Texas is a state with a unique status. Texas - a state with a unique status When is the season
Hello friends! Have you decided to visit us in Texas and do not know anything about the local nature? The nature of Texas is different, because Texas is the second largest state in the United States. Here we have two climatic zones - a humid subtropical climate in the east and a semi-arid climate in the west.
To make it more clear to you and me, let's look at what zones Texas is divided into:
So, in the southeast of Texas we have a coastal lowland, in the west there is a zone of ridges and basins. The rest of the area is flat.
A chain of islands runs along the state of Texas, the most remarkable of which is Padre Island (a national reserve is located in its central part). Well, Galveston Island is not bad either. 🙂
Nature of Texas by zones
In the Coastal Lowland (marked in dark green on the map) there are a lot of rivers, swamps, lakes. Here is the famous lake Caddo with fantastic cypresses:
Cool, right? Just like in a fairy tale! 🙂
Where the coastal lowland meets the Great Plains, the nature of Texas has, as it were, outlined the boundary with a chain of hills (Hill Country or Hill Country). The easternmost point of the Great Plains is the Kaprock slope (in some places the height of the slope is almost 300 m).
Palo Duro Canyon is also located here:
In northwest Texas, you can meet the Chihuahua Desert (not to be confused with Chihuahua 🙂), and it is the second largest in the United States. In addition, to the west is Mount Guadalupe, which is the highest point in the state of Texas. Yes Yes Yes! The height of Guadalupe is as much as 2667 meters above sea level. And in the southwest is Big Bend National Park. This is how handsome he is:
The Rio Grande separates Texas from Mexico. By the way, rio grande means "big river" in Spanish. Original title, right? Why are there Spanish names in the US, you ask? Because Texas was part of Mexico until 1836. Our street even starts at Pueblo, which means “village” in Spanish. So... what am I talking about? Oh yes. There are also such rivers: Red River, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado.
But 37 kilometers from the city of Austin there is a lake formed as a result of the collapse of the dome of an underground river. The lake is called Hamilton Pool:
I need to finally get to this place with my husband somehow.
So, in the east we have a humid subtropical climate, and in the west we have an already arid continental climate. Take, for example, Houston and Galveston. When I first got there (September 2014), at first I did not understand what was happening. It felt like I was in a bath! But it was the end of September ... Due to the heat, air conditioners work here in such a way that mom does not indulge! I still feel cold everywhere - in all shops, restaurants and generally everywhere. And if you take the summer, then you can generally cook here. Heat up to 35ºС and humidity from the Gulf of Mexico. November here is like our Russian summer, and only in December and January it gets cold until our autumn. Snow is here for happiness, if so in 10 years! 🙂
In the north of Texas, the climate is more temperate, the temperature in January is about 0ºС, in summer - up to 33ºС. In the west of Texas (in the El Paso area), the average temperature in winter is 5-10ºС, in summer up to 35ºС. There are a lot of sunny days here, so the city of El Paso is called the "City of the Sun".
Texas is often hit by tornadoes, starting with "Tornado Alley" in the north of the state and passing through Oklahoma, Kansas. Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and Minnesota.
The Gulf of Mexico often brings hurricanes to the East Coast. Here, for example, often suffers because of them. It is built anew, and again another hurricane destroys the city. Hurricane Ike was here in 2008. My husband told me how people flew to other states if they had time to buy tickets. The rest tried to leave by car, because of which there were huge traffic jams on the roads. That's why we have a generator in the garage - it was also bought by my husband's father for such cases. It can produce energy for a week, as far as I know. Still, I hope it never comes in handy!
Well, that's all I have for today. Oksana Bryant was with you, bye-bye! 😉
Would you like to receive articles from this blog by email?
