ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica DISCOVER AMERICA Texas The Lone Star State CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO
INTRODUCTION After Alaska Texas is the largest state in area in the United States For several years this state was a nation on its own it was called the Republic of Texas That all changed on Dec 29 1845 when Texas became the 28th state to join the Union Texas is as large as Kentucky Ohio Indiana and all of the Middle Atlantic and New England states put together Its various regions include mountains forests deserts plains and a subtropical coast Few other states have such a wealth of mineral resources as Texas In the 20th century Texas became the leading producer and refiner of oil in the United States Metropolitan Austin had a population of about 1 25 million in the 2000 census 4 TEXAS Texas has a 367-mile coastline on the Gulf of Mexico Texas motto is Friendship The state bird is the mockingbird It is known for its lovely singing The state tree of Texas is the pecan tree Texas state flower is the bluebonnet Many Texans see it as a trademark much like the shamrock is to the Irish The state’s official tartan a plaid cloth originating in Scotland is called the Texas Bluebonnet The first word in the third line of the state song Texas Our Texas had to be changed from largest to boldest after Alaska joined the Union The capital of Texas is Austin
INTRODUCTION 5 Texas is in the south-central United States It is bordered on the east by Louisiana and Arkansas and on the north by Oklahoma New Mexico is to the west The southeast edge of Texas runs along the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande separates the state from Mexico on the southwest Texas has two large international airports Dallas Fort Worth and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston There are nonstop flights between Texas and Canada Mexico and countries in Asia Europe and Latin America For land traffic within the United States eight interstates and many federal and state highways run through Texas A number of highways also continue into Mexico Texas has one of the largest road networks in the United States Texas is the only state to enter the United States by mutual treaty instead of the takeover of land The lightning whelk is the official state shell It is named for the bold streaks that appear on it which look like lightning bolts Texas Location Map Rio Grande BANDELIER NATʼL MON Santa Fe Corrizo Creek C a n a d i a n 25 25 N O H P Y L G O R T E P A N TʼL M Albuquerque 40 40 P e c o s 25 25 P e c o s S S M M A A O O C C U U R R N N A A T T M M A A E E WHITE SANDS NATʼL MON I I N N N N T T S S O O NEW MEXICO 10 10 CARLSBAD CAVERNS NATʼL PARK El Paso GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATʼL PARK Pecos DAVIS DAVIS MOUNTAINS MOUNTAINS 10 10 Rio G ra n de GLASS GLASS MOUNTAINS MOUNTAINS 10 10 P e c o s Conchos Rio BIG BEND NATʼL PARK Rio Grande Amistad Res MEXICO Beaver Cimarron Salt Fork Enid ALIBATES FLINT QUARRIES NATʼL MON Canadian Washita N Fork Red Conchas L n a i d a n Ca 40 40 Cimarron 35 35 40 40 Oklahoma City Norman Canadian 40 40 ula R e s ufa E Amarillo Salt Fork 27 27 Lubbock Lawton 44 44 Wichita Falls B razos Clear Fork Brazos 20 20 Abilene Midland Odessa San Angelo Concho Colorado 35 35 OKLAHOMA Red L Texoma Richardson Irving Plano Garland Dallas Grand Prairie 35E 35W 35W 45 45 Fort Worth 20 20 L Whitney MISSOURI Table Rock L Beaver L Lake of the Cherokees Tulsa L Dardanelle 40 40 Fort Smith A R K A N S A S Little HOT SPRINGS NATʼL PARK 30 30 Longview Shreveport L O 49 49 U I S I A Red Sulphur 30 30 20 20 Tyler A n g e l i n a T rinity L Livin g sto n Neches N A N e c h e s Sobine Lake Charles 10 10 Calcasieu L Port Arthur T r i n i t y Beaumont Baytown Pasadena 45 45 Galveston 45 45 Houston 35 35 Waco B r o z a s Austin 35 35 10 10 M Llano F r i o San Antonio W N u e c e s e din a 37 37 N u e c e s R i o G r a n d e 35 35 Laredo Falcon Res Victoria San Antonio Corpus Christi Gulf Of Mexico McAllen Brownsville Capital Austin Population 20,851,820 Interstate highways Size 266,873 square miles 0 0 70 113 140 226 Mi Km Scale Highest peak Guadalupe Peak 8,749 feet
