Highway
67
- U.S. Highway
69
- U.S. Highway
75
- U.S. Highway
175
- U.S. Highway
271
- U.S. Highway
77
- U.S. Highway
277
- U.S. Highway
377
- U.S. Highway
79
- U.S. Highway
81
- U.S. Highway
181
- U.S. Highway
281
- U.S. Highway
83
- U.S. Highway
183
- U.S. Highway
285
- U.S. Highway
385
- U.S. Highway
87
- U.S. Highway
287
- U.S. Highway
96 (north-south despite number)
|
United
States highways
East-west routes
- U.S. Highway
54
- U.S. Highway
57 (east-west despite number)
- U.S. Highway
60
- U.S. Highway
62
- U.S. Highway
70
- U.S. Highway
66 (historic Route 66)
- U.S. Highway
80
- U.S. Highway
180
- U.S. Highway
380
- U.S. Highway
82
- U.S. Highway
84
- U.S. Highway
90
- U.S. Highway
190
- U.S. Highway
290
|
Professional Sports Teams
- National
Football League
- Dallas
Cowboys
- Houston
Texans
- Arena
Football League
- Austin
Wranglers
- Dallas
Desperados
- National
Indoor Football League
- Beaumont
Drillers
- Corpus
Christi Hammerheads
- Lubbock
Gunslingers
- Odessa
Roughnecks
- San
Angelo Stampede
- Women's
Professional Football League, Women's American football
- Dallas
Diamonds
- Houston
Energy
- Independent
Women's Football League
- National
Basketball Association
- Dallas
Mavericks
- Houston
Rockets
- San
Antonio Spurs
- Women's
National Basketball Association
- Houston
Comets
- San
Antonio Silver Stars
- National
Hockey League
- American
Hockey League
- Houston
Aeros
- San
Antonio Rampage
- Central
Hockey League
- Amarillo
Gorillas
- Austin
Ice Bats
- Fort
Worth Brahmas
- Lubbock
Cotton Kings
- Odessa
Jackalopes
|
- Major League
Baseball
- Houston
Astros
- Texas
Rangers
- Pacific
Coast League, Minor League Baseball
- Texas
League, Minor League Baseball
- Corpus
Christi Hooks
- Frisco
RoughRiders
- San
Antonio Missions
- Midland
RockHounds
- Central
Baseball League, Minor League Baseball
- Amarillo
Dillas (now defunct)
- Edinburg
Roadrunners
- Fort
Worth Cats
- Rio
Grande Valley White Wings
- San
Angelo Colts
- Major League
Soccer
- Major
Indoor Soccer League
- Dallas
Sidekicks (now defunct)
|
The Houston Oilers,
formerly based in Texas,
moved to Memphis
and later to Nashville,
Tennessee, and became the Tennessee Titans. Houston
also formerly had the Arena Football League team Houston Thunderbears,
and the Minor League Soccer team Houston Hotshots.
Through 2004, El
Paso had a minor-league baseball team in the Texas League, the El
Paso Diablos, but the club moved to Springfield,
Missouri after that season and became known as the Springfield Cardinals.
Miscellaneous
- Four ships of
the United States Navy have borne the name USS Texas in honor of the
state.
- Famous for their
role in the history of Texas
law enforcement, the Texas Rangers continue today to provide special
law enforcement services to the state.
- One state holiday,
Juneteenth (from "June" + "Nineteenth," its date),
commemorates the day in 1865 that the slaves in Texas
learned of the Emancipation Proclamation.
- At 311 feet,
Texas's capitol building in Austin
is taller than the capitol building in Washington,
D.C.
 State
designations and symbols
- state flower
— the bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis)
- state motto
— "Friendship"
- state nickname
— The Lone Star State (after the single star on several historical
flags of Texas, including
the current Texas flag)
- state tree —
the pecan
- state bird —
the mockingbird
- official state
song — Texas Our Texas
- state mammals
(three)
- small —
armadillo
- large —
Texas longhorn
- flying —
Mexican free-tailed bat
- Air Force —
Commemorative Air Force (formerly known as the Confederate Air Force),
based in Midland
- state dance
— Square Dance
- state dinosaur
— the Brachiosaur Sauropod, Pleurocoelus
- state dish —
chili con carne
- state fiber
and fabric — cotton
- state fish —
Guadalupe bass
- state folk dance
— square dance
- state fruit
— Texas red grapefruit
- state gem —
Texas blue topaz
- state gemstone
cut — The Lone Star Cut
- state grass
— Sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula)
- state insect
— monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
- musical instrument
— guitar
- state peppers
(two)
- native —
chiltepin
- other —
jalapeño
- state plant
— prickly pear cactus
- state reptile
— Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), commonly called
the "horny toad"
- state shell
— lightning whelk (Busycon perversum pulleyi)
- state ship —
the Battleship USS Texas (BB-35)
- state shrub
— crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica)
- state slogan
"It's like a whole other country", formerly was "Don't
mess with Texas"
- state sport
— rodeo
- state stone
— petrified palmwood
- state tartan
— Texas Bluebonnet Tartan
- state vegetable
— Texas sweet onion
The pledge
to the Texas Flag is:
Honor the Texas
Flag
I pledge allegiance to thee
Texas, one, and indivisible
The
above article in gray is licensed under the
It
uses material from the
|