Geographic Encyclopedia
- (Texas) a state in the southern United States. 692 thousand km². Population 18 million (1993). Adm. c. Austin ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
Exist., Number of synonyms: 1 state (133) ASIS Synonym Dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary
- (Texas), a state in the southern United States. 691.2 thousand km2. Population 19 million (1996). Austin Civic Center. * * * TEXAS TEXAS (Texas), a state in the south of the USA, in the group of states of the South Western Center. Area 692 thousand km2 (second place after Alaska (see ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary
- (Texas) state in the south of the USA. In the south it is washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. It occupies the 2nd place in the USA in terms of area (after Alaska), 4th in terms of population (after California, New York, Pennsylvania). The area is 692 thousand km2. The population is 12 million people, including ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Texas- state, USA. There is a widespread version that the name Texas (Texas) arose as a result of a misunderstanding: the first Spanish. the colonizers mistook the greeting texia as the name of the area. Later it was believed that texia is the name of an Indian tribe ... Toponymic Dictionary
Texas- 1. City of Shymkent, R. Kazakhstan. Are you from Texas? Kazakh slang 2. City of Tikhvin, Leningrad region. I'm going to Texas this weekend... Petersburg slang... Dictionary of modern vocabulary, jargon and slang
Texas- (Texas) Texas, a state in the south of the United States, bordering Mexico and washed by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is located south of Oklahoma, between the states of New Mexico and Louisiana; sq. 691030 sq. km, 16986510 people (1990); adm. Center Austin. The largest… … Countries of the world. Dictionary
- (according to English Texas, Texas, from Tachies, the name of an Indian tribe, whose descendants, inises, now live in Indian Territory) extreme southwest. the state of Sev. American Union on the Gulf Coast. It borders on N with New Mexico, Oklahoma, ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
TEXAS- The southern part of the Kirovsky district in the southwest. According to the state of the same name in the southern United States ... Dictionary of the Petersburger
Books
- Texas! Sage. 22 Indigo Place, Sandra Brown. The book includes the final novel of the famous Texas saga (the first two novels were published earlier) of the trilogy by the famous American writer Sandra Brown. The book tells…
- Texas! Lucky. Texas! Chase, Sandra Brown. The book includes the first two novels from the famous trilogy by American writer Sandra Brown, which tells about the life of the American Tyler family. Happy love and light erotica, family…
Texas(eng. Texas) - a state in the southeastern United States. It ranks second in terms of territory after Alaska (695.622 km²) and second after California in terms of population (22.8 million). Texas is one of the centers of American agriculture, cattle breeding, education, oil and gas and chemical industries, and financial institutions. The state capital is Austin; administrative division - counties (254). The people of Texas are called Texans.
The name of the state comes from the Spanish word "tejas", which in turn was a variant of the Indian word - "táysha".ʔ ” (in the language of the Caddo tribes) - meaning “friend”, “ally” (the first Spanish explorers of the territory began to call it Indian tribes). The American state abbreviation is TX.
Geography
Location
Texas borders the states of New Mexico (to the west), Oklahoma (to the north), Louisiana and Arkansas (to the east). The southwestern border of Texas runs along the Rio Grande, which separates the United States and Mexico. In the southeast, Texas is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico.
The eastern and southern parts of Texas are located on the Mexican Lowland (Gulf Coast); rising in the west, it passes into the Eduarde plateau (up to 835 m) and Llano Estacado (up to 1200 m). In the extreme west, the spurs of the Rocky Mountains begin (up to 2665 m high).
The largest rivers of Texas: Red River, Trinity, Brazos, Colorado and Rio Grande; many small rivers in the central and western parts often dry up.
Most of Texas (center and north) is plains covered with shrubs, increasingly thinning to the west, where the steppes and deserts begin. In the east and southeast, savannahs and oak-pine forests have been preserved (areas of the extreme southeast, on the border with Louisiana, are significantly swampy).
Climate
Climatically, Texas represents two zones: in the south (along the coast), the climate is subtropical, hot; in the central and northern parts the climate is continental with hot summers and cool winters (average temperature in January from 1 to 15 C, in July from 25 to 30 C). Precipitation decreases in the direction from east to west from 1000-1300 mm to 200-300 mm per year. Texas is characterized by frequent tornadoes in the central part and episodic tropical cyclones on the coast, leading to serious damage.
Flora and fauna
Texas is rich in diversity of fauna and flora. The most numerous animals are coyotes, deer, armadillos. Texas has several national reserves.
Geographic areas
In Texas, 7 main geographical regions are usually distinguished: 1) Northern Plains (“Panhandle Plains”) - 2) Central Hill Country (“Hill Country”) - 3) West Region of the “Big Bend” (“Big Bend”) - 4) Central -Eastern Prairies and Lakes Region - 5) Gulf Coast Region - 6) South Texas Plains - 7) Eastern Pinewoods Region ("Pineywoods") "). In turn, these geographical areas are often subdivided into regional categories.
