also many separate river authorities and water districts. Timber
conservation is directed by the Texas Forest Service, a division of Texas
A&M University. Wildlife is protected by the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department. The federal Department of the Interior maintains 11 national
wildlife refuges, including the Aransas refuge, along the coast.
People of Texas
The early Native American residents of Texas were the Caddo in the
southeast, the Tonkawa in the southwest, and the Atakapa and Karankawa
along the coast. Later the Comanche moved into central and western Texas
from the north. Fierce Plains Indians, the Comanche were not brought under
outside control until about 1875. This action opened the Panhandle and the
western plains to settlement.
During the early days of Spanish rule, Texas attracted few new settlers
other than missionaries. By 1806 the population was no more than 7,000.
After the establishment of a colony of Anglo-Americans by Stephen Fuller
Austin in 1821, similar settlers came in increasing numbers. Many came from
the South, bringing slaves with them. Later, newcomers arrived from the
East and Midwest. Today most of the migration into Texas comes from
Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Of the Texas-born people living in other
states, the largest number are in California.
Texas has more than 3 million people of Hispanic origin, most of whom are
concentrated along the Rio Grande and in southern Texas . The state also
has more than 2 million African Americans, chiefly in the south and east.
Almost 6 percent of the people are foreign born--mainly emigrants from
Mexico. The population also includes about 50,000 Native Americans and
about 39,000 people of Chinese and Japanese descent.
Cities
Texas has 16 cities with a population of more than 100,000. The largest is
Houston, a financial and industrial center. The city is connected to
Galveston Bay by the 52-mile (84-kilometer) Houston Ship Channel, along
which is one of the world's greatest concentrations of industry. With the
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) nearby the area is also a focus of the space
industry. Dallas, the second largest city, is a fashion, insurance, and
finance center . Third in size is the historic city of San Antonio, home of
the famous mission turned military post--the Alamo--and the chief trade
center of southern Texas. Nearby are four bases of the United States Air
Force--Brooks, Kelly, Lackland, and Randolph.
Located on the Rio Grande, El Paso serves as a busy gateway to
Mexico and is the chief trade center of western Texas. West of Dallas is
Fort Worth, a noted livestock and grain market. Austin, the sixth largest
city, is the state capital; located in the south-central part of Texas, it
grew according to plans laid out in 1839. The next largest city in the
state is Corpus Christi, a year-round resort and deepwater port located on
the Gulf of.
Lubbock, the commercial hub of a rich cotton-growing area in the Great
Plains, and Amarillo are the chief cities of the Panhandle. Beaumont, the
chief city of the Sabine-Neches industrial area in the extreme southeast,
is noted for its shipments of petroleum. Waco is an agricultural and
industrial center on the Brazos River about halfway between Dallas and
Austin. Between Dallas and Fort Worth is Arlington, an industrial and
commercial center for the automotive and aerospace industries. Wichita
Falls is a petroleum center in north-central Texas. Galveston, a cotton-
and sulfur-shipping port on the Gulf of Mexico, also boasts a flourishing
tourism industry.
Manufacturing
In 1900 the two leading manufacturing industries in Texas were lumbering
and the processing of grain. Since that time there has been a rapid
increase in the number and types of manufacturing plants. During World War
II the value of Texas manufacturing multiplied almost four times.
Manufacturing value today exceeds 53 billion dollars. Texas is the chief
manufacturing state in the South, and the value of its manufacturing is
surpassed only by that of California among the states west of the
Mississippi River.
Most of the increase in industry has been due to the rise of petroleum
refining, which followed the discovery of the great Spindletop oil field in
1901 and has become the most important industry in Texas. Texas now refines
more petroleum than any other state. Ranked second is the manufacture of
chemicals and allied products, which includes organic chemicals and
plastics. The third most important industry is the processing of food
products. This includes meat-packing and the preparation of bakery goods,
flour and meal, and soft drinks. Fourth in importance is tourism.
Agriculture
In farm income, Texas is first among the Southern states and second or
third in the nation. The annual cash income from Texas agricultural
products, estimated at about 9 billion dollars, is usually surpassed only
by the agricultural income of California--and sometimes Iowa. Texas has
about 160,000 farms, more than any other state. Some farms contain
thousands of acres. The average size is about 838 acres (339 hectares).
