History

From the beginning Texas has been a force to be reckoned with. The people of Texas started fighting for their freedom in 1836. At that time Texas leaders signed a declaration of independence from Mexico. This declartion started a war with Santa Ana who was the president, and dictator, of Mexico. The war between Mexico and the Republic of Texas ceept going until 1845. On December 29, 1845 Texas became the 28th state accepted into the United States of America. The admission to union brought about a treaty between Texas and Mexico's Santa Ana.

 

Facts

State Abbreviation - TX
State Capital - Austin
Largest City - Houston
Main Rivers - Rio Grande, Red River, Brazos River
Highest Point - Guadalupe Peak, 8,749 feet (2,667 m) above sea level
Bordering States - Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma
Bordering Country - Mexico
Bordering Body of Water - Gulf of Mexico
Area - 268,601 square miles (Texas is five times bigger than Norway) [Texas is the second biggest state in the USA - only Alaska is bigger].
Population - 20,851,820 (as of 2000) [Texas is the second most populous state in the USA, after California; New York is the third most populous] (five times more peoples than Norway).
Major Industries - petroleum and natural gas, farming (cotton, livestock), steel, banking, insurance, tourism

 

Why Go To Texas

Being such a large state, Texas is a vacation destination with something for just about everyone. Cowboys and cowgirls will find no shortage of country living in Texas. There are several working ranches that geared toward giving guests the true cowhand experience. Urban cowboys can shop and dance till their hearts content in Dallas, Houston and many other larger Texas cities.The Texas shore is the perfect place for swimming, surfing and sunbathing; so plan to spend some time playing on the miles and miles of beautiful Texas beaches.

 

Cultural

The population of Texas is currently estimated at more than 22,000,000. Mexico boarders the southern portion of Texas, which has lead to the state having a larger Mexican-American population than most states. It was estimated in 2003 that the 32% of the population in Texas was Mexican-American; the U.S. average is only 12%. This has created a cultural atmosphere unique to Texas.

 

Texas Climate

The state's southern latitude means plenty of warm temperatures, even in deepest winter. Weather forecasts in the Central, South, and Gulf Coast regions can be pleasantly monotonous: sunny to partly sunny. While summers and winters can occasionally be extreme, spring and fall are always delightfully moderate. Snow occasionally makes appearances in the Panhandle and higher elevations of the West, but elsewhere winter tends to be little more than a nuisance. Dramatic "blue northers" sometimes breeze across the state, dipping temperatures as much as 25 degrees in a single hour.

 

Texas History

The only state in the Union to serve under Six Flags: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic Of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States!

 

Texas is a unique dominion that draws its present-day identity from each of those countries as well as from the ancient cultures that preceded even the first explorers. Mexican and Native American traditions figure prominently in the state alongside the cultures of the Central and Eastern European settlers who arrived much later.

 

Europeans were interested in Texas as early as 1519, when Spanish conquistadores searching for fabled cities of gold navigated the Gulf of Mexico and disembarked on the shores of Southeast and South Texas. Although no gleaming cities cast in gold were ever found, the Spanish established numerous missions in South and West Texas, including the state's earliest towns. In 1685 the French, still convinced that there was a treasure to be uncovered, financed a colonizing expedition to the Gulf Coast led by Sieur de La Salle. The weather, Indians, and an unhappy crew kept La Salle from succeeding, and the French in turn abandoned their claim to Texas.

 

The Spanish continued their missionary efforts through the 18th and the early 19th centuries, and the territory was cultivated as ranchland under the auspices of the Spanish government. Then, in the 1820's, a Missouri native named Moses Austin gained permission to establish the first Angolo colony in Texas. His son, Stephen F. Austin, led 300 families on a successful mission to settle the new land. In 1825 another 900 American families arrived; 800 Mexican and European families followed in 1831.