The largest settlements
According to data for 2000, there are 22 agglomerations and 2 metropolitan areas in Texas (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington and Houston-Galveston-Brazoria). Eight federal highways pass through the state - No. 10, 20, 27, 30, 35, 37, 40, 47, connecting Texas with New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Story
Spanish colonization
Before the settlement by the Spaniards and European settlers, the modern territory of Texas was the habitat of various Indian tribes: Apache, Atapakan, Bidai, Caddo, Comanche, Cherokee, Kiowa, Tonkawa, Wichita and Karankawa. In the 1870s the Apaches left Texas; they were the last Indians to occupy much of the state. Three native tribes of Texas are currently recognized by the US government: the Alabama and Kushat tribe, the Kickapoo tribe, and the Isleta del sur Pueblo tribe.
In 1519, Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, a Spanish navigator, sailed along the Texas coast and mapped the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico for the first time. The first European to set foot on the land of Texas (November 6, 1528) was the shipwrecked conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca. He spent six years in Texas establishing trade links with the local tribes. The first settlement was founded by the Spanish in the Isleta region near present-day El Paso in 1682. Meanwhile, the east of modern Texas began to be developed by the French, who were expanding their colony of Louisiana. On February 18, 1685, the Frenchman Rene-Robert Cavalier founded Fort Saint Louis in Matagorda Bay, a French outpost in Texas. In 1690, Alonso de León crossed the Rio Grande and established the Catholic Mission of San Francisco de los Texas in eastern Texas. The mission was located in the area of the old road to San Antonio, the oldest transportation artery in the territory of the modern United States. By the end of the 18th century, the entire territory of modern Texas, together with Mexico, was part of the Spanish colony "New Spain".
At the beginning of the 19th century, east Texas began to be settled by immigrants from the United States. Moses Austin purchased 800 km²; On January 3, 1823, on the Brazos River, Stephen Austin formed a colony of 300 American families (now known as the "Old Three Hundred"). In 1821, New Spain, which included Texas, achieved independence from Spain, and thus Texas became part of the new state of Mexico.
Republic of Texas
By the mid 1830s. dictatorship and lawlessness in Mexico led to the fact that the state was on the verge of collapse: the territories of Texas and Yucatan expressed - according to constitutional law - a desire to secede. In 1835, Mexican President General Antonio López de Santa Anna proposed a new constitution that would abolish slavery, which had been the norm among American settlers. In addition, he stepped up pressure on the Americans, demanding disarmament and forced expulsion of illegal immigrants from the US border states and the return of their lands. This policy of the Mexican government caused discontent among the inhabitants of Texas, and served as a pretext for the war for independence.
On October 2, 1835, the Texans clashed with a detachment of Mexican cavalry near the city of Gonzales, which led to the outbreak of hostilities. On October 28, 1835, at the Battle of Concepción, 90 Texans defeated 450 Mexicans. On March 2, 1836, a convention of independence from Mexico was signed at the Assembly of Representatives of American Settlers. In response, Mexican troops were sent in the battle for the Alamo fortress in San Antonio, almost completely destroying the small Texian garrison after a thirteen-day siege. Following this, on March 27, 1836, on the orders of López de Santa Anna, the Mexicans executed James Fannin and about 400 Texans in Goliad. These defeats, in turn, inspired the Texans to create an army that, under the leadership of Sam Houston, won the decisive battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836 (López de Santa Anna was taken prisoner).
On May 14, 1836, Texas officials and General Santa Anna signed a treaty of independence in the city of Velasco. However, the Mexican government did not ratify this treaty, leaving the question of Mexican independence open (while the western part of present-day Texas continued to have an unclear legal status). At the end of 1836, a constitution was adopted (affirming the right to slavery), and Texas was proclaimed a republic. Sam Houston became the first president. After repeatedly moving the capital, Houston was chosen as the center of power in 1837. The Republic of Texas has received international recognition. At the same time, Mexican raids on Texas continued. (March 5, 1842, a detachment of Mexicans numbering more than 500 people, led by Rafael Vazquez, invaded Texas for the first time since the revolution; reaching San Antonio, they retreated back to the Rio Grande; September 11, 1842, a 1,500-strong army of Mexico, led by Adrian Wall, captured part of San Antonio, but later retreated, capturing prisoners). The clashes continued for almost 10 years and depended on whether the position of the Mexican government was strengthening or weakening. The United States did not officially intervene in this struggle, although thousands of volunteers in the United States were recruited to help the Texans. Armed conflicts between Mexico and the Republic of Texas made it possible to stop not so much the accession of the latter to the United States under the treaty of December 29, 1845 (Texas became the 28th state), but the victory of the United States in the American-Mexican War of 1846-1848, which completely suppressed resistance and claims Mexico. When Texas separated from Mexico, it was originally intended to become part of the United States sooner or later (although there was also an idea among the Texans of developing Texas into a huge nation with territory as far as the Pacific Ocean).