Texas leads all the states in the production of cotton, cattle, wool, and
sorghum grain. Irrigation is a major factor in crop production. Much of the
irrigated land is in the High Plains. Other large irrigated areas are the
lower Rio Grande valley, the Coastal Prairies, the Pecos Valley, and the
Rio Grande Plain.
Livestock and related products usually account for more than half the
yearly farm income. Crops account for the rest. Texas leads nationally in
the number of cattle, horses, sheep, and lambs. Cattle ranks in value as
the most important commodity in almost every Texas county.
The state 's chief cash crop is cotton. Texas leads the nation in cotton
lint and cottonseed. The major producing counties are Gaines, Dawson,
Terry, Cameron, and Martin. Sorghum grain is usually second in value. Wheat
for grain is the third most valuable crop; the Panhandle is noted for its
wheat. Corn ranks fourth in value. Other farm products are milk, eggs,
chickens, hay, pigs, peanuts, rice, turkeys, wool, oats, and mohair. Texas
ranks among the first five states in the production of broomcorn, flaxseed,
grapefruit and oranges, pecans, sweet clover seed, sweet potatoes, carrots,
and onions.
Mining
The mineral resources of Texas yield an annual value of about 45 billion
dollars--more than that of any other state. Most of the income is derived
from petroleum, in which Texas leads the nation. The East Texas field is
one of the most productive in the world. Top producing counties in Texas
are Pecos, Yoakum, Gaines, Ector, and Gregg. Gregg was the first county to
produce more than 2 billion barrels of petroleum ever since records have
been kept.
The second and third most valuable minerals are natural gas and coal.
Pipelines carry natural gas, as well as petroleum, from Texas to all
sections of the country. Texas is one of the nation ' s chief sources of
helium, with much of the production centered at Amarillo, Exell, and Dumas.
Cement is fourth in importance. Texas ranks among the leading cement-
producing states. The Gulf Coastal Plain is one of the nation 's richest
sources of sulfur. Magnesium is processed from seawater at Freeport's
electrolytic plant. Among other minerals produced in the state are stone,
sand and gravel, lime, salt, and gypsum.
Transportation
Because of its huge size, Texas has had to develop a vast network of
transportation routes by road, rail, water, and air. The Texas Department
of Highways and Public Transportation, established in 1917, maintains about
71,000 miles (114,260 kilometers) of state roads.
In addition to the state roads and dozens of federal routes, a number of
highways in the Interstate system cross Texas. Interstates 10, 20, and 40
are major east-west routes. Crossing parts of Texas from north to south are
Interstates 35, 45, and 27. Interstate 30 runs northeastward from Dallas.
The first railroad in Texas was a 20-mile (32-kilometer) line in the
Houston area that was completed in 1853. Transcontinental service became a
reality in 1881, when the Southern Pacific linked the state with
California. Today Texas is served by a statewide network of railroads and
by a number of major airlines. The Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport is
the nation's largest in terms of land area and one of the busiest.
Thirteen deepwater ports handle shipments of petroleum products, cotton,
and wheat. Routes of travel are the Intracoastal Waterway (extending
eastward from Brownsville) and the Gulf of Mexico. The Houston Ship
Channel, which opened in 1915, has helped make that city one of the great
United States ports. The other major ports are Port Arthur, Beaumont, Texas
City, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Galveston.
Recreation
In an average year Texas is visited by more than 40 million tourists. One
of the chief attractions is the rugged land of mountains and canyons in the
Trans-Pecos. This region includes Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe
Mountains National Park. Palo Duro Canyon cuts a 1,000-foot- (300-meter-)
deep slash through the high plains of the Texas Panhandle. The Gulf coast
has many fine beaches and resorts. Near Kingsville in south Texas is King
Ranch, one of the largest in the world. East Texas boasts more than 11
million acres (4.5 million hectares) of woodlands, including four national
forests.
San Antonio is famous for the Alamo and San Antonio Missions National
Historical Park. Dallas hosts the state fair each October and the Cotton
Bowl football game on New Year's Day. In Arlington are Six Flags Over
Texas, an amusement park styled after the American West, and the home
stadium of the Texas Rangers professional baseball team. In professional
football, the Dallas Cowboys play in Texas Stadium, in Irving, and the
