State of the southern USA (691,027 km2 with 24,782,302 inhabitants in 2009); capital Austin. The largest in the federation after Alaska, it overlooks the Gulf of Mexico to the SE and borders the Mexico to the south and to the southwest, with the New Mexico to the northwest, with Oklahoma to the N, with Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana a east From the morphological point of view, the territory includes very different regions, proceeding from the Gulf of Mexico towards the interior. The coastal plain, rich in dunes, is bordered by very long coastal strips that delimit lagoons and bays (including those of Corpus Christi and of Galveston). From this flat belt, through large terraces, it passes, in the northwest direction, to the shelves of the Interior Lowlands and the Grand Plains, with a height often greater than 1000 m and formed by two distinct groups, the Llano Estacado and the Edwards Plateau. The westernmost sector of the state, then, is characterized by the southern offshoots of the Rocky Mountains, with peaks that exceed 2000 m (Guadalupe Peak, 2670 m). The climate is almost everywhere warm, tropical in the flat and coastal area, while in the Great Plains it has a continental character with strong excursions. The rainfall, abundant in the south-eastern sector, decreases going towards the West, until it decreases to about 200 mm at El Paso. The main rivers are the Rio Grande, which follows the border with Mexico, the Canadian River, the Red River, the Sabine, the Colorado, the San Antonio.
According to abbreviationfinder, population growth in Texas is constant, mainly due to active migratory balances. The ethnic mosaic is complex: among the minorities, the growing importance of Hispanics of Mexican origin (25% of the population), particularly numerous in San Antonio and El Paso. The two major metropolises are those of Houston and of Dallas; other important cities, besides the capital, are San Antonio, El Paso, Pasadena.
All economic sectors are remarkably active in the state, but the greatest resources are the riches of the subsoil, especially oil and natural gas. Texas is also a producer of magnesium, sulfur and helium. Primary activities are important: the State is in first place in the cotton field and reaches very high levels in cereal production (sorghum, corn, winter wheat, barley, oats), fruit and vegetables and, in the coastal region, rice. The extensive breeding of cattle and sheep is widespread over a large part of the territory. In the secondary sector, in first place are the oil refineries and petrochemical industries, concentrated along the coastal strip (Houston, Texas City, Corpus Christi, Port Arthur); followed by the chemical industry, the metallurgy of non-ferrous metals, the steel industry and the transformation of agricultural and livestock products. In the second half of the 1990s, advanced technology productions, especially electronics and armaments, became popular. A specialized technological area (Silicon Prairie), where computer parts and electronic communications equipment are produced. In addition to Houston, active commercial ports for the export mainly of oil, cotton and wheat are Port Arthur, Galveston and Corpus Christi. The territory of the state is crossed by the Gulf intracoastal waterway.
History
The region, which in colonial times belonged to the Viceroyalty of New Spain, had been explored starting from 1528 by the Spaniards who in 1682 founded the village of Isleta (od. El Paso). In 1685 the French R. La Salle built a fort near the Bay of Matagorda; in response the Spaniards then founded some missions; San Antonio, founded in 1718, became the main center of the region.
At the time of the declaration of independence of Mexico from Spain (1821), the Texas remained united to the new state. A considerable North American immigration began in 1821, with the introduction of the use of slavery. In 1835 a provisional government was established, independent from that of the Mexican dictator A. López de Santa Ana, and on 2 March 1836 the Texas declared its independence; an open war followed, which ended with the victory of the insurgents. In 1845 the annexation to the USA provoked strong disputes between slavers and anti-slavers, who feared a strengthening of the Southern bloc, and resulted in the war between the USA and Mexico, which ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. In 1861 Texas joined the North American secessionists. The state economy, traditionally based on agriculture and livestock, experienced a notable development starting from 1901, following the discovery of rich oil fields.
According to countryaah, Texas has the following main cities:
Austin
Capital of the state of Texas (United States), located at 30 ° 20 ′ N. latitude, and 97 ° 50 ′ W longitude, at 150 msm, on the Colorado River, navigable in its lower course. It was founded in 1838 with the name of Waterloo; it later changed its name to Austin, in honor of Stephen F. Austin, the founder of the state of Texas. It became the capital of the republic of the same name in 1839, and then the state capital.
The city had 629 inhabitants in 1850, which in 1920 had risen to 34,876. In 1860 there were 3494; in 1870, 4428; in 1880, 11,013; in 1890, 14,575; in 1900, 22,258; in 1910, 29,860. The percentage increase in the period 1900-1910 was 34.2%, in the period 1910-1920 it was 16.8%. The ethnic composition of the city in 1920 was divided as follows: Whites 27,928, equal to 80.1%; Negri 6921, equal to 19.8%; Indians, Chinese and Japanese 27. In 1920 the city had 13,077 people employed in various activities, of which 2875 in industry, a thousand in transport, 2357 in commerce and 1335 as employees.
Austin has a substantial production of cottonseed oil, and owns several sawmills, some brick kilns and agricultural machinery factories. Agriculture has greater importance with its various products; the city is a notable center of railway and river traffic, with copious exports of animals, cotton, wheat, wool and leather. It is connected by railways with all the main centers of the state and, by means of a trunk, with the great artery New Orleans-Houston-S. Antonio-El Paso-Los Angeles.
Austin is a remarkable center of study: Texas University has been based there since 1881, which currently has over 360 teachers with more than 5500 students; also from 1881 St. Edward’s University, with 25 teachers and 100 students; also Southwestern Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the Tillotson Institute (for Negroes), Samuel Huston College (also for Negroes).
Social prophylaxis is very accurate: the city has a State Asylum for the insane, an institution for the blind, another for the deaf and dumb, and an institution for blind, deaf and dumb Negroes.
