Texas
Texas State Information
www.texas.gov
Area (sq mi):: 268580.82 (land 261797.12; water 6783.70) Population per square mile: 87.30
Population 2005: 22,859,968 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 9.60%; 1990-2000 22.80% Population 2000: 20,851,820 (White 52.40%; Black or African American 11.50%; Hispanic or Latino 32.00%; Asian 2.70%; Other 14.90%). Foreign born: 13.90%. Median age: 32.30
Income 2000: per capita $19,617; median household $39,927; Population below poverty level: 15.40% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $28,313-$29,074
Unemployment (2004): 6.00% Unemployment change (from 2000): 1.60% Median travel time to work: 25.40 minutes Working outside county of residence: 21.40%
List of Texas counties:
Texas Parks
- US National Parks
- Urban Parks
- State Parks
- Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
- National Wildlife Refuges
- National Trails
- National Grasslands
- National Forests
- Marine Sanctuaries
Texas
Twenty-eighth state; admitted on December 29, 1845 (seceded from the Union on February 1, 1861, and was readmitted on March 30, 1870)
State capital: Austin Nickname: The Lone Star State State motto: Friendship State air force: Commemorative Air Force (formerly Con
federate Air Force) State bird: Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) State bread: Pan de campo State cooking implement: Cast iron dutch oven State dinosaurs: Brachiosaur sauropod and pleurocoelus State dish: Chili State dog breed: Blue Lacy State epic poem: “Legend of Old Stone Ranch” State fiber and fabric: Cotton State fish: Guadalupe bass State flower: Bluebonnet (Lupinus subcarnosus, Lupinus tex
ensis and all other varieties) State flower song: “Bluebonnets”
State footwear: Cowboy boot State flying mammal: Mexican free-tailed bat State folk dance: Square dance State fruit: Texas red grapefruit State gem: Texas blue topaz State gemstone cut: Lone star cut State grass: Sideoats Grama State health nut: Pecan State insect: Monarch butterfly State large mammal: Longhorn; small: Armadillo State maritime museum: Texas Maritime Museum State musical instrument: Guitar State native pepper: Chiltepin State native shrub: Texas purple sage State pastries: Sopaipilla; strudel State pepper: Jalapeno State petrified stone: Palmwood State plant: Prickly pear cactus State plays: The Lone Star; Texas; Beyond the Sundown; Fandangle
State precious metal: Silver
State railroad: Texas State Railroad
State reptile: Texas horned lizard
State rodeo drill team: Ghostriders
State song: “Texas, Our Texas”
State sport: Rodeo
State shell: Lightning whelk
State ship: USS Texas
State shrub: Crape myrtle
State snack: Tortilla chips and salsa
State tall ship: Elissa
State 10K: Texas Round-up 10K
State tartan: Texas Bluebonnet
State tie: Bolo tie
State tree: Pecan (Carya illinoensis)
State vegetable: Sweet onion
State vehicle: Chuck wagon
More about state symbols at:
www.texasonline.com/portal/tol/en/gov/1/4 www.senate.state.tx.us/kids/kids.htm
More about the state at:
www.tsl.state.tx.us/ref/abouttx/
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 867
AnnivHol-2000, p. 215
STATE OFFICES:
State web site:
www.texas.gov
Office of the Governor
PO Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-2000
fax: 512-463-1849
www.governor.state.tx.us
Secretary of State
PO Box 12697
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-5770
fax: 512-475-2761
www.sos.state.tx.us
Texas State Library 1201 Brazos Austin, TX 78701 512-463-5460 fax: 512-463-5436 www.tsl.state.tx.us
Legal Holidays:
| Christmas Eve | Dec 24 |
| Confederate Heroes Day | Jan 19 |
| Day after Christmas | Dec 26 |
| Day after Thanksgiving | Nov 25, 2011; Nov 23, 2012; Nov 29, 2013; Nov 28, 2014; Nov 27, 2015; Nov 25, 2016; Nov 24, 2017; Nov 23, 2018; Nov 29, 2019; Nov 27, 2020; Nov 26, 2021; Nov 25, 2022; Nov 24, 2023 |
| Emancipation Day | Jun 19 |
| Lyndon Baines Johnson Day | Aug 24 |
| San Jacinto Day | Apr 21 |
| Texas Independence Day | Mar 2 |
Texas
a state in the southern part of the United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. The country’s second largest state, after Alaska; fourth greatest in population, after California, New York, and Pennsylvania. Area, 692,000 sq km. Population, 12 million (1974), of which 80 percent is urban. The state’s capital is Austin; other important cities and economic centers include Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and San Antonio.