Texas is the first and still the only internationally recognized independent state directly admitted to the United States as an equal member of the union. (The state of Vermont, which proclaimed itself the Republic of Vermont in 1777 and joined the United States in 1791, had de facto autonomy, but did not have international recognition; the United States annexed the self-proclaimed Republic of California and the Kingdom of Hawaii, but included them in the state as states only later some time).
Second half of the 19th century
Upon joining the United States, the territory of Texas included all the lands of the modern state of Texas, as well as uninhabited northern areas, which, under an agreement dated September 9, 1850, were transferred to the US government as payment of Texas' external debt ($10 million). Subsequently, these federal territories were divided among the future states of New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming.
Despite the fact that all residents and veterans of the battles in Texas were given allotments and other benefits, there was not much influx of immigrants. Special agencies were created to recruit immigrants from Europe: there were German, French, Swedish and Dutch agencies. The most active immigration came from Germany (this is evidenced by the names of many cities - Fredericksburg, Aldorf, New Braunfels, etc.). After the European revolutions of 1848, Poles, Swedes, Norwegians, Czechs and French joined the German settlers. Immigration grew until the Second World War.
During the Civil War, Texas was part of the Confederation (February 23, 1861, in a referendum, the people of Texas voted for secession from the United States by 46,129 votes against 14,697 - a 76% majority). However, state president Sam Houston refused to take the Confederate oath, and the Convention assembled a new state government. It was in Texas - on May 12, 1865 - that the last battle of the Civil War took place (the Texans did not yet know that the Confederate troops led by General Lee surrendered on April 9 in Virginia). In 1870, the US Congress re-incorporated Texas into the country. In 1876, the modern Texas constitution was adopted.
20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, significant oil reserves were discovered in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, which reshaped the state's economy (prior to World War II, farm cattle breeding and agriculture prevailed in Texas). In 1910-20s. the Texas border area was exposed to vestments by Mexican bandits who took advantage of the turmoil of the Mexican Revolution. During the years of the Great Depression, the state also experienced a sharp decline in the quality of life; to this were added numerous dust storms in the 30s, caused by drought and improper land cultivation. All this led to a significant outflow of population from Texas in those years.
After World War II, Texas became one of the centers of scientific technology, education and industry. Houston is home to the NASA administration and the Center for Manned Spacecraft. Lyndon Johnson with Mission Control. In the 60s. Texas began to phase out the segregation system, a process that took more than a decade.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. The crime still has no clear explanation. His post was taken by Vice President Lyndon Johnson, a former Texas senator.
Administrative system and politics
Fundamentals of State Administrative Organization
Since Texas joined the US as an independent state, this state is the only one that has the right to hold a popular referendum on independence. Also, the Texas flag is the only one that has the right to be on flagpoles on the same level as the federal one.
The Governor of Texas is Republican Rick Perry. He took up this post in December 2000, after former Governor George W. Bush was elected President of the United States. In the Senate, the state is represented by two Republicans - Kay Bailey Hutchison (since 1993) and John Cornyn (since 2002).
The current Texas constitution, adopted in 1876, is the second largest of any state. Like many other state constitutions, it clearly separates the branches of government and includes a set of rights in the main text (Article One). The Texas legal code is longer and more detailed than the US legal code, and it also includes some Texan idiosyncrasies.
The executive branch of government consists of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Inspector of Public Relations, Commissioner of Land, Supreme Attorney, Commissioner of Agriculture, a three-member railroad commission, representatives of public education, and the Secretary of State.
With the exception of the Secretary of State (who is appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Senate), all other positions are elected. Also in the state, state boards and commissions play a significant role. Due in part to a large bureaucracy, the governor's power is limited compared to other state governors and the president of the United States. More power is concentrated in the hands of the lieutenant governor, who leads the state senate and creates Senate committees and groups. The governor controls the state police force and has the power to veto laws passed by the legislatures. He also appoints the members of the executive and judicial colleges.
