Texas Totally Explained

Texas (IPA: /ˈtɛk.səs/) is a state located in the southern and southwestern regions of the United States of America. With an area of and a population of 23,507,783 (based on a 2006 U.S. census bureau estimate) in 254 counties, the state is second-largest in both area (behind Alaska) and population (behind California). About half the state's population resides in either the Dallas–Fort Worth or Houston metropolitan areas. The state's name derives from táyshaʔ, a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai, which means "friends" or "allies". Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the independent Republic of Texas for nearly a decade. In 1845, it joined the United States as the 28th state.
Texas is internationally known for its energy and aeronautics industries, and for the ship channel at the Port of Houston—the largest in the U.S. in international commerce and the sixth-largest port in the world. The state is home to the most Fortune 500 companies in the United States and has the second-largest economy in the United States, behind California. The Texas Medical Center in Houston contains the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions.

History

In addition to its own state flag, Texas boasts that "Six Flags" have flown over its soil: the national flags of Spain, the Fleur-de-lis of France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. American Indian tribes who once lived inside the boundaries of present-day Texas include Apache, Atakapan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Wichita, Hueco and the Karankawa of Galveston. Currently, there are three federally recognized Native American tribes which reside in Texas: the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas, the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, and the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo of Texas.
   On 6 November 1528, shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca became the first known European in Texas. Most of Texas was immediately claimed by Spain as part of the Spanish dominions of New Spain. However, France took advantage of Spain's failure to settle the land and in 1685 established Fort St. Louis and claimed most of Texas. The first Spanish colonization didn't come until a few years after Fort St. Louis, as Spain was spurred by France to enforce its claims. The French claim was inherited by the United States as they bought the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Spanish claim was later inherited by Mexico during the Mexican War of Independence of 1821, setting the stage for the Mexican–American War. The French settlement was massacred by American Indians, and Spain only started sparse settlements, so most permanent settlements by Europeans didn't start until long after the first explorer arrived in 1521.
   In the 1800s, two main ethnic groups settled the land: Tejanos and eventually Anglo Americans. By 1830, the 30,000 Anglo settlers in Texas outnumbered the Tejanos two to one. Smaller numbers of Europeans also came. Moses Austin bought of land of his choice, and moved to San Antonio in August of 1821. His son, Stephen F. Austin, joined him. In 1821, Texas became part of the newly independent Republic of Mexico and, in 1824, became the northern section of Coahuila y Tejas. On 3 January 1823, Stephen F. Austin began a colony of 300 Anglo American families known as the "Old Three Hundred" along the Brazos River, after Austin was authorized to do so by Governor Antonio María Martínez and then successive Mexican officials as Mexico went through tumultuous political regime changes. Austin soon organized even more groups of immigrants, with authorization from the Mexican government. Meanwhile, more Tejanos were also settling in Texas, and as Antonio Menchaca writes in "Memoirs" in 1907, many Tejanos were already desirous of joining the United States. Tejanos were mostly full-blooded Spanish immigrants, few partly or entirely of American Indian heritage as most Mexicans south of the Rio Grande were.
   The "Conventions" of 1832 and 1833 were a response to rising unrest at the policies of the ruling Mexican government, which included the end of duty free imports from the United States and the potential end to the special allowance for slavery in the state. Slavery had been abolished in Mexico with the independence. On 2 March 1836, the Convention of 1836 signed a Declaration of Independence, declaring Texas an independent nation. On 21 April 1836, the Texans—led by General Sam Houston—won their independence when they defeated the Mexican forces of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured and signed the Treaties of Velasco, which gave Texas firm boundaries; Mexico repudiated the treaties, considered Texas a breakaway province, and vowed to reconquer it. Later in 1836, the Texans adopted a constitution that formally legalized slavery in Texas. The Republic of Texas included the area of the present state of Texas, and additional unoccupied territory to the west and northwest. However, American politics intruded; strong Northern opposition to adding another slave state blocked annexation until the election of 1844 was won on a pro-annexation platform by James K. Polk. On 29 December 1845, Texas was admitted to the U.S. as a constituent state of the Union. The Mexican–American War followed, with decisive American victories. Soon after, Texas grew rapidly as migrants poured into the cotton lands.
   Just prior to the American Civil War, elected delegates met in convention and, in an act whose legality was later upheld by the Texas Legislature, authorized secession from the U.S. on 1 February 1861 by a thundering majority. Texas voters later overwhelmingly approved the measure in referendum, and the state was accepted as a charter member by the provisional government of the Confederate States of America on 1 March 1861. Texas was largely considered a "supply state" for the Confederate forces until mid-1863, when the Union capture of the Mississippi River made large movements of men or cattle impossible. The last battle of the Civil War was fought in Texas, at Palmito Ranch, on 12 May 1865, well after Lee's surrender on 9 April 1865 at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
   Texas descended into near-anarchy during the two months between the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia and the assumption of authority by Union General Gordon Granger, as Confederate forces demobilized or disbanded and government property passed into private hands through distribution or plunder. Juneteenth commemorates the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on 19 June 1865 in Galveston by General Gordon Granger; nearly 1-1/2 years after the original announcement of 1 January 1863. President Johnson, on 20 August 1866, declared that civilian government had been restored to Texas On 30 March 1870, although Texas didn't meet all the requirements, the United States Congress readmitted Texas into the Union.
   The first major oil well in Texas was drilled at Spindletop, a little hill south of Beaumont, on the morning of 10 January 1901. Other oil fields were later discovered nearby in East Texas, West Texas, and under the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting “Oil Boom” permanently transformed the economy of Texas. Oil production eventually averaged three million barrels of oil per day at its peak in 1972. The economy, which had experienced significant recovery since the American Civil War, was dealt a double blow by the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.
   From 1950 through the 1960s, Texas modernized and dramatically expanded its system of higher education. Under the leadership of Governor John B. Connally, the state produced a long-range plan for higher education, a more rational distribution of resources, and a central state apparatus designed to manage state institutions more efficiently. Because of these changes, Texas universities received federal funds for research and development during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.

