Known as the "Lone Star State", Texas is the second-largest,
second-most populous state in the United States. With a land area of over
261,914 square miles, the population of Texas is 20,851,820. In fact, three of
its cities: Houston, Dallas and San Antonio are ranked among the 10 most
populated cities in the country. Benefiting from its location along the Mexican
border, the state is ethnically diverse: 53% of the population is White, 31.9%
is Hispanic and 11.6% is African American. Additionally, there are three
existing Indian reservations in the state: the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation,
the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo (Tigua Indian Reservation) and the Kickapoo
Reservation. The population is close to 20,000,000 people, but Texas
only has an average of 76 people per square mile.
The state is home to eight historically black colleges and
universities, including Prairie View A & M University and Texas Southern
University. The name "Texas" (or Tejas) comes from a Spanish
pronunciation of a Caddo Indian word meaning "friends" or
"allies."
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.
Experience the large variety of wildlife and beautiful scenery in Texas.
Texas is a very diverse state with 262,017 square miles of territory and 624
miles of shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico. Texas' elevation varies from zero to
8,749 feet elevation. The rainfall and climate
varies greater with the southeast part of Texas being wetter and the northwest
being arid. It is approximately 900 miles from one side of Texas to the
other at the widest points.