Texas

C

Plants and Animals

Vegetation in Texas ranges from dense forests in the east to deserts in the south-west. The varied environment of Texas provides habitat for some 400 species of birds. Among the rarest is the whooping crane, which is now protected in its winter Gulf Coast home in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Animal life is abundant throughout the state. Texas leads the nation in numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses. It has more than 100 different species of snakes, some 16 of which are poisonous. Endangered animal species include the ocelot, jaguarundi, and Houston toad.

D

Resources, Products, and Industries

Texas leads all states in the total production of fuels such as oil and natural gas. The state is a leading producer of a large number of farm products including cotton lint, cottonseed, watermelons, and dairy products. With its long Gulf coastline, which includes numerous bays and estuaries, Texas is an important fishing state.

Texas is a major manufacturing state. Principal durable manufactured goods include transport equipment, industrial machinery, electronic products, and metal products. Principal non-durable goods are chemicals, refined oil, coal products, processed food, and textiles.

III

Population

Texas has a population of 23,904,380 (2007 estimate). The average population density in 2006 was 35 people per sq km (90 per sq mi).

Texas’s major cities are Austin, the capital (population, 2006, 709,893); Houston (population, 2006, 2,144,491); Dallas (population, 2006, 1,232,940); San Antonio (population, 2006, 1,296,682); El Paso (population, 2006, 609,415); and Fort Worth (population, 2006, 653,320).

A

Education

In the late 1990s Texas spent about US$6,290 on each student's education, compared to a national average of about US$6,835. Texas has a comprehensive system of colleges and universities. At the beginning of the 21st century the state had 201 institutions of higher education. The oldest institution of higher education in Texas is Southwestern University, in Georgetown, founded in 1840. Other notable institutions include Baylor University, in Waco; Rice University, the University of Houston (1927), Texas Southern University (1947), and Baylor College of Medicine (1903), in Houston; Southern Methodist University, in Dallas; Texas A&M University (1876), in College Station; and the University of Texas.

B

Places of Interest

Popular tourist attractions are Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains national parks, Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument, and Padre Island National Seashore. There are also many places of interest commemorating the state’s Spanish heritage and the Texans’ 19th-century fight for independence from Mexico. Among these are Mission San Jose, established in 1720, near San Antonio; the Alamo, a fortress that in 1836 was the site of a Mexican victory in which all defenders were killed, in San Antonio; San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, the site of the decisive victory in 1836 of the Texans over Mexico, near Houston; and Fort Davis National Historic Site, on which is a fort used from 1854 to 1891 to defend travellers between San Antonio and El Paso, near Fort Davis. Also of interest are Pioneer Village, a restored log-cabin community, near Corsicana; the birthplace of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Denison; the Sam Rayburn Library and Museum, commemorating a Speaker of the US House of Representatives, in Bonham; and Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, encompassing the birthplace of President Johnson, in Johnson City. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, in Austin, contains papers and other materials associated with President Johnson.

Texas has a number of cultural institutions, many of which are located in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. Dallas is home to the Dallas Theater Center, the only theatre building designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright; the John F. Kennedy Memorial; the Dallas Museum of Art; and the Dallas Museum of Natural History. Fort Worth is home to the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art; the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History; and the Kimbell Art Museum. The Six Flags Over Texas recreational and amusement park in Arlington is a favourite attraction. The Texas Sports Hall of Fame is in the Dallas area.

Among Houston’s cultural institutions are the Museum of Fine Arts, which includes the Ima Hogg collection of south-western Native American art; the Contemporary Arts Museum; the Menil Collection and nearby Rothko Chapel; and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.