Texas (TX)

TEXAS STATE FLAG

Spanish missionaries were the first European settlers in Texas, founding San Antonio in 1718. Hostile natives and isolation from other Spanish colonies kept Texas sparsely populated until after the Revolutionary War and the War of Mexican Independence, when the newly established Mexican government began allowing settlers of the US to claim land there.

This led to a population boom, but drastically reduced the percentage of the population with Mexican ancestry, creating friction with the government in Mexico City. After several minor revolts, the Texas Revolution broke out and the state became an independent nation in 1836.

However, the newly formed Republic of Texas was unable to defend itself against further incursions by Mexican troops and eventually negotiated with the US to join the union in 1845.

Geography

Texas is a large and diverse state located in the south-central United States. It is bordered to the north by Oklahoma, to the east by Arkansas and Louisiana, to the south by Mexico, and to the west by New Mexico. With an area of 268,820 square miles (696,241 km2), it is the second largest state in the US after Alaska.

Texas has three distinct geographical regions: East Texas, Central Texas and West Texas. East Texas is characterized by flat terrain covered with pine forests. This region contains many of the state’s major cities such as Dallas and Houston. Central Texas is dominated by rolling hills and plains and contains a number of smaller cities including Austin, San Antonio and Waco. West Texas is made up of vast desert areas with mountains in some areas. The highest peak in the state is Guadalupe Peak at 8751 feet (2667 m).

The climate of Texas varies greatly depending on location; however most of the state experiences hot summers with occasional thunderstorms followed by mild winters with occasional snowfall. The Gulf Coast region has a subtropical climate while much of West Texas has an arid climate with low humidity levels.

The terrain of Texas ranges from sea level along its coastlines to more than 8700 ft (2650 m) above sea level in its mountain ranges. Most rivers flow from east to west across the state while some originate in Oklahoma or New Mexico before flowing into Texas. Major rivers include The Brazos River, Red River and Pecos River among many others.

Texas also has several large lakes including Lake Texoma on its border with Oklahoma, Lake Livingston near Houston, Lake Amistad on its border with Mexico and Caddo Lake near Shreveport Louisiana as well as numerous smaller bodies of water throughout its interior regions.

The state also contains several national parks including Big Bend National Park located along its western border which offers stunning views of rugged canyons carved out over millions of years by rivers flowing through them as well as Padre Island National Seashore which protects 70 miles (112 km) worth of beaches along its southeastern coastline near Corpus Christi Bay.

Cities in Texas

Below are the top 15 cities by population in Texas. For all cities and towns in the state, please see Texas cities list.

Rank City Population
1 Houston 2,293,288
2 San Antonio 1,434,540
3 Dallas 1,300,239
4 Austin 944,658
5 Fort Worth 908,469
6 El Paso 676,395
7 Arlington 392,304
8 Corpus Christi 318,168
9 Plano 282,181
10 Lubbock 255,537
11 Laredo 254,697
12 Irving 254,184
13 Garland 245,075
14 Amarillo 200,371
15 Grand Prairie 195,992

Counties in Texas

The State of Texas consists of 254 counties. They are:

  1. Anderson County, Texas
  2. Andrews County, Texas
  3. Angelina County, Texas
  4. Aransas County, Texas
  5. Archer County, Texas
  6. Armstrong County, Texas
  7. Atascosa County, Texas
  8. Austin County, Texas
  9. Bailey County, Texas
  10. Bandera County, Texas
  11. Bastrop County, Texas
  12. Baylor County, Texas
  13. Bee County, Texas
  14. Bell County, Texas
  15. Bexar County, Texas
  16. Blanco County, Texas
  17. Borden County, Texas
  18. Bosque County, Texas
  19. Bowie County, Texas
  20. Brazoria County, Texas
  21. Brazos County, Texas
  22. Brewster County, Texas
  23. Briscoe County, Texas
  24. Brooks County, Texas
  25. Brown County, Texas
  26. Burleson County, Texas
  27. Burnet County, Texas
  28. Caldwell County, Texas
  29. Calhoun County, Texas
  30. Callahan County, Texas
  31. Cameron County, Texas
  32. Camp County, Texas
  33. Carson County, Texas
  34. Cass County, Texas
  35. Castro County, Texas
  36. Chambers County, Texas
  37. Cherokee County, Texas
  38. Childress County, Texas
  39. Clay County, Texas
  40. Cochran County, Texas
  41. Coke County, Texas
  42. Coleman County, Texas
  43. Collin County, Texas
  44. Collingsworth County, Texas
  45. Colorado County, Texas
  46. Comal County, Texas
  47. Comanche County, Texas
  48. Concho County, Texas
  49. Cooke County, Texas
  50. Coryell County, Texas
  51. Cottle County, Texas
  52. Crane County, Texas
  53. Crockett County, Texas
  54. Crosby County, Texas
  55. Culberson County, Texas
  56. Dallam County, Texas
  57. Dallas County, Texas
  58. Dawson County, Texas
  59. Deaf Smith County, Texas
  60. Delta County, Texas
  61. Denton County, Texas
  62. DeWitt County, Texas
  63. Dickens County, Texas
  64. Dimmit County, Texas
  65. Donley County, Texas
  66. Duval County, Texas
  67. Eastland County, Texas
  68. Ector County, Texas
  69. Edwards County, Texas
  70. Ellis County, Texas
  71. El Paso County, Texas
  72. Erath County, Texas
  73. Falls County, Texas
  74. Fannin County, Texas
  75. Fayette County, Texas
  76. Fisher County, Texas
  77. Floyd County, Texas
  78. Foard County, Texas
  79. Fort Bend County, Texas
  80. Franklin County, Texas
  81. Freestone County, Texas
  82. Frio County, Texas
  83. Gaines County, Texas
  84. Galveston County, Texas
  85. Garza County, Texas
  86. Gillespie County, Texas
  87. Glasscock County, Texas
  88. Goliad County, Texas
  89. Gonzales County, Texas
  90. Gray County, Texas
  91. Grayson County, Texas
  92. Gregg County, Texas
  93. Grimes County, Texas
  94. Guadalupe County, Texas
  95. Hale County, Texas
  96. Hall County, Texas
  97. Hamilton County, Texas
  98. Hansford County, Texas
  99. Hardeman County, Texas
  100. Hardin County, Texas
  101. Harris County, Texas
  102. Harrison County, Texas
  103. Hartley County, Texas
  104. Haskell County, Texas
  105. Hays County, Texas
  106. Hemphill County, Texas
  107. Henderson County, Texas
  108. Hidalgo County, Texas
  109. Hill County, Texas
  110. Hockley County, Texas
  111. Hood County, Texas
  112. Hopkins County, Texas
  113. Houston County, Texas
  114. Howard County, Texas
  115. Hudspeth County, Texas
  116. Hunt County, Texas
  117. Hutchinson County, Texas
  118. Irion County, Texas
  119. Jack County, Texas
  120. Jackson County, Texas
  121. Jasper County, Texas
  122. Jeff Davis County, Texas
  123. Jefferson County, Texas
  124. Jim Hogg County, Texas
  125. Jim Wells County, Texas
  126. Johnson County, Texas
  127. Jones County, Texas
  128. Karnes County, Texas
  129. Kaufman County, Texas
  130. Kendall County, Texas
  131. Kenedy County, Texas
  132. Kent County, Texas
  133. Kerr County, Texas
  134. Kimble County, Texas
  135. King County, Texas
  136. Kinney County, Texas
  137. Kleberg County, Texas
  138. Knox County, Texas
  139. Lamar County, Texas
  140. Lamb County, Texas
  141. Lampasas County, Texas
  142. LaSalle County, Texas
  143. Lavaca County, Texas
  144. Lee County, Texas
  145. Leon County, Texas
  146. Liberty County, Texas
  147. Limestone County, Texas
  148. Lipscomb County, Texas
  149. Live Oak County, Texas
  150. Llano County, Texas
  151. Loving County, Texas
  152. Lubbock County, Texas
  153. Lynn County, Texas
  154. Madison County, Texas
  155. Marion County, Texas
  156. Martin County, Texas
  157. Mason County, Texas
  158. Matagorda County, Texas
  159. Maverick County, Texas
  160. McCulloch County, Texas
  161. McLennan County, Texas
  162. McMullen County, Texas
  163. Medina County, Texas
  164. Menard County, Texas
  165. Midland County, Texas
  166. Milam County, Texas
  167. Mills County, Texas
  168. Mitchell County, Texas
  169. Montague County, Texas
  170. Montgomery County, Texas
  171. Moore County, Texas
  172. Morris County, Texas
  173. Motley County, Texas
  174. Nacogdoches County, Texas
  175. Navarro County, Texas
  176. Newton County, Texas
  177. Nolan County, Texas
  178. Nueces County, Texas
  179. Ochiltree County, Texas
  180. Oldham County, Texas
  181. Orange County, Texas
  182. Palo Pinto County, Texas
  183. Panola County, Texas
  184. Parker County, Texas
  185. Parmer County, Texas
  186. Pecos County, Texas
  187. Polk County, Texas
  188. Potter County, Texas
  189. Presidio County, Texas
  190. Rains County, Texas
  191. Randall County, Texas
  192. Reagan County, Texas
  193. Real County, Texas
  194. Red River County, Texas
  195. Reeves County, Texas
  196. Refugio County, Texas
  197. Roberts County, Texas
  198. Robertson County, Texas
  199. Rockwall County, Texas
  200. Runnels County, Texas
  201. Rusk County, Texas
  202. Sabine County, Texas
  203. San Augustine County, Texas
  204. San Jacinto County, Texas
  205. San Patricio County, Texas
  206. San Saba County, Texas
  207. Schleicher County, Texas
  208. Scurry County, Texas
  209. Shackelford County, Texas
  210. Shelby County, Texas
  211. Sherman County, Texas
  212. Smith County, Texas
  213. Somervell County, Texas
  214. Starr County, Texas
  215. Stephens County, Texas
  216. Sterling County, Texas
  217. Stonewall County, Texas
  218. Sutton County, Texas
  219. Swisher County, Texas
  220. Tarrant County, Texas
  221. Taylor County, Texas
  222. Terrell County, Texas
  223. Terry County, Texas
  224. Throckmorton County, Texas
  225. Titus County, Texas
  226. Tom Green County, Texas
  227. Travis County, Texas
  228. Trinity County, Texas
  229. Tyler County, Texas
  230. Upshur County, Texas
  231. Upton County, Texas
  232. Uvalde County, Texas
  233. Val Verde County, Texas
  234. Van Zandt County, Texas
  235. Victoria County, Texas
  236. Walker County, Texas
  237. Waller County, Texas
  238. Ward County, Texas
  239. Washington County, Texas
  240. Webb County, Texas
  241. Wharton County, Texas
  242. Wheeler County, Texas
  243. Wichita County, Texas
  244. Wilbarger County, Texas
  245. Willacy County, Texas
  246. Williamson County, Texas
  247. Wilson County, Texas
  248. Winkler County, Texas
  249. Wise County, Texas
  250. Wood County, Texas
  251. Yoakum County, Texas
  252. Young County, Texas
  253. Zapata County, Texas
  254. Zavala County, Texas

TEXAS STATE FLAG