The West Gulf Coastal Plain covers the eastern part of the state. The plain rises in the west and passes into the Edwards Plateau (elevations to 835 m) and the Llano Estacado Plain (elevations to 1,200 m). There are spurs of the Rocky Mountains (elevations to 2,665 m) in the extreme western part of the state. The climate is hot and subtropical in the southeast and continental, with hot summers and cool winters, in the west. The average temperature in January is 1°–15°C; in July, it is 25°–30°C. Annual precipitation decreases from east to west, from 1,000–1,300 mm to 200–300 mm. The largest rivers are the Red, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado, and Rio Grande. Savanna vegetation and oak and pine forests have been preserved in certain areas.
Texas is an industrial and agricultural state. It ranks first in mining output, accounting for approximately 30 percent of the country’s total, and third in agricultural output. As of 1974, the economically active population totaled 4.5 million, of which 18.5 percent were employed in the manufacturing industry, 2.5 percent in the mining industry, 4.5 percent in agriculture, 23.5 percent in commerce, and 23 percent in other fields. Texas leads the country in the production of petroleum (approximately 200 million tons), natural gas (approximately 400 billion cu m), sulfur, and helium; complex ores, uranium, and anthracite are also mined. The capacity of the state’s power plants, almost all of which are nonnuclear thermal plants, exceeded 20 gigawatts in 1973.
The main industries of Texas are oil refining and chemical production, chiefly petrochemicals, used in turn to make synthetic resins, rubber, plastics, fertilizers, acids, and alkalies. These industries are centered along the Gulf of Mexico in Houston, Free-port, Beaumont, and Corpus Christi. The aerospace industry, which includes the production of rocket engines, is centered in Fort Worth and Dallas, and nonferrous metallurgy, which relies on inexpensive electricity from thermal power plants to produce aluminum and magnesium, is based in Port Lavaca and Corpus Christi. Other industries include food processing, clothing production, metalworking, and machine building (equipment for the oil, gas, and chemical industries, radio electronics, and shipbuilding).
Land cultivation accounts for approximately two-thirds of the commodity output of agriculture. Livestock grazing prevails in the western part of the state. Texas leads all other states in the production of cotton (approximately 1.5 million tons in 1972) and rice and in the number of cattle (13 million head), sheep, and goats. Wheat, grain sorghum, maize, vegetables, alfalfa, peanuts, and fruits, including citrus fruits, are cultivated. More than 3 million hectares are irrigated, the second highest total in the country, after California. The chief seaports are Houston, Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Corpus Christi.
V. M. GOKHMAN
In the first half of the 16th century, the Spaniards became the first Europeans to make their way into the territory of Texas. In the 17th century, Texas became part of the Spanish colony of New Spain. It later became part of Mexico when the latter became independent in 1821. In the early 19th century, American planters, bringing slavery with them, began to settle in Texas; by 1835 the number of settlers approximated 30,000. In 1835 the American planters revolted against Mexican rule (Texas Revolution), and although in 1836 they declared Texas an independent republic, the territory was under the de facto control of the United States. In 1845 the United States annexed Texas as a slaveholding state. The annexation of Texas and the occupation of the state by American troops directly preceded the Mexican War (1846–48), which forced Mexico to acknowledge the loss of Texas. The native population was driven from the best land, which was then seized by the planters. During the Civil War, Texas joined the Confederacy. In the 1920’s, activities of the Ku Klux Klan intensified in Texas. Racial discrimination remains a characteristic feature of life in the state. In defiance of a 1954 decision of the US Supreme Court, separate schooling for white and black children has been retained. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas in 1963.