Geography

The geography of Texas spans a wide range of features and timelines. Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico. It is in the south-central part of the United States of America. It is considered to form part of the U.S. South and also part of the U.S. Southwest.
   The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River all provide natural state lines where Texas borders Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, New Mexico on the west, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south.
   By residents, the state is generally divided into North Texas, East Texas, Central Texas, South Texas, and West Texas, but according to the Texas Almanac, Texas has four major physical regions: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and The Basin and Range Province. This is the difference between human geography and physical geography.
   Some regions of Texas are associated with the South more than with the Southwest (primarily East Texas, Central Texas, and North Texas), while other regions share more similarities with the Southwest (primarily far West Texas and South Texas). The upper Texas Panhandle and the South Plains parts of West Texas don't easily fit into either category. The former has much in common with the Midwestern United States, while the latter, originally settled primarily by anglo Southerners, yet with a notable Hispanic population, is somewhat of a blend of South and Southwest.
   The size of Texas prohibits easy categorization of the entire state wholly in any recognized region of the United States; geographic, economic, and even cultural diversity between regions of the state preclude treating Texas as a region in its own right.

Geology

Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The continental crust here's a stable Mesoproterozoic craton which changes across a broad continental margin and transitional crust into true oceanic crust of the Gulf of Mexico. The oldest rocks in Texas date from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old. These Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks underly most of the state, and are exposed in three places: Llano uplift, Van Horn, and the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso. This is overlain by mostly sedimentary rocks. The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of a rifted continental margin, or passive margin that developed during Cambrian time. This margin existed until Laurasia and Godwana collided in Pennsylvanian time to form Pangea. This is the buried crest of the Appalachian Mountains—Ouachita Mountains—Marathon Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental collision. This orogenic crest is today buried beneath the Dallas—Waco—Austin—San Antonio trend. During this time E. Texas was a region of high mountains and shallow seas covered W. Texas.
The late Paleozoic mountains collapsed as rifting in Jurassic time began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break up in the Triassic but seafloor spreading to form the Gulf of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late Jurassic. The shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf began to build out. Today there are to of sediments buried beneath the Texas continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US Oil reserves are to be found here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits have buoyantly risen up through the passive margin sediments to form salt diapirs, which are very common in East Texas and along the Gulf coast and offshore.
East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments. These sediments contain important deposits of Eocene lignite which are increasingly used for generating electricity. Oil is found in the Mississippian ad Pennsylvanian sediments in the north, Permian sediments in the west, Cretaceous sediments in the east, and along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental shelf. Oligocene volcanic rocks are found in far west Texas, in the Big Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer. Texas has no active or dormant volcanoes and few earthquakes, being situated far from an active plate tectonic boundary. (The Big Bend area is the most seismically active; however, the area is sparsely populated and suffers minimal damages and injuries, and no known fatalities have been attributed to a Texas earthquake.)

