Texas State Facts

People
Population (2000): 20,851,820; rank: 2.
Pop. density: per sq. mi. (2000): 79.6.
Racial/ethnic distrib. (2000): 52.4% white; 11.5% black; 32.0% Hispanic or Latino; 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native; 2.7% Asian.
Net change (1990-2000): 22.8%

Geography

Texas is roughly spade shaped. The vast expanse of the state contains great regional differences (the distance from Beaumont to El Paso is greater than that from New York to Chicago).

East Texas

East Texas—the land between the Sabine and Trinity rivers—is Southern in character, with pine-covered hills, cypress swamps, and remnants of the great cotton plantations founded before the Civil War. Cotton farming has been supplemented by diversified agriculture, including rice cultivation; almost all of the state's huge rice crop comes from East Texas, and even the industrial cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur are surrounded by rice fields. The inland pines still supply a lumbering industry; Huntsville, Lufkin, and Nacogdoches are important lumber towns. The real wealth of East Texas, however, comes from its immense, rich oil fields. Longview is an oil center, and Tyler is the headquarters of the East Texas Oil Field. Oil is also the economic linchpin of Beaumont and Port Arthur and the basis for much of the heavy industry that crowds the Gulf Coast.

Gulf Coast

The industrial heart of the coastal area is Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation. Houston's development was spearheaded by the digging (1912–14) of a ship canal to the Gulf of Mexico, and the city today is the nation's second largest port in tonnage handled. Other Gulf ports in Texas are Galveston, Texas City, Brazosport (formerly Freeport), Port Lavaca, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville.

The S Gulf Coast is a popular tourist area, and some of the ports, such as Galveston and Corpus Christi, have economies dependent on both heavy industry and tourism. Brownsville, the southernmost Texas city and the terminus of the Intracoastal Waterway, is also the shipping center for the intensively farmed and irrigated Winter Garden section along the lower Rio Grande, where citrus fruits and winter vegetables are grown.

Rio Grande Valley

The long stretch of plains along the Rio Grande valley is largely given over to cattle ranching. Texas has c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) of border with Mexico. Some S and W Texas towns are bilingual, and in some areas persons of Mexican descent make up the majority of the population. Laredo is the most important gateway here to Mexico, with an excellent highway to Mexico City and important over-the-border commerce.

Blackland Prairies

The first region to be farmed when Americans came to Texas in the 1820s was the bottomland of the lower Brazos and the Colorado, but not until settlers moved into the rolling blackland prairies of central and N central Texas was the agricultural wealth of the area realized. The heart of this region is the trading and shipping center of Waco; at the southwest extremity is San Antonio, the commercial center of a wide cotton, grain, and cattle country belt. To the north, Dallas and the neighboring city of Fort Worth together form one of the most rapidly developing U.S. metropolitan areas. Their oil-refining, grain-milling, and cotton- and food-processing capabilities have been supplemented since World War II by aircraft-manufacturing and computer and electronics industries.

High Plains

The Balcones Escarpment marks the western margin of the Gulf Coastal Plain; in central Texas the line is visible in a series of waterfalls and rough, tree-covered hills. To the west lie the south central plains and the Edwards Plateau; they are essentially extensions of the Great Plains but are sharply divided from the high, windswept, and canyon-cut Llano Estacado (Staked Plain) in the W Panhandle by the erosive division of the Cap Rock Escarpment.

No traces of the subtropical lushness of the Gulf Coastal Plain are found in these regions; the climate is semiarid, with occasional blizzards blowing across the flat land in winter. The Red River area, including the farming and oil center of Wichita Falls, can have extreme cold in winter, though without the severity that is intermittently experienced in Amarillo, the commercial center of the Panhandle, or in the dry-farming area around Lubbock. Cattle raising began here in the late 1870s (settlers were slow in coming to the High Plains), and huge ranches vie with extensive wheat and cotton farms for domination of the treeless land. Oil and grain, however, have revolutionized the economy of this section of the state.