The supreme body of the legislature of Texas, as well as any other state with the exception of Nebraska, is bicameral. There are 150 people in the House of Representatives, 31 in the Senate. The head of the lower house of parliament is the speaker, and the head of the senate is the lieutenant-governor. The House of Representatives meets in regular session only once every two years.
The Texas court system has a reputation for being one of the most complex in the world, due to the many levels of courts and the nuances of overlapping jurisdictions. Texas has two highest courts: the Texas Superior Court - which hears private cases - and the Texas Criminal Court. With the exception of some municipalities, judges at all levels are elected locally by ballot, after which the position is approved by the governor.
Texas has 254 counties governed by authorized assemblies. At the head of such a meeting is a district judge, elected by the people of the county.
State Politics
Texas politics is currently dominated by the Republican Party, which has the majority of seats in the Texas Senate and House of Representatives. Every elected chief executive is a Republican, as is every elected member of both superior courts. Democrats have not won elections in Texas since 1994. The overwhelming majority of congressmen elected in Texas are Republicans, and both senators are also Republicans. In the history of the country, 3 US presidents were politicians from Texas: Lyndon Johnson (Democrat), George W. Bush (Republican) and George W. Bush (Republican).
Economy
Prior to World War II, Texas' economy was dominated by agriculture. After the Second World War, the state began to rapidly industrialize. Its economy (as of 2000) is based mainly on information technology, oil and gas, electricity generation and export, agriculture and manufacturing. The two main economic centers: the metropolitan areas of Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, in addition to them, San Antonio and El Paso play a significant economic role. Houston specializes in the petrochemical industry and space technology (NASA is based here), while Dallas is the center of information technology and the agricultural industry.
Fishing, the oil industry, and the tourism industry are developed in the Gulf of Mexico coast zone. In the central and western parts there are cattle breeding farms and agricultural holdings (corn, cotton). The northwestern part of the state is divided among many small private oil companies. Gambling business in Texas is prohibited.
In 2001, Texas' gross domestic product was $764 billion. The growth of the state's economy is fueled by the presence of a wide range of jobs, low cost of living, high living standards, no state tax, preferential business taxation and little government intervention in business. Another important aspect is the favorable climate.
Education
Texas is home to two of the country's leading universities - the University of Texas at Austin (it includes 9 academic universities) and the Agricultural and Technical University of Texas at College Station, the rivalry between which has been going on since their founding in the 19th century. There are also many high-level medical institutes in Texas.
culture
The culture of Texas has absorbed many ethnic and external regional traditions, thanks to the ongoing immigration from other states and countries, while many of the cultural institutions of Texas (sports, music, architecture, cuisine, etc.) were generated by the border position of the state (proximity to Mexico).
Demography
In the 1990s, Texas overtook New York, which had previously been in second place in terms of population (traditionally, California was in the first place). A 2005 estimate put the state's population at 22.8 million. As of 2004, 3.5 million (15.6%) people born outside the United States live in Texas (of which approximately 1.2 million are illegal immigrants). Census data shows that Texas has 7.8% of children under 5, 28.2% under 18, and 9.9% over 64. Women make up 50.4% of the population.
Races
The traditional majority are the descendants of Anglo-Saxons and Germans, as well as Mexicans (whose numbers continue to increase every year). In recent years, the number of immigrants of Asian roots has been growing, especially in cities such as Houston and Dallas. Immigrants come to Texas from China, Vietnam, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan and other countries.
The most represented ethnic groups in Texas are Mexicans (24.3%), Blacks (11.5%), Germans (9.9%), Anglo-Saxons (7.2%) and Irish (7.2%). Paradoxically, such a large state as Texas has only 3 Indian reservations that are extremely insignificant in territory, which was the result of the Texas policy of the 19th century: even among the leaders of the Republic of Texas there was an opinion that the Indians should be exterminated as a barbarian race that was not amenable to civilization (then it was popular the notion that "whites and reds will never get along"). The Indians themselves also gave cause - until the mid-1860s they made attacks on whites - however, as a rule, after violations of obligations by the white settlers themselves. By the end of the 1870s. all the major tribes emigrated from Texas.
Religion
According to data on religion among residents of Texas, 66% are Protestants, 23% are Catholics, 1% are Christians of other denominations, and 1% are representatives of non-Christian religions. 6% of the population are atheists. Of the Protestant churches, the largest are Baptists (32% of the population), Methodists (9%) and Pentecostals (3%).