Climate

The large size of the state of Texas and its location at the intersection of several climate zones gives the state highly variable weather. In general, though, there are three main climate zones: the humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) of the eastern half of Texas, the temperate semi-arid (Koppen BSk) steppe climate of the northwestern part, including the Panhandle, and the subtropical steppe climate (nearly an arid desert climate, Koppen BSh) of the southern parts of West Texas, particularly around El Paso.
   The Panhandle of the state is cooler in the winter than North Texas or the Gulf Coast. Different regions of Texas experience vastly different precipitation patterns: El Paso averages as little as of rain per year while the average annual precipitation is in Orange. Moderate snowfall often falls in the winter months in the north. Maximum temperatures in the summer months average from the 80s °F (26 °C) in the mountains of West Texas and on Galveston Island to around in the Rio Grande Valley. Nighttime summer temperatures range from the upper 50s °F (12 °C) in the West Texas mountains to in Galveston.
   Thunderstorms are more common in the eastern and northern part of the state, although they're far from rare elsewhere in the state. Tornadoes are common in Texas, with the state averaging around 139 a year, more than any other state. Tornadoes are most frequent in the northern and central western half of the state from April-July, although tornadoes can happen anywhere in the state at any time of year.
   Texas ranks first among the 50 states as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The state's annual carbon dioxide emissions are nearly 1.5 trillion pounds. Texas would be the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases if it were its own country, emitting more carbon dioxide than France, the United Kingdom, or Canada.

Average lows and highs

City	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Monthly normal high and low temperatures (°F) for various Texas cities
Abilene	55/32	61/36	69/44	77/52	85/61	91/68	95/72	94/71	87/64	78/54	65/42	57/34
Amarillo	49/23	54/27	62/34	71/42	79/52	87/61	91/65	89/64	82/56	72/45	58/32	50/24
Austin	60/40	65/44	72/51	79/58	85/65	91/71	95/73	96/73	90/69	81/60	70/49	62/42
Brownsville	69/50	72/53	78/60	82/65	87/72	90/75	92/75	93/75	89/73	84/66	77/59	70/52
Corpus Christi	66/46	70/49	76/56	81/62	86/70	90/74	93/74	93/74	90/72	84/64	75/55	68/48
Dallas	54/34	60/39	68/46	76/54	83/63	91/71	95/75	95/74	88/67	78/56	65/45	56/37
Del Rio	63/40	68/44	76/52	83/58	89/67	94/72	96/74	96/74	91/69	82/60	71/49	64/41
El Paso	57/33	63/38	70/44	78/51	87/61	95/69	94/72	92/70	87/64	78/52	66/40	57/33
Fort Worth	55/36	61/41	69/48	76/56	84/65	92/73	96/77	96/76	88/69	79/58	66/47	57/39
Galveston	62/50	64/52	70/58	75/65	81/72	87/78	89/80	89/80	86/76	80/68	71/59	64/52
Houston	62/41	66/44	73/51	79/58	86/66	91/72	94/74	94/73	89/68	82/59	72/50	65/43
Laredo	66/43	71/47	80/55	88/63	92/69	102/73	99/75	99/75	93/54	86/63	76/53	68/45
Lubbock	52/24	58/29	66/36	75/45	83/56	90/64	92/68	90/66	83/58	74/47	62/34	53/26
Midland	57/30	63/34	71/41	79/49	87/59	93/66	94/69	93/68	86/62	77/51	66/39	58/31
Port Arthur	62/43	65/46	72/52	78/59	84/66	89/72	92/74	92/73	88/69	80/60	71/51	64/44
San Angelo	58/32	64/36	71/43	79/51	86/61	91/68	94/70	93/69	87/63	78/53	66/41	59/34
San Antonio	62/39	67/42	74/50	80/57	86/66	91/72	95/74	95/74	90/69	82/59	71/49	64/41
Victoria	63/44	67/47	73/54	79/60	85/68	90/73	93/75	94/75	90/70	83/62	73/52	65/45
Waco	57/35	62/39	70/47	78/54	85/63	92/71	97/74	97/74	90/67	80/57	68/46	59/38
Wichita Falls	52/29	58/33	67/41	76/49	84/59	92/68	97/72	96/71	88/64	77/52	64/40	54/31
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Government and politics

