The geography of Texas is very vast and diverse. The state is the second largest in the USA after Alaska , [1] occupying approximately 7% of water and land from the total area of the state. Texas is the southernmost state on which part of the Great Plains lies, ending at the eastern Sierra Madre mountain system in Mexico . The state is located in the south of the United States and is ranked in both the southern and southwestern regions of the United States.
State residents typically divide Texas into North, East, Central, South, and West (sometimes also highlighting the Texas ledge ). However, according to the Texas almanac, the state consists of four main regions: the Pre-Mexican Lowland , , the Great Plains, and the . Thus, Texas is an example of various socio-economic and physical divisions. The socioeconomic division may have been the result of Texas’s right to divide up to five into several territories from the annexation . [2]
North, east, and center of Texas are more often referred to the South of the United States, while west and south of the state are referred to the Southwest. The Texas ledge, according to many, has more in common with the Midwest than with the South or Southwest. The size of the state does not make it easy to classify the state as a whole, both on a geographical basis, and economic and even cultural.
Content
Climate
Continental , mountain, and subtropical are the three main types of Texas climate . Most of the state is dominated by a subtropical climate. [3] The annual rainfall in Texas ranges from 1,538 millimeters in Jasper County in the east to 240 mm. in El Paso . A record high temperature of 120 ° F (49 ° C ) was recorded in on August 12, 1936, as well as in July on July 28, 1994. A record low temperature of −23 ° F (−31 ° C ) was recorded in Tulia on February 12, 1899 and in Seminole on February 8, 1933. [4]
Physical Geography
The total area occupied by Texas is 268,581 square miles (695,622 km 2 ). The longest straight stretch (1289 km) can be drawn from the northwest of the Texas ledge to the Rio Grande River near Brownsville. The distance from the westernmost city (El Paso) to the easternmost ( Orange ) is 1226 km. The state is so wide that the distance from El Paso to San Diego in California is shorter than the distance from El Paso to the Texas city of Beaumont on the border with Louisiana. Beaumont, in turn, is closer to the city of Jacksonville in Florida than to El Paso. And is closer to Chicago than to El Paso, and Dalhart in the southwest of the state is closer to the capitals of Kansas , Nebraska , Colorado , New Mexico , Oklahoma and Wyoming than to Austin . [five]
The geographic center of Texas is located about 24 kilometers from Brady in the north of Mc Kaloch County . The highest point of Texas is Mount Guadalupe , whose height is 2667 meters above sea level , the lowest level is sea level on the Gulf of Mexico. [6] There are 5 state forests and 120 state parks in Texas with a total area of approximately 2,450 km². [7] About 3,700 creeks with a name and 15 major river systems flow in the state. The total length of the waterways is about 307,000 km, most of the rivers flow into one of the seven estuaries , supporting more than 212 reservoirs . [eight]
Texas's regional classification is hampered by the presence of 10 climate regions , 14 soil types, and 11 ecological regions in the state. [9]
Coastal Plains
The Mexican lowland extends from the Gulf of Mexico to . A large territory includes the Texas barrier islands, runs from Paris to San Antonio and Del Rio and is rich in diverse vegetation. About 508-1480 millimeters of rain fall annually here, which replenish estuaries and marches . Coastal land consists of sandstones and dunes, meadows, oak groves and salt marshes. [10] On the coastal plains are National Parks , the and . [eleven]
North Central Plains
The north-central plains are bounded by the from the west, the Eduards plateau in the south, and forests in the east. The area also includes the cities and suburbs of Abilene and Wichita Falls , forests west of the city of Fort Worth and east of Dallas . On the territory annually from 890 to 1300 mm of rainfall are fed, feeding oak , hickory , and elm forests. [10] Soil ranges from sandstones to hard clay and shale . [12]
Great Plains
The Great Plains include Llano Estacado , Texas Ledge , Eduards Plateau, and . The area is located west of the in the area of the ledge and northwest of . The cities of San Angelo , Midland , Odessa , Lubbock and Amarillo are located in the region . Between the Great Plains and the Pre-Mexican Lowlands, in the Balkones Fault, there is a hilly area called . In the region, covered mainly with shrubs and meadows, from 380 to 790 mm of precipitation falls annually. Also here are and . [10] The south of the Great Plains in Texas and eastern New Mexico have the largest number of dry lakes - about 22,000.
The Texas black earth was one of the first regions developed by farmers. The area of highly expansive dark clay , dubbed Houston Black, covers approximately 6,000 km² from Dallas to San Antonio . The Texas Professional Soil Science Association has recommended that state legislatures recognize Houston Black as state soil. This type of soil was officially recognized in 1902. [13] The are on site. [eleven]
Mountains and river basins
The has less than 300 mm of rainfall per year. The region is located in the west of Texas, west of the Pecos River and begins with the Davis Mountains and is bounded by the Rio Grande River in the southwest. Trans-Pecos is considered the only mountainous region of Texas, on its territory there are six peaks above 2,400 meters (8,000 feet). Being the most complex natural region, it includes sandy hills, the Stockton Plateau, desert valleys, wooded mountainsides and desert pastures. [10] There are at least 268 species of herbaceous and 447 species of woody plants in the region . [14] A number of national parks are located in the region: , Big Bend Park , , , Guadalupe Mountains Park and the . [11] Part of this region belongs to the Chihuahua desert .