West Texas

All of West Texas (that part of the state west of long. 100°W) is semiarid. South of the Panhandle lie the rolling plains around Abilene, a region cultivated in cotton, sorghum, and wheat and the site of oil fields discovered in the 1940s. The dry fields of West Texas are still given over to ranching, except for small irrigated areas that can be farmed. San Angelo serves as the commercial center of this area. The Midland-Odessa oil patch lies northeast of the Pecos River and is part of the Permian (West Texas) Basin, an oil field that extends into SE New Mexico.

The land beyond the Pecos River, rising to the mountains with high, sweeping plains and rough uplands, offers the finest scenery of Texas. There are found the Davis Mts. and Guadalupe Peak, the highest point (8,751 ft/2,667 m) in the state. The wilderness of the Big Bend of the Rio Grande is typical of the barrenness of most of this area, where water and people are almost equally scarce. El Paso, with diverse industries and major cross-border trade with Mexico, is a population oasis in the region.

Mineral resources compete with industry for primary economic importance in Texas. The state is the leading U.S. producer of oil, natural gas, and natural-gas liquids, despite recent production declines. It is also a major producer of helium, salt, sulfur, sodium sulfate, clays, gypsum, cement, and talc. Texas manufactures an enormous variety of products, including chemicals and chemical products, petroleum, food and food products, transportation equipment, machinery, and primary and fabricated metals. The development and manufacture of electronic equipment, such as computers, has in recent decades become one of the state's leading industries; the area around Dallas–Fort Worth has become known as “Silicon Prairie,” a name now also extended to Austin and its suburbs.

Agriculturally, Texas is one of the most important states in the country. It easily leads the nation in producing cattle, cotton, and cottonseed. Texas also has more farms, farmland, sheep, and lambs than any other state. Principal crops are cotton lint, grains, sorghum, vegetables, citrus and other fruits, and rice; the greatest farm income is derived from cattle, cotton, dairy products, and greenhouse products. Hogs, wool, and mohair are also significant. Among other important Texas crops are melons, wheat, pecans, oats, and celery. Texas also has an important commercial fishing industry. Principal catches are shrimp, oysters, and menhaden.

Per Capita Personal Income (1999): $19,617
Persons Below Poverty (1999): 15.4%

Education

High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, (2000): 75.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher, percent of persons age 25+, (2000): 23.2%
Language other than English spoken at home, pct age 5+, (2000): 31.2%

State Data

Nickname: The Lone Star State.
Motto: Friendship, "Don't mess with Texas."
Flower: Bluebonnet
Bird: Mockingbird
Tree: Pecan
Song: "Texas, Our Texas"
The Caddo Indians of eastern Texas called their group of tribes the "Tejas," meaning "those who are friends".

History

From its humble beginnings as a cotton-shipping port to its designation as the "Energy Capital of the World," Houston has enjoyed more than 160 years of existence.

The Early Years The first settlement in this area was actually started by John Harris in 1826 and was called Harrisburg. At that time, the area was still under Mexican rule, but Texans were growing increasingly discontent. Ten years later in 1836, war between Texas and Mexico was in full swing, and Harrisburg was destroyed by Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna as he chased the Texas army across the area. A short week later, General Sam Houston led the Texas troops to victory and independence at the Battle of San Jacinto.

Later that same year, two brothers and land speculators from New York, Augustus and John Allen, purchased land near the burned-out remains of Harrisburg and started a new settlement. They decided to name the new city after Sam Houston, in honor of his amazing victory at San Jacinto and his new status as the first president of the Republic of Texas. They also managed to convince the first Congress of the Republic of Texas to move to Houston. However, the move didn't quite take, and the government relocated to Austin after two years.

Industrial & Scientific Growth With its economy based primarily on the shipping of cotton, the town grew slowly during the early years. After the widening and deepening of Buffalo Bayou—now part of the Houston Ship Channel—in 1869 and the periodic addition of railway systems, the town began to grow into a transportation center for southeast Texas. The city's full-blown surge into expansion and prosperity was brought about by the discovery of oil in the area in 1901. The construction of refineries and other petroleum-related industries began during World War I; these were expanded during World War II. The completion of the Houston Ship Channel in 1914 established Houston's importance in the shipping world, and the city hasn't stopped growing since.