The Texas Constitution—adopted in 1876—is the second-oldest state constitution still in effect. As with many state constitutions, it explicitly provides for the separation of powers and incorporates its bill of rights directly into the text of the constitution (as Article I). The bill of rights is considerably lengthier and more detailed than the federal Bill of Rights, and includes some provisions unique to Texas.

Political system

The executive branch consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, Land Commissioner, Attorney General, Agriculture Commissioner, the three-member Texas Railroad Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Secretary of State. All of these positions are elected by the populace, with the exception of the Secretary of State, who is appointed by the Governor. The Comptroller decides if expected state income is sufficient to cover the proposed state budget. There are also many state agencies, and numerous boards and commissions. The Governor commands the state militia and can veto bills passed by the Legislature and call special sessions of the Legislature (this power is exclusive to the Governor and can be exercised as often as desired). The Governor also appoints members of various executive boards and fills judicial vacancies between elections.
   The Legislature of Texas is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 150 members, while the Senate has 31. The speaker of the house, currently Tom Craddick (R–Midland) leads the House, and the Lieutenant Governor (currently Republican David Dewhurst) leads the state Senate. The Legislature meets in regular session only once every two years. The Legislature can't call itself into special session; only the Governor may call a special session, and may call as many sessions as often as desired.
   The judicial system of Texas has a reputation as one of the most complex in the United States, with many layers and many overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court, which hears civil cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Except in the case of some municipal benches, partisan elections choose all of the judges at all levels of the judiciary; the Governor fills vacancies by appointment.
   Republican Rick Perry has served as Governor of Texas since December 2000, when George W. Bush vacated the office to assume the Presidency. Two Republicans represent Texas in the U.S. Senate: Kay Bailey Hutchison (since 1993) and John Cornyn (since 2003). Texas has 32 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives: 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats.
   There are 32 congressional districts in Texas, the second-most after California. Districts are usually drawn after the national census every 10 years.
   The Democratic Party held a monolithic political presence in Texas from the beginning of its statehood until the late 20th century. Like other ex-Confederate states, Texas harbored a deep resentment towards the Republican Party for their engineering of Reconstruction for years after the Civil War. Conservative Democrats held a virtual monopoly on elected offices in the state, but many began endorsing Republican presidential candidates as the national Democratic Party grew increasingly liberal. In 1978, the state elected its first Republican governor since Reconstruction. In 2003, Republicans achieved a majority in the state legislature for the first time. Today, the bulk of the Texan House delegation is Republican, and both U.S. Senators are Republican as well. No Democrat has been elected to a statewide office in Texas since 1994. The state's base of Democratic voters is comprised primarily of African-Americans, Hispanics, and urban voters, particularly in Austin.
   The Texas political atmosphere tends towards fiscal and social conservatism. Texas leads the country in the number of executions performed, and is one of the few states that permitted the execution of a mentally retarded person prior to the Supreme Court prohibiting such. The state recently adopted a resolution defining marriage as between a man and a woman, and a long-standing law making sodomy a criminal offense was overturned in 2003 only after the intervention of the Supreme Court. The state capital, Austin, is considered the state's liberal bastion (though liberals in Texas tend to prefer the term "populist"), though Austin's suburbs generally follow the conservatism of the state at large. Houston and Dallas are among the few urban areas that consistently vote Republican, however their metro areas themselves are very divided politically. However, these cities tend to favor a more socially tolerant, pro-business brand of Republicanism. In Houston, the election of conservative commentator Dan Patrick to the State Senate in 2006 sparked an outcry from the city's moderate Republican establishment.