Miscellaneous facts
Six flags flew over Texas at different times: French Fleur-de-lis, Spanish, Mexican, the flag of the Republic of Texas, the flag of the Confederate States of America and, finally, the United States.
The Texas Capitol, located in Austin, repeats the appearance of the Washington one, but is lined with pink granite and topped with a statue of the Goddess of Liberty holding a Texas star. Like the governor's buildings of some other southern states, the Texas Capitol faces south instead of north. The building of the Texas Capitol is taller than the Washington one, and slightly less massive.
Texas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Population 25,674,681. The area is 696,241 km². The capital is the city of Austin. Major cities: Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth. The western border is New Mexico, the northern border is Oklahoma, the eastern border is Louisiana, and the northeastern border is Arkansas. The state is made up of 254 counties. In 1845 it became the 28th state in the United States.
State Attractions
The Capitol building is in Austin. Outwardly similar to the Washington Capitol, but finished with pink granite with a statue of liberty. The front of the building faces south, not north. You can visit one of the most beautiful places to the west of the capital - the Texas Hill Country. This place is famous for dozens of colorful towns, hundreds of rich ranches, many hiking trails, climbing routes, here you can swim, ride horses and much more. There is a coastal nature reserve on Padre Island. You can visit the country's famous bird sanctuary - Santa Ana, in the historic village of Buffalo Gap, in the Palo Duro Canyon State Park, look at the famous meteorite crater 16 km west of Odessa. In the Guadalupe National Park is the highest point - Guadalupe Peak, and you can also look at the McKittrick Canyon and visit an unusual oasis.
Geography and climate
The southwestern territory of Texas runs along the Rio Grande, which divides the United States and the lands of Mexico. In the southeast there is an outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. To the east and south is the Mexican lowland, which rises in the west and passes into the Edwards and Llano Estacado plateaus. In the western region lie the spurs of the Rocky Mountains, whose height reaches 2665 meters. Major rivers: Red River, Brazos, Colorado. In the central and western regions, there are many small rivers that often dry up. A large area is occupied by flat terrain, which in the west turns into steppes and deserts. On the eastern and southeastern parts there are savannahs and forests (oak, pine). The climate is subtropical in the south, continental in the north. The average annual temperature in January reaches 15°C, in July up to 30°C. The average annual rainfall in the eastern region is 1300 mm, in the western region - up to 300 mm. Tornadoes happen quite often.
Economy
In 2009, the GDP of the state of Texas was $1,145 billion. Oil, natural gas, sulfur, helium, uranium, and coal are extracted from minerals. The production of magnesium, aluminum is developed, synthetic resins, rubber, plastics, fertilizers, acids and alkalis are produced. The basis of the state economy is information technology, the oil and gas industry, the generation and export of electricity, activities in the field of agriculture, and the manufacturing industry. Small oil companies operate in the northwestern region. In the region of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, they are engaged in fishing, the oil industry is developed. Cattle farms, corn and cotton are grown in the central and western regions. In the western region, they are engaged in animal husbandry, they grow cattle, goats and sheep. The tourism business brings in a lot of income.
Population and religion
The population density of Texas is 36.88 people per km². About 50.4% of the population are women. The racial makeup was 45.3% White, 37.6% Hispanic of various races, 11.8% African American, 3.8% Asian, 0.7% Native American, and 0.8% mixed race. About 15.6% of residents were born outside the US (2004). Ethnically, about 31.6% of residents are of Mexican descent, 11.8% African American, 11% German, 8% Irish, 8% English. Recently, the number of immigrants from Asia, China, and Japan has been increasing. There are several French settlements (up to 600,000 people), Czech settlements (200,000 people) in the state. There are 3 Indian reservations. On the basis of religion, 58% of the inhabitants are Protestants, 28% are Catholics, 1% are Christians of other denominations, 2% are representatives of non-Christian religions, and 11% are atheists. Among the parishioners of Protestant churches, Baptists are the most - 21%, followed by Methodists - 8%, Pentecostals - 3%.
The North American Chihuahua Desert is the third largest in the entire Western Hemisphere and the second largest in North America, second in size only to the desert highlands.
The desert landscape is an arid plain, crossed over its entire length by numerous discontinuous mountain ranges. These are pages of the geological history of the Chihuahua Desert. Previously, it was a highland formed by tectonic movements of the earth's crust. Wide rivers flowed along it, leaving powerful layers of soft sedimentary rocks.