Houston's prestigious billing as the "Energy Capital of the World" is a fact that is well known, but energy is only a small part of what makes the city the thriving corporate center it has become. The chemical industry produces almost half of the United States' petrochemical supply. Manufacturing firms are valued at over $54 billion, and one out of every three jobs in the area is tied to international business in some way. With the Port of Houston serving as the second largest port in the U.S. in total tonnage, the import/export trade always thrives as well. Numerous computer companies have located their headquarters and data processing operations here—including Compaq Computer Corporation—and over 400 local firms are involved in software development. Electronics companies abound, and engineering firms employ nearly 47,000 engineers and architects in various fields.

Houston medical facilities oversee the health of residents and people across the globe; local medical centers provide some of the best patient care, medical research and medical education in the world. The renowned Texas Medical Center is highly respected for its pioneering work in cardiac and organ-transplant surgery and cancer treatment. Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, M.D. Andersen Cancer Center and many other prestigious institutions are located here.

And last, but certainly not least; remember those first, fateful words spoken from the moon? "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Houston's past and future impact on the aerospace industry is in a league of its own. Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, the mission control headquarters for manned U.S. space flights, has played a significant role in further developing and expanding Houston's contribution to scientific fields.

Ethnic Diversity The city's extreme industrial diversity has resulted in a cultural blend that is equally impressive. With over 60 primary languages spoken in the homes of Houston Independent School District families, Houston is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. It has been further estimated that an additional 30 languages are also spoken on a smaller scale.

Residents typically have a broad knowledge of and a great deal of respect for other world cultures and enjoy numerous cultural events every year. Along with common neighborhood events, Express Theater has become extremely popular over the years by offering productions that illustrate the values of these different ethnic cultures. Needless to say, ethnic diversity has also broadened the horizons in the restaurant world. The number of cultures and cuisines represented throughout Houston is both impressive and appreciated. Cultural & Artistic Growth Ima Hogg, a renowned local philanthropist, first blessed Houston's arts and culture scene back in 1913 when he established the Houston Symphony. In the years since then, Houston has gained a formidable reputation as a world-class center for the arts. The 17-block Theater District is home to numerous performing arts organizations and is second only to New York's Broadway for number of theater seats (over 12,000) in a concentrated area. It is also one of the few U.S. cities that has its own professional symphony orchestra and resident professional companies in ballet, opera and theater. More than 200 visual and performing arts organizations are currently active in the Houston arts scene.

The visual arts are equally represented in the numerous museums and galleries that are located primarily in the Museum District. In 1987, The Menil Collection opened and added a new sense of prestige to Houston's museum scene. It boasts what is recognized as one of the finest private collections in the country. With more than $100 million poured into the economy by the television and motion picture industry recently, the city is also emerging as a prominent force for Hollywood businesses.

Education To a large extent, the growth and development of Houston has been based on the education of its residents. The city has always put significant emphasis on the education of children at both the primary and secondary levels. Several of the local school districts traditionally win state and national achievement awards for academic aptitude.

To this day, residents of Houston are more likely to have completed four years of college than the rest of the U.S. adult population. The city boasts some excellent universities and colleges. Among them are the very prestigious and highly acclaimed Rice University, which first opened for classes in 1891, the University of Houston (1927), Texas Southern University (1947), University of Saint Thomas (1947) and Houston Baptist University (1960). Also, both Baylor and the University of Texas have prominent medical schools in the Texas Medical Center. More than 240,000 students are currently enrolled in colleges and universities in the area.

The Big Picture From tiny cow-town to the fourth largest city in the U.S., Houston has had quite a historical journey. Petroleum might be what launched the city on the path to growth and success, but it is the diverse population and quality of life that make it a city worth living in and visiting. Houston is truly an international city in every sense of the word.