Justice system

The justice system in Texas has a strict sentencing for criminals. Texas leads the nation in executions by far, with 400 executions from 1982 to 2007. Only capital murder is eligible for the death penalty. A bill making child rape a capital crime in some instances is currently under consideration. Prior to 2005, the alternate sentence was life with the possibility of parole after 40 calendar years; a 2005 law change changed the alternate sentence to life without parole.
Known for their role in the history of Texas law enforcement, the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety continue today to provide special law enforcement services to the state. Texas Game Wardens—law enforcement officers working for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department—are given the same amount of authority as any other law enforcement officer. It is a common myth that they're able to enter private property without a search warrant and search people or vehicles with no probable cause.

Administrative divisions

Texas has a total of 254 counties—the most of any state. Each county is run by a commissioners’ court consisting of four elected commissioners and a county judge elected from all the voters of the county. County government is similar to the "weak" mayor-council system; the county judge has no veto authority, but votes along with the other commissioners. All county elections are partisan.
Unlike other states, Texas doesn't allow for consolidated city-county governments, nor does it have a form of metropolitan government. Cities and counties are permitted to enter "interlocal agreements" to share services. Further, counties are not granted "home rule" status; their powers are strictly defined by state law and the Texas Constitution.
Texas doesn't have townships—areas within a county are either incorporated or unincorporated. Incorporated areas are part of a city, though the city may contract with the county for needed services. Unincorporated areas are not part of a city; in these areas, the county has authority for law enforcement and road maintenance. Cities are classified as either "general law" or "home rule". A city may elect home rule status (draft an independent city charter) once it exceeds 5,000 population and the voters agree to home rule. Otherwise, it's classified as general law and has very limited powers. All municipal elections in Texas are nonpartisan. Once a city elects home rule status, it keeps that status even if the population later falls below 5,000.

Economy

In 2006, Texas had a gross state product of $1.09 trillion, the second highest in the U.S. after California, after recently surpassing New York state. Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,975. Texas leads the nation in number of beef, which usually exceed 16 million head. Cotton is the leading crop and the state's second-most-valuable farm product. Texas also leads in national production of grain sorghum, watermelons, cabbages, and spinach. Wheat, corn, and other grains are also important. Texas' growth is often attributed to the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing (housing values in the Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio areas, while generally rising, have not risen at the astronomical rates of other cities such as San Francisco), the lack of a personal state income tax, low taxation and limited regulation of business, a geographic location in the center of the country, limited government (the Texas Legislature meets only once every two years), favorable climate in many areas of the state, and vast, plentiful supplies of oil and natural gas. The known petroleum deposits of Texas are about 8 billion barrels, which makes up approximately one-third of the known U. S. supply. Texas has 4.6 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves. There are currently 33 billionaires residing in Texas today. Dallas has 11 billionaires, the most of any city in Texas.
   Texas remained largely rural until World War II, with cattle ranching, oil, and agriculture as its main industries. The sprawling 320,000 deeded acre (1,200 km²) La Escalera Ranch is located 20 miles south of Fort Stockton, Texas is today one of the largest cattle ranches in Texas and the Southwestern United States. Cattle ranching was never Texas's chief industry – before the oil boom back to the period of the first Anglo settlers, the chief industry was cotton farming (as in most of the South). After World War II, Texas became increasingly industrialized. Its economy today relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing. The major segment of the economy depends largely on the region involved – for example, the timber industry is a major portion of the East Texas economy but a non-factor elsewhere, while Houston, the state's largest urban economic enclave stands at the center of the petrochemical, biomedical research trades, and aerospace (particularly NASA). Meanwhile, Dallas houses the state's predominant defense manufacturing interests and the expansive information technology labor market.
   Texas has more Fortune 500 company headquarters (56) than any other state except New York, which has 57. This has been attributed to both the growth in population in Texas and the rise of oil prices in 2005, which resulted in the growth in revenues of many Texas oil drilling and processing companies.
   In 2006, for the fifth year in a row, Texas was ranked as the number one state by export revenues. Texas exports for 2006 totaled $150.8 billion, which is $22.1 billion more than 2005 and represents a 17.2 percent increase. In 2002, the Port of Houston was 6th among the top sea ports in the world in terms of total cargo volume; Air Cargo World rated Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as "the best air cargo airport in the world".
   Texans pride themselves in a history of tradition, yet they also seek new social and technological developments. Round Rock (an Austin suburb) is the headquarters of Dell and the surrounding area is known as "Silicon Hills". Dallas is a famously cosmopolitan metropolis and the birthplace of the integrated circuit, and Houston is a global leader in the energy industry. The cultures of San Antonio and El Paso retain their Mexican heritage while Fort Worth maintains its western roots. With a nod to its diversity and its past as a sovereign nation, the state tourism slogan is "Texas: It's like a whole other country." Since 2003, Texas state officials have placed emphasis on developing the economy of Texas with various initiatives such as the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which invest money into developing Texas business.
   Texas is one of the top filmmaking states in the United States, just after California and New York. Austin is now one of the leading filmmaking locations in the country. During 1995-2004, more than $2.75 billion has been spent in Texas for film and television production. The Texas Film Commission was founded for free services to filmmakers, from location research to traveling.