The desert was formed as a result of erosion processes, the conditions for which created an arid climate and strong daily temperature fluctuations. For a long time, the layers of soft sedimentary rocks were destroyed, but the ledges of hard rocks, formed by magma flows that had broken through to the surface of the earth, remained intact.
This is how the “Chihuahua landscape” so familiar to everyone from films about the Wild West turned out: wide flat-bottomed canyons, along the edges of which stood alone mountains with flat tops. Such mountains are called "heavenly islands" here.
It is very hot here in summer, when the daytime temperature rises to +35-40°C. In winter it can be lower, but only if the north wind is strong enough. Compared to other North American deserts, which are even further from the sea coast, there is more rainfall - almost 250 mm per year, and even then at the end of summer, when the monsoons are rampant.
In the vegetation of the Chihuahua desert, the three-toothed larreya, or simply the creosote bush, reigns supreme: the plant is surprisingly unpretentious, thanks to an incredibly deep root system that sucks water from a hundred meters deep. Other plants that are similarly adapted to low water are acacia, tar bush and varieties of cactus. Of the animals, the pronghorn is the most famous, feeding on all the plants of the desert, including the most poisonous.
Before the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, the territories adjacent to the Chihuahua desert were inhabited by Indian tribes who spoke the Aztec languages. They were engaged in hunting and gathering, and also grew vegetables in vegetable gardens.
Ethnographers are sure that the name Chihuahua comes from the language of the natives and means "dried field", or "land between two rivers": in the latter version, two large rivers in the desert region are meant - and its tributary Pecos.
At the end of the XVI century. the Spaniards appeared here, and for a long time these sands were the property of the Spanish crown. After the independence of Mexico in 1810, a series of wars began with the inhabitants of the western territories, which became part of the United States. This was caused primarily by the uncertainty of the boundaries. The American-Mexican War of 1846-1848 put an end to this issue, which deprived Mexico of almost half of its territory and finally approved the location of the American-Mexican border.
The Chihuahua Desert is located in North America, in the area of the US-Mexican border in the US states of New Mexico, Texas (west of the Pecos River) and Arizona (southeast), also the Mexican states, Coahuila, Durango (northwest), Zacatecas (north) and Nuevo Aeon (west).
Big Bend National Park in Texas was created in the place where the Rio Grande describes the famous Big Bend - "the big turn".
The borders of the Chihuahua Desert are several protected areas and national parks, the most famous of which is the American Big Bend National Park, on the US-Mexican border. It is separated from Mexico by the Rio Grande, which in this place describes a huge arc (big bend), which gave the name to the park itself.
Although the park is part of the desert, a significant part of its territory is occupied by the Chisos mountain range with Emory peak 2385 m high. The Rio Grande, meandering between the mountains, forms a series of green valleys and small canyons of Santa Elena, Mariscal and Boquillas.
Since the elevation difference here is very large, a sharp difference in the nature of individual areas is noticeable, even at a distance of only a few kilometers. These features have also affected the wildlife of the national park: for example, a tree such as chisos oak grows only in this corner of the United States.
And today there are unique representatives of the North American fauna here: the cougar, or cougar, of which there are only a couple of dozen individuals left, the black-tailed hare, the kangaroo jumper, the California running cuckoo.
Big Bend Park is known not only as a land with an unusually rich flora and fauna (the proximity of the river affects), but also as a place where experts managed to find the sites of the ancient inhabitants of these places, who settled down in the Big Bend area 9 thousand years ago. Later, the Chisos, Mescapero and Comanche Indians settled here.
Within the Chihuahua Desert there are several large cities, mainly in Mexico, on the border with the United States. The largest is the Mexican Ciudad Juarez, which is developing rapidly despite adverse climatic conditions and the proximity of the desert. This is due to the extraordinary cheapness of labor in Mexico: large international industrial corporations, such as Electrolux, Bosch, Siemens, Lexmark and Boeing, are moving production here, building the so-called maquiladoras - assembly lines. Masses of unemployed from all over Mexico and Central America flock to the city. For the same reason, the Mexican border cities were overwhelmed by a wave of crime, mainly related to the activity of drug cartels.
Not far from Ciudad Juarez is the American city of El Paso, surrounded on all sides by the Chihuahua desert - glorified in American folklore of the times of the Wild West as a city of complete lawlessness. Those days are gone, and today's El Paso is a major center of international trade on the US-Mexico border. El Paso is also home to the area's largest annual classic Southwest International Rodeo.