Houston
City of the USA (2,208,180 residents In 2007), the most populated of the Texas, on the Buffalo Bayou (which flows into the Bay of Galveston). Founded in 1836, it was the capital of Texas in 1837-39 and 1842-45. Founded as a center of the cotton trade, it developed rapidly after the construction of the Houston Ship Canal, or Chanel (1905-14), 92 km long, which links it to Galveston. Houston has thus become one of the major ports in the USA, with an annual movement of around 118 million tons (in particular oil and cotton); a large road and rail communications hub, it is home to two airports. It is one of the most important American centers of the chemical and petrochemical industry, favored by the presence, nearby, of natural gas and sulfur, as well as oil. The cotton, engineering, food, clothing, cement and shipbuilding industries also have great development. Alongside these traditional industries, activities related to aerospace research have established themselves. Houston is also a notable venue for cultural activities, with four universities, including that of the state, the University of Houston, founded in 1934, as well as museums,
At Houston, there is the NASA base of operations and the Johnson Space Center for the study and research of human flight in space.
Houston
City of the United States, located in the southeastern section of the state of Texas, in Harris County. Founded after the battle of S. Jacinto (April 21, 1836), it was named after General Sam Houston (1793-1863). It was the first capital of the republic of Texas (1837-39), and then again the seat of government from 1842 to 1845. It has a tropical climate (average of the year 20 °, 5) with abundant rainfall (1200 mm.), Distributed in every month, with prevalence from May to September. The city has been increasing very rapidly thanks to immigration and numerous territorial aggregations: it had 2396 residents in 1850, 44,633 in 1900, 78,800 in 1910, 138,276 in 1920, 292,352 in 1930: it is the most populated city in Texas, having passed Dallas and San Antonio. In 1930 whites born to foreign parents represented 10.2%; the whites born abroad 3.9%; very numerous the color element (26.6%). The city is located in an area rich in oil fields and intensive cotton cultivation: the number of employees has risen from 5340 individuals in 1909 to 16,225 in 1929. Oil refineries prevail, to which the raw material reaches through numerous pipe – lines; industries connected with the cultivation and trade of cotton; the steel-mechanical industries; the naval industries; factories of chemical fertilizers and cement; the large mills for the flour industry. Houston has great importance as a port: this is located at the end of the Houston Ship Channel, which joins it with Galveston Bay, 80 km long, about 9 m deep. and 76 wide in Galveston Bay, 45 in the river section. The construction of this port has greatly contributed to the development of the center, transforming it from an internal market into a large maritime market. Trade shows an extraordinary increase, rising from 1.25 million tons in 1912 to 11 million in 1929: for the period 1917-1926 84% of foreign import trade is given by oil and derivatives; mainly oil (60%) and cotton (26%) are exported. The center has also become an important road, aviation and railway hub.
San Antonio
City of the USA (1,351,305 inhabitants in 2008; 2,050,000 inhabitants considering the whole urban agglomeration), In the Texas south-central, at 220 m asl, with a subtropical climate and strong temperature variations. The inhabitants are for more than half of Latin American origin, and for the remaining part of European origin (Germans, English, Russians, Italians).
The city, which in 1900 had only 53,000 residents and 245,000 in 1940, owes its rapid development to its function as a hub for rail and road traffic, to the fertility of the soil and to the riches of the subsoil of its district. Frontier city with a strong commercial vocation (50% of exports to Mexico passes through San Antonio), San Antonio is also an important industrial center (refineries, engineering and petrochemical industries, cement factories, shoe factories, textile and food industries). A significant development has affected, in the second half of the 1990s, the financial and high-tech sectors. The contribution of tourism is also growing considerably.
In 1691 Father Damien Massanet erected the cross in the Indian village of Yanaguana renaming it San Antonio; in 1718 the San Antonio de Valero mission was established there, to which in 1731 the civil city of San Fernando was added, made up of 15 Spanish families from the Canaries. San Antonio was the most important center in Texas under the Spanish government and, from 1821, under the Mexican one. Besieged and taken in December 1835 by Texan troops under the command of Ben Milam, it was recaptured by A. López de Santa Ana in March 1836. Passed by Texas to the United States (1845), it began to develop rapidly as a center of the cattle trade with the arrival of the railway in 1877.
Of great interest is what remains of the buildings erected by the founders and missions of the 18th century. (Alamo, San José; the palace of the Spanish governor).
El Paso
City of Texas (United States), capital of the county of the same name, located on the left bank of the Río Grande, opposite the Mexican Ciudad Juárez, at over 1100 meters above sea level It has an average annual temperature of 17 °, 2, mild winters (January 7 °, 2), very hot summers (July 27 °, 2), with very accentuated absolute minimums and maximums (−20 °, 6; 45 °). Precipitation is scarce (233 mm.) And distributed in absolute prevalence in the summer; very little snow (60 mm. per year); winds blow mainly northwest. The city’s population has risen from 736 residents in 1880 to 10,338 in 1890, to 15,906 in 1900, to 39,279 in 1910, to 77,560 in 1920, to 102,421 in 1930. In that year the indigenous Whites were 32%; Whites born to foreign parents 6.2%; whites born abroad 2.8%; the Negroes 1.8%;
El Paso is located in a district of rich agriculture, made possible by major irrigation works, and with mineral reserves. In the various economic activities, 40,545 people were employed in 1930, and more precisely 30% in communications and commerce, 29.5% in industry and crafts, etc. Large industry employed 5,160 workers in 1929: the mechanical railway industries prevail in absolute terms.
The city has great importance from the point of view of railway communications and is also a notable aviation center.