Demographics

As of 2006, the state has an estimated population of 23,507,783, an increase of 579,275 (2.5%) from the prior year and an increase of 2,655,993 (12.7%) since the year 2000. In all three subcategories—natural (births less deaths), net immigration, and net migration—Texas has seen an increase in population. The natural increase since the last census was 1,389,275 people (2,351,909 births minus 962,634 deaths), immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 801,576 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 451,910 people. The state passed New York in the 1990s to become the second-largest U.S. state in population (after California).
As of 2004, the state has 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6 percent of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are illegal immigrants (illegal immigrants account for more than one-third of the foreign-born population in Texas and 5.4 percent of the total state population).

Race and ethnic origins

As of the 2005 US Census estimates, the racial distribution in Texas are as follows: 84.14% White; 12.09% African American or African; 3.62% Asian; 0.17% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; and 1.1% American Indian or Alaskan Native. Persons of Hispanic origin accounted for 35.31 percent of the population and may be of any race.
   The largest reported ancestry groups in Texas include: Mexican (25.3%), German (10.9%), African American (10.5%), English (7.2%), and Scots-Irish (7.2%). Descendants from some of these ancestry groups is underreported.
   Much of east, central, and north Texas is inhabited by White Protestant heritage, primarily descended from ancestors from Great Britain and Ireland. Much of central and southeast-central Texas is inhabited by whites of German descent. African Americans, who historically made up one-third of the state population, are concentrated in those parts of East Texas where the cotton plantation culture was most prominent prior to the American Civil War, as well as in Dallas and Houston.
   Other population groups in Texas also exhibit great diversity. Frontier Texas saw settlements of Germans, particularly in Fredericksburg and New Braunfels. After the European revolutions of 1848, German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and French immigration grew, and continued until World War I. The influence of the diverse immigrants from Europe survives in the names of towns, styles of architecture, genres of music, and varieties of cuisine. Lavaca County is predominantly Czech.
   More than one-third of Texas residents are of Hispanic origin and may be of any racial group. Its population in Texas is increasing as more illegal immigrants—primarily from far southern Mexico and Central America—look for work in Texas. Some are recent arrivals from Latin America, while others, known as Tejanos in English, have ancestors who have lived in Texas since before Texan independence, or at least for several generations. Hispanics dominate south, south-central, and west Texas and are a significant part of the residents in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas. The influx of illegal immigration is partially responsible for Texas having a population younger than the union average.
   In recent years, the Asian population in Texas has grown—primarily in Houston and Dallas. People with ancestry from India, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Korea, and Japan make up the largest Asian American groups in Texas.

Largest cities

The largest cities figure prominently in the economy, culture, and heritage of Texas, the American South and Southwest. As of 2000, six incorporated places in Texas had populations greater than 500,000, which two are global cities: Houston and Dallas. Texas has a total of 25 metropolitan areas, with four having populations over 1 million and two over 5 million.
Texas is the only state in the U.S. to have three cities with populations exceeding 1 million: Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas; which are also among the 10 largest cities of the United States. Austin and Fort Worth are in the top 20 largest U.S. cities.

