The first humans arrived in the region about 12,000 years ago. Those ancient aboriginal peoples hunted mammoths and mastodons. By 1500, numerous tribes lived in the region. The word "Texas" is derived from a united group of Native Americans, known as the Caddos, who called each other "tejas," meaning "friends."
In the early 1700s, the Spaniards built numerous missions and forts. Mission San Antonio de Valero, founded in 1718, became known as the Alamo -- the famous site where Texans fought for independence. The mission also was the kernel of the city of San Antonio.
Settlers began to arrive in the mid-1800s and gradually pushed most of the Indians out of Texas. By the 1880s, most Texas Indians existed on reservations in Oklahoma.
In 1835, a war broke out between Texas and Mexico in which Texans fought for, and won, their independence. For nearly 10 years, Texas remained an independent republic until it joined the Union (one of only three states to do so). A single star was sewn on its flag and the name stuck: Texas is called the "Lone Star State."
The U.S. range-cattle industry began in Texas. Cattlemen drove the beef to Kansas and Missouri for shipment by railroad to northern and eastern markets. The most widely used cattle trails were the Chisholm Trail, which ran from the Mexican border to Abilene, Kansas, and the Western Trail, which connected west Texas and Dodge City, Kansas.
Oil was discovered in Texas as early as 1867, although large-scale production would not begin until the early 1900s. Anthony Lucas was drilling at Spindletop Hill near Beaumont in January 1901, when oil shot out of the ground more than 200 feet into the air. The event is known as the Spindletop Gusher. Later, hundreds of oil workers came to Texas where many more oil discoveries were made. In 1928, Texas became the leading oil-producing state -- a title it holds to this day. Roughly half of the oil for the nation's participation in World War II came from there.
Texas has been famous for its cowboys, lawmen and outlaws, but today, the state is known for its farms, subsurface resources and livestock. The state has more farms and farmed areas than any other state, and leads the country in oil and natural gas production, as well as cattle raising. Texas leads the country in the number of cattle -- there are more than 15 million on Texas ranches. If Texas were a country, it would be one of the world's wealthiest.
Texas is embued with a variety of landscapes, including mountains, hills, canyons, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, a seacoast and islands. Part of the Rocky Mountains can be found in the far western part of Texas. The highest point in the state is Guadalupe Peak, measuring 8,751 feet. The state's lowest points lie along the Gulf of Mexico. Texas comprises four main land regions: the West Gulf Coastal Plain, the Northcentral Plains, the Great Plains, and the Basin and Range Region. The West Gulf Coastal Plain lies along the entire Gulf Coast of the United States. The Northcentral Plains lie west of the forest belt of coastal plain. That region is the most populous and boasts the best farmland in Texas. The Great Plains extend westward from the Northcentral Plains into New Mexico and form part of the series of treeless plains that extend northward through the midwestern United States into Canada. The famous Texas Panhandle makes up a major portion of the Great Plains. The panhandle, which comprises northwest Texas, is literally shaped like a pan's handle. The region produces much of the country's oil and natural gas, and is the world's leading helium-producing area. The High Plains lie along the border of Texas and New Mexico. The area is dry, although irrigation and dry farming methods have made it one of the state's richest farming regions.
Texas has three famous rivers. The Rio Grande, one of the longest and most historic rivers in North America, forms the Texas-Mexico border. The Red River forms most of the Texas-Oklahoma border, and the Pecos River flows through west Texas.
The pecan is the Texas state tree. The state bird is the mockingbird. The bluebonnet is the state flower.
Forests cover only about 15 percent of the state, or about 26,500,000 acres. Texas has more than 120 kinds of trees, mostly pines and hardwoods. Six hundred kinds of grass grow in Texas, as well as more than 4,000 kinds of wildflowers.
Wildlife in Texas includes three to four million deer, thousands of pronghorn antelope, alligators in the wetlands, armadillos, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and much more.
Texans enjoy a generally warm climate with a median temperature of 80 degrees F. However, the state suffers from droughts, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Texas lies in "Tornado Alley" and approximately 100 twisters strike every year. Hurricanes roar into the Texas Gulf Coast. In 1900, one mighty storm struck Galveston, killing more than 6,000 people and leaving 8,000 homeless; it was the worst natural disaster in American history.
Texas is home to two national parks. Guadalupe Mountains National Park, in northwest Texas, contains portions of the world's most extensive and significant Permian limestone fossil reef. The park features more than 80 miles of trails, and visitors enjoy backpacking, photography and viewing the ruins of a historic stage station. Big Bend National Park encompasses more than 800,000 acres of mountains and desert along the Rio Grande, on the boundary with Mexico. Rustic camping is available in both parks.
Texas leads the country in chemical production, as well as oil refining and plastics. Important chemical products include ammonia, caustic soda, chlorinated solvents and synthetic rubber. The chemical industry in Texas is located mostly in cities along the Gulf Coast. Texas is one of the world's great petroleum storehouses. The state has seven large oil-producing regions. Other mineral resources in the state include large sulfur, salt and coal deposits, as well as iron ore. Copper and gold are found in the western mountains and in the central hills region.
Pollution is a major problem in Texas. In the past decade, Houston surpassed Los Angeles as the American city with the most dangerous smog -- defined by the number of days each city violates federal smog standards. The Rio Grande and Colorado rivers are filthy in places. Oil spills are a common problem along the Gulf Coast, and chemical companies have released harmful matter into the air and water.
Texas boasts nearly 15,000 miles of railroad tracks -- more than any other state, as well as 13 deepwater ports along the Gulf of Mexico. The port in Houston is one of the chief cotton-shipping centers in the country. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is a coastal canal that runs from Brownsville, to the Okeechobee waterway at Fort Myers, Florida. The major function of the waterway is to transport goods. The commercial trade link is of major economic significance to Texas and the United States.
About 97 of every 100 Texans were born in the United States. A variety of cultural groups reside in Texas, including Latinos, African Americans, Asians and Native Americans. Many events, festivals, and museums throughout the state celebrate the different cultures and ethnic groups in Texas. There are three reservations on which a majority of the Tigua, Alabama-Coushatta, and Kickapoo Indians reside. The Kickapoo are considered citizens of both Mexico and the United States, and can cross the U.S./Mexico border freely. The Kickapoo operate the Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass, which features a bingo hall and Las Vegas-style games.
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