United States, Texas

Texas is the largest of the continental 48 American states. It lies at the western end of the Gulf of Mexico and the Southern Gulf Coastal Plain. It is also at the southern end of the North American Great Plains. The state is 266,807 square miles (691,030 square kilometers) and it extends over 800 miles from the Texas state line with Louisiana near Beaumont to El Paso in the west, which is close to New Mexico. It extends 737 miles (1,186 kilometers) from its northern extreme near Dalhart in the panhandle to its southernmost point near Brownsville on the Rio Grande River, which separates it from Mexico.

The topography of Texas can be compared to four steps. Beginning at sea level at the Gulf of Mexico the land slowly rises until it meets the second step at the Edwards plateau, which holds the Texas Hill Country. The third step is the Stockton plateau and the High Plains. The fourth step is at El Capitan (8,751 feet or 2,667 meters), which is part of the Guadalupe Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in El Paso.

There are five land regions in Texas. The Gulf Coastal Plain includes the coast, which stretches 367 miles (591 kilometers) from Louisiana to Mexico. It is a region of marshes, coastal wetlands, bays, tidal flats, marshes, dunes, beaches, coastal prairies, and barrier islands. Texas's barrier islands protect the mainland from tidal surges during the hurricanes that come every summer or so. These barrier islands, lagoons, and bay shores were the home of the Karankawa Indians at the time of the arrival of the Spanish and later European explorers. There are 17 barrier islands, five of which are major islands. These islands include Galveston, Padre, Mustang, and Matagorda. Much of Padre and Matagorda are still pristine preserves. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which includes part of Matagorda, is the winter home of the endangered Whooping Crane. The largest barrier island is Padre and the largest bay is Galveston.

The Gulf Coastal Plain extends northward up the Sabine River to near Shreveport. In its lower reaches the Sabine River is a petroleum-rich area of swamps and bayous separating Texas and Louisiana. The Big Thicket, an area rich in biodiversity, extends from Beaumont (site of the 1902 Spindletop oil gusher) northward. The northernmost part of the Gulf Coastal Plain is forested with pines, oaks, and other trees common to its more eastern parts. At Kilgore the great East Texas Oil Field began pumping in the 1930s. The southern part of the plain extends south to Mexico and west to about Del Rio. The southern part is less forested and more open. In South Texas the Gulf Coastal Plains extend from Corpus Christi to Brownsville and then west to the Edwards Plateau, the southern end of which is at Del Rio. The area is one of huge ranches including the famous King Ranch. Javelina (Peccary angulatus) or collared peccary are often hunted in the region. Along the Rio Grande from Laredo to Brownsville orchards of oranges and grapefruits are an important part of the economy.

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