Texas rank	U.S. rank	City	Population within city limits	Land Area sq miles (km²)	Texas Region	U.S. Region
1	4	Houston	2,144,491	601.7 sq mi (1,558 km²)	East Texas	South
2	7	San Antonio	1,256,509	412.1 sq mi (1,067 km²)	South Texas	Southwest
3	9	Dallas	1,213,825	385.0 sq mi (997 km²)	North Texas	South
4	16	Austin	709,893	258.4 sq mi (669 km²)	Central Texas	Southwest
5	19	Fort Worth	624,067	298.9 sq mi (774 km²)	North Texas	Southwest
6	21	El Paso	609,415	250.5 sq mi (649 km²)	West Texas	Southwest
7	50	Arlington	362,805	99.0 sq mi (257 km²)	North Texas	South
8	64	Corpus Christi	283,474	460.2 sq mi (1,192 km²)	South Texas	Southwest
9	70	Plano	250,096	71.6 sq mi (186 km²)	North Texas	South
10	86	Garland	216,346	57.1 sq mi (148 km²)	North Texas	South

Culture

Due to immigration in the United States history, the culture of Texas has been a melting pot of different cultures around the world. Texas is a diverse and an international place to live, in part because of its many academic institutions and strong biomedical, energy, manufacturing and aerospace industries. There are many popular events held in Texas celebrating cultures of Texans. The annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is held over 20 days from late February through early March. The event begins with trail rides that originate from several points throughout the state, all of which convene at Reliant Park for a barbecue cook-off. The rodeo includes typical rodeo events, as well as concert performances from major artists and carnival rides. The World’s first rodeo was held in Pecos, Texas on 4 July 1883. The Southwestern Livestock Show and Rodeo in Fort Worth, Texaslasts three weeks in late January and early February. It has many traditional rodeos, but also a cowboy rodeo, and a Mexican rodeo in recent years that have a large fan base for each. The State Fair of Texas is held in Dallas, Texas each year at Fair Park.
Texas has a vibrant live music scene in Austin boasting more music venues per capita than any other U.S. city, befitting the city's official slogan as The Live Music Capital of the World. Austin's music revolves around the many nightclubs on 6th Street and an annual film, music, and multimedia festival known as South by Southwest. The longest-running concert music program on American television, Austin City Limits, is videotaped on The University of Texas at Austin campus or in Zilker Park. Austin City Limits and Waterloo Records run the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual music and art festival held at Zilker Park in Austin.
Over the past couple of decades, San Antonio evolved into what has been billed as the "Nashville of Tejano music." The Tejano Music Awards have provided a forum to create greater awareness and appreciation for Tejano music and culture.

Arts and theatre

Known for the vibrancy of its visual and performing arts, the Houston Theatre District—a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston—is ranked second in the country behind New York City in the number of theatre seats in a concentrated downtown area with 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats. Houston is also one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines (the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, and The Alley Theatre). Houston, Texas is widely recognized as the nation's third most important city for contemporary visual arts.
Fort Worth and Dallas serve as epicenters of the North Texas region's art scene. The Modern (formerly the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth), founded in 1892, is the oldest art museum in Texas. The city is also home to the Kimbell Art Museum, the Amon Carter Museum, the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame, the Will Rogers Memorial Center, and the Bass Performance Hall downtown. The Arts District of Downtown Dallas is home to several arts venues. Notable venues in the district include the Dallas Museum of Art, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art, and the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Also within Dallas is the notable Deep Ellum district which originally became popular during the 1920s and 1930s as the prime jazz and blues hotspot in the Southern United States. The name Deep Ellum is thought to have originally derived from local tongues saying "Deep Elm", but that came out as "Deep Ellum". Artists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, and Bessie Smith played in original Deep Ellum clubs like The Harlem and The Palace. Today, Deep Ellum is home to hundreds of artists who live in lofts and operate in studios throughout the district alongside bars, pubs, and concert venues. One major art infusion in the area is the city's stance on graffiti, thusly several public ways including tunnels, sides of buildings, sidewalks, and streets are covered in murals.