Geology
In Texas, sedimentary rocks predominate, with younger Cretaceous strata in the east of the state up to the bathyal zone in the Gulf of Mexico . This sequence is built on top of the Appalachian – Washito – zone, which arose during the Carboniferous period as a result of the collision of the continents , when the Gulf of Mexico formed from the rift created in the Jurassic . Deposits of the Permian and Triassic periods are located to the west of the formed folds , beyond the Dallas - Waco - Austin - San Antonio line . Oil lies in the rocks of the Cretaceous period in the east, rocks of the Permian period in the west, and also in the shelf of the Gulf of Mexico. In the central and western parts of the state, several exits of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks can be found, and even further to the west in the Big Bend region there are volcanic rocks of Oligocene . The layer of rocks of the Miocene period, also known as in the western highlands, is an important aquifer . Texas has neither active nor dormant volcanoes and survived several earthquakes, being far from the boundaries of active tectonic plates . The Big Bend area is the most seismically active, however, the area is sparsely populated and the destruction and injuries during earthquakes are minimal. There are no known earthquake-related deaths in Texas
Resources
Texas is rich in natural resources and is the largest agricultural and industrial state. The state is a major supplier of oil, cattle, sheep, and cotton. Texas also produces poultry, eggs, dairy products, greenhouse and nursery products, wheat, hay, rice, sugarcane, peanuts, and a number of fruits and vegetables. [15]
- Rocks rich in bitumen are mined mainly from the Cretaceous strata in the districts of Behar , Burnet , Kinney , Uvalde and some others.
- Cement is currently being produced in Behar, Comal, Dallas, Hector, El Paso, Harris, Hayes, McLennan, Nolan, Nueses, Potter, and Terrant counties. Historically, Texas cement accounted for 10% of the country's total cement production.
- Due to the abundance of various types of clay , Texas is one of the leading clay producers.
- Coal is mined predominantly in the districts of Coleman, Eastland, Erath, Jack, Mac Kaloch, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Trockmorton, Wise and Young. Brown coal is mined mainly in the coastal plains.
- Fluorspar or fluorite is an important industrial mineral used in the production of steel , aluminum , glass and fluorocarbons . It is mined in several settlements in the regions of Trans-Pecos and Llano.
- Gemstones, which are also important minerals in Texas, are represented by the following species: agate , jasper , cinnabar , fluorite , topaz , calcite , opal , petrified wood, and tektite .
- Graphite deposits are located in the Llano region and were previously mined in Burnet County.
- Guano bats can be found in caves in the Eduards Plateau region, the Trans Pecos region, and, to a lesser extent, in central Texas.
- Gypsum is actively mined in Texas, mainly in the in the Gillespie and Menard counties, as well as in the salt domes of the Gulf of Mexico in the Harris and, earlier, Brooks counties.
- Texas is a leading producer of helium extracted exclusively from the Cliffside gas field near Amarillo.
- Iron ore deposits are present in northeast Texas, as well as in small quantities in the central part of the state.
- Lanthanides are commonly called rare earths. Several of these rare-earth elements are concentrated in rhyolitic and related igneous rocks in the Trans-Pecos region. Deposits containing several rare-earth minerals were found on Barringer Hill in Llano County, but then they were flooded by the waters of Lake Buchanan.
- Limestone is rich in many areas of Texas. Lime plants currently operate in Behar, Bosque, Burnet, Comal, Def Smith, Hill, Johnson, Nuezes and Travis counties.
- Magnesium chloride, magnesium sulfate and other mineral salts are present in the Upper and in the dry lakes of the High Plains.
- Manganese is found in Precambrian rocks in the districts of Mason, Llano, Val Verde, Jeff Davis and Dickens.
- Mica is present in Precambrian pegmatites in the Llano region.
- Opal can be found on the territory of the Prime Mexican Lowland.
- Salt in large quantities is found in salt domes in the Pre-Mexican lowlands, as well as with other evaporites in the Perm basin in western Texas and near the city of .
- Sand used for industrial purposes is found in the coastal plains of Texas, in eastern Texas, in the north-central and central parts of the state.
- The discovery of silver in Texas is attributed by some to the Franciscans, who discovered and operated mines near El Paso around the 1680s. Documented silver production began in the late 1880s at the Presidio mine in the eponymous district. From 1885 to 1955, Texas produced 32,663,405 troy ounces of silver.
- Sulfur is found in the upper hard layers of salt domes in the Pre-Mexican plain, as well as in Permian strata in Trans-Pecos Texas.
- In the past, uranium was mined in the districts of Atascos, Gonzales, Carns and Liv Oak. At the moment, all uranium mines are closed, mining in Texas is stopped. [sixteen]
- Recently, increased attention has been paid to the , located in the Fort Worth area and containing natural gas reserves . There is ongoing talk of great risk in developing this type of field.
See also
- List of Texas Agglomerations
- List of Texas State Parks
- Texas River List
Literature
- Jordan-Bychkov, Terry Texas, Geography . Westview Press, 1984.
External links
- Texas Official Website
- TNRIS Texas Natural Resource Information System
- Big Bend National Park in context of earth's history
Notes
- ↑ Tx Almanac .
- ↑ Texas Escapes.com unopened .
- ↑ The Office of the State Climatologist .
- ↑ Tx Almanac .
- ↑ StateMaster unspecified .
- ↑ Netstate unopened .
- ↑ About.com . Archived January 1, 2013.
- ↑ Tx Parks and Wildlife .
- ↑ Tx Envionmental Profiles .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 LoneStarInternet unspecified .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Tx Environmental Profiles .
- ↑ The Rolling Plains Region . Date of treatment August 20, 2013.
- ↑ USDA Houston Black . (inaccessible link)
- ↑ Tx Parks and Wildlife .
- ↑ infoplease.com unopened .
- ↑ MINERAL RESOURCES AND MINING . Handbook of Texas Online . Texas State Historical Association.