Currently, the nature of the Chihuahua desert is under threat, and the main danger is the use of heavy SUVs when moving through its territories, as well as the appearance of plants and animals unusual for this region, especially rats and some insect species. The excessive pumping of water from underground horizons for the needs of growing cities and agriculture also affects.
general information
Location: southwestern North America, Rio Grande region.Administrative affiliation: US states (New Mexico, Texas and Arizona), Mexican states (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas and Nuevo Leon).
Large cities: Ciudad Juarez (Mexico) - 1,321,004 people. (2010), Chihuahua (Mexico) - 809,232 people. (2010), El Paso (USA) - 674,433 people. (2013), Torreon (Mexico) - 639,629 people (2010).
Languages: English, Spanish.
Ethnic composition: White, Hispanic (all races), Mestizo, African American, Asian
Religions: Catholicism, Protestantism, atheism.
Monetary units: US dollar, Mexican peso.
Major rivers: Rio Grande, Pecos, Rio Conchos.
Major airports: Abraham Gonzalez International Airport (Ciudad Juarez, Mexico), Northeast International Airport (El Paso, Mexico).
Numbers
Desert area: 362,600 km2.Desert length: 1285 km.
Desert width: 440 km.
Big Bend National Park area: 3242 km2.
lowest point: 600 m a.s.l.
highest point: 3700 m a.s.l.
Climate and weather
Hot desert.January average temperature: +7°С.
July average temperature: +28°С.
Average annual rainfall: 250 mm.
Relative humidity: 60%.
Economy
Minerals: zinc, silver.Industry (in cities): oil refining and petrochemical, mechanical engineering, light (textile), assembly of automobiles and household appliances, food.
international trade(American-Mexican).
Agriculture: plant growing (maize, cassava, yams, gourds), animal husbandry (large and small cattle, pig breeding).
traditional crafts: products made of precious wood, clay, cotton, basket weaving.
Service sector: tourism, transport, trade.
Attractions
■ Natural: Chihuahua Desert, White Sands Wilderness Reserve (White Sands, New Mexico, USA), Franklin Mountains, Big Bend National Park, Mount Guadapupe National Park, Rio Grande Wildlife Landscape Complex, Bosque del Wildlife Sanctuary -Appachians, Carlsbad caves.■ City of Ciudad Juarez(Mexico): Bridges over the Rio Grande (Paso del Norte or Santa Festrit Bridge, Bridge of the Americas, Stanton Street Bridge, Islet, or Zaragossa), Museum of the Mexican Revolution, Art Museum, Archaeological Museum, Frontier Gallery , Municipal Arts Center, Cathedral of Ciudad Juarez.
■ City of El Paso(USA): Museum of Archaeology, El Paso City Historical Museum, Centenary Museum of Local History, Franklin Mountains cable car.
■ Chihuahua city(Mexico): Cathedral (XVIII century), Government Palace (late XIX century), National Palace, Museum of the History of the Mexican Revolution, Quinta Gameros Art Nouveau mansion.
Curious facts
■ According to travelers, as far back as 150 years ago, in some areas of the present-day Chihuahua Desert, grass "was up to the horse's belly."■ Due to the proximity of the desert and low humidity in El Paso, not only houses, but even buses are equipped with air conditioning.
■ Big Bend National Park is recognized as one of the few places on earth where the nights are so dark that you can see thousands of stars, planets and the clear outline of the Milky Way in the sky.
■ The creosote bush is one of the longest-living plants on earth: an estimated 11,700-year-old colony of these plants has been found in the Mojave Desert. One colony of creosote bush grows up to 20 m in diameter. Indians treat them with many diseases - from tuberculosis to snakebite.
■ In terms of running speed, the pronghorn is second only to the cheetah: it reaches speeds of up to 67 km / h, while making jumps up to 6 m long. The speed record for a pronghorn is 88.5 km / h, but with such speed it can move no further than 5- 6 km.
■ The total length of the US-Mexican border is 1,600 km, of which 190 km are in Big Bend National Park.
■ The total number of plant species in the Chihuahua Desert is close to 3,500, of which a third - up to 29% - are endemic, but the number of plants of each species is small.
■ Mount Emory, the highest peak of Big Bend National Park, is named after William Hemsley Emory (1811-1887), who served as chief surveyor for the expedition that drew the precise border between the United States and Mexico under the 1848 Guadapupe Hidalgo Peace Treaty following Mexican-American War 1846-1848