Sports

Texas is known for its love of American football and is noted for the intensity with which people follow high school and college football teams—often dominating over all else for the purposes of socializing and leisure. The Dallas Cowboys are often referred to as "America's Team." Dallas was previously home to two different pro teams known as the Dallas Texans. The first was a team that played in the NFL for one season in 1952, Dallas Texans (NFL). The team was the remnants of the New York Yanks franchise. The Texans folded after one season and most of the team and players were sold to a new group that formed the Baltimore Colts in 1953. The second Dallas Texans team played in the AFL from 1960-1962, Dallas Texans (AFL), before moving to Kansas City, Missouri to become the Kansas City Chiefs. The Houston Oilers left to become the Tennessee Titans, but the Houston Texans took their place. For one season, in 1995, Texas was also host to a Canadian Football League team, the San Antonio Texans. Baseball has a strong presence in Texas, with Major League Baseball teams the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros are both equally popular, geographically, in the state. North Texas, West Texas, and Panhandle residents are predominantly Texas Rangers fans. Houston Astros fans tend to be in the more populated areas of Texas, which include: Southeast Texas, Central Texas, and South Texas. Minor league baseball is also closely followed in Texas, especially in the smaller metro areas. Basketball is also popular, and Texas hosts three NBA teams: the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Dallas Mavericks. All three of those NBA teams have reached the NBA Finals. The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs though, are the only ones to have won a championship. Additionally, Texas is home to two WNBA teams, the Houston Comets and the San Antonio Silver Stars. The Comets were the winners of the first four WNBA Championships in league history, in the 1997-2000 seasons.
Many Texas universities have rich athletic traditions. Originally, most Texas Division I schools were part of the Southwest Athletic Conference until it dissolved in 1996. Four of the largest programs in Texas are now part of the Big 12 Conference: the Baylor Bears, Texas A&M Aggies, Texas Longhorns, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. Fierce sports rivalries exist between the schools such as the Lone Star Showdown between the University of Texas and Texas A&M University, and the Battle of the Brazos between Texas A&M University and Baylor University. The University of Texas also has a long standing rivalry with the University of Oklahoma called the Red River Shootout. In addition to the four Big 12 schools, Texas is home to six other Division I (Bowl Sub-Division) teams: the TCU Horned Frogs of the Mountain West Conference; the SMU Mustangs, the Houston Cougars, the Rice Owls and the UTEP Miners, all of Conference USA; and the North Texas Mean Green of the Sun Belt Conference. Texas' total of ten Division I-FBS schools is greater than that of any other state.
Other popular sports in Texas include golf (which can be played year-round because of the South's mild climate), fishing, and auto racing. Lacrosse, originally played by some of the indigenous tribes, is a visible sport and growing. Soccer is a popular participatory sport, especially among children, but as a spectator sport it doesn't yet have a large following despite two Texan teams in Major League Soccer. Hockey has been a growing participatory sport in the Dallas/Fort Worth area since the Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars in 1993. Minor league professional hockey has become quite popular in the last decade; Texas is home to seven of the Central Hockey League's seventeen teams.

Architecture

Texas is home to many works of architecture, both traditional and contemporary. Many world class architects and Pritzker Prize winners have left their enriching marks on Texan cities and landscapes. Frank Lloyd Wright had 4 buildings in Texas, while Tadao Ando's Modern Art Museum and Louis Kahn's famous Kimbell Art Museum are permanent landmarks of the city of Fort Worth. Other super architects such as I.M. Pei and Philip Johnson have numerous works across the state of Texas. Among their famous works one can mention the Fort Worth Water Gardens, Amon Carter Museum, Chapel of St. Basil, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and Thanks-Giving Square. In Austin, Gordon Bunshaft's Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum (also a Pritzker Prize winner) is particularly noteworthy, while Steven Holl, Robert A. M. Stern, Richard Meier, and César Pelli are other architect legends who designed buildings that grace the Dallas and Houston areas. Sir Norman Foster's Dallas Center for the Performing Arts is the latest addition to such architectural landmarks in Texas.
Some facilities even harbor the marks of multiple architects. Houston's Museum of Fine Arts for example, was designed by Pritzker Prize winner Rafael Moneo, landscape architect extraordinnaire Isamu Noguchi, and the pioneering master of Modern Architecture Mies van der Rohe. Image:SAPL3.jpg|Ricardo Legorreta's San Antonio Public Library is an excellent example of postmodern architecture in Texas. Image:Bexar County Court House perspective.jpg|The