Texas
From Wikinvestor
Texas is a state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning 268,820 square miles (696,200 km2), and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents. Houston is its largest city and the fourth-largest in the United States, while the Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area (also called the Metroplex) is the largest metropolitan area in the state and the fourth-largest in the nation. Other major cities include San Antonio and Austin, the capital.
Texas contains diverse landscapes, resembling in places both the Deep South and the desert Southwest. Traveling from east to west, one can observe piney woods and semi-forests of oak and cross timbers, rolling plains and prairie, and finally the desert of the Big Bend. The phrase "everything is bigger in Texas" derives in part from the state's geographic sprawl and the wide open spaces of its desert and prairie regions. Due to its long history as a center of the American cattle industry, Texas is associated throughout much of the world with the image of the cowboy. Historically and culturally, Texas is usually considered part of the American South. However, with its Spanish and Mexican roots it can also be classified as part of the American Southwest. While residents acknowledge these categories, many claim an independent "Texan" identity superseding regional labels.
The term "six flags over Texas" comes from the multiple countries that have claimed the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short lived colony in Texas. Mexico owned the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation helped set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846 and the U.S. Civil War. Texas also joined the Confederate States of America as a charter member.
In the early 1900s, oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. Texas has since economically diversified. It has a growing base in high technology, biomedical research and higher education. Its gross state product is the second-highest in the nation.
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Geography
Texas is located at 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.
Texas' size and unique history makes its regional affiliation debatable. Depending on the source, it can be fairly considered either or both a Southern or Southwestern state. The vast geographic, economic, and cultural diversity within the state itself prohibits easy categorization of the whole state into a recognized region of the United States. The East, Central, and North Texas, regions have a stronger association with the American South than with the Southwest. Others, such as far West Texas and South Texas share more similarities with the latter.
The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River form natural state borders, Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, & the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south. The state's Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100° W, a northern border with Oklahoma at 36°30' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103° W. El Paso lies on the state's we
Climate
The large size of Texas and its location at the intersection of multiple climate zones gives the state very variable weather. The Panhandle of the state has colder winters than North Texas, while the Gulf Coast has mild winters. Texas has wide variations in precipitation patterns. El Paso, on the western end of the state, averages as little as 8 inches (200 mm) of annual rainfall while Houston, on the southeast Texas averages as much as 54 inches (1,400 mm) per year. Dallas in the North Central region averages a more moderate 37 inches (940 mm) per year.
Generally, snow falls multiple times each winter in the Panhandle and mountainous areas of West Texas, once or twice a year in North Texas, once every few years in Central and East Texas, but snow rarely falls south of San Antonio or on the coast except in extreme circumstances, such as the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm which saw the first White Christmas ever for Houston and 6 inches of snow as far south as Kingsville, whose average high temperature in December is 65° F.
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 100 °F (38 °C) in the Rio Grande Valley, but most areas of Texas see consistent summer high temperatures in the 90 °F (32 °C) range.
Night time summer temperatures range from the upper 50s °F (14 °C) in the West Texas mountains to 80 °F (27 °C) in Galveston.
Thunderstorms strike Texas often, especially the eastern and northern portion of the state. Tornado Alley covers the northern section of Texas. The state experiences the most tornadoes in the Union, an average of 139 a year. These strike most frequently in North Texas and the Panhandle.[81] Tornadoes in Texas generally occur in the months of April, May, and June.
Some of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history have impacted Texas. A hurricane in 1875 killed approximately 400 people in Indianola, followed by another hurricane in 1886 that destroyed the town, at the time the most important port city in the state. This allowed Galveston to take over as the chief port city, the Galveston hurricane of 1900 subsequently devastated that city killing approximately 8,000 people (possibly as many as 12,000), making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Other devastating Texas hurricanes include the 1915 Galveston Hurricane, Hurricane Audrey in 1957, which killed over 600 people, Hurricane Carla in 1961, Hurricane Beulah in 1967, Hurricane Alicia in 1983, Hurricane Rita in 2005, and Hurricane Ike in 2008.
Texas emits the most greenhouse gases in the US. The state emits nearly 1.5 trillion pounds (680 billion kg) of carbon dioxide annually. As an independent nation Texas would rank as the world's seventh-largest producer of greenhouse gases. Causes of the state's vast greenhouse gas emissions include the state's large number of coal power plants and the state's refining and manufacturing industries.
Demographics
As of 2006, the state has an estimated population of 23,507,783, an increase of 2.5% from the prior year and 12.7% since the year 2000. The state's rate of natural increase (births - deaths) since the last census was 1,389,275 people, 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. As of 2004, the state had 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6 percent of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are illegal immigrants. Texas from 2000–2006 had the fastest growing illegal immigration rate in the nation.
Economy
Texas's large population, abundance of natural resources, and diverse population and geography have led to a large and highly diverse economy. Since the discovery of oil, the state's economy reflected the state of the petroleum industry. In recent times, urban centers of the state have diversified, employing two-thirds of the population in 2005. Growth in the state's economy has caused problems associated with urban sprawl.
Texas has a "low taxes, low services" reputation. According to the Tax Foundation, Texans' state and local tax burdens rank among the lowest in the nation, 7th lowest nationally, with state and local taxes costing $3,580 per capita, or 8.7% of resident incomes. Texas is one of only 6 states that lacks a state income tax. Instead, the state receives a significant amount of revenue from a state sales tax rate, 6.25%, that is above the national medium. Texas's business tax climate, the state ranks 8th in the nation. While Texas does not have state property taxes, local versions generally rate above the national average. Texas is a "tax donor state"; in 2005, for every dollar Texans pay to the federal government in federal income taxes, the state receives back approximately $0.94 in benefits back.
In 2004, the Site Selection magazine ranked Texas as the most business friendly state in the nation. A reason cited for this ranking comes from the state's three billion dollar, Texas Enterprise Fund. In the fourth quarter of 2006, Texas had a gross state product of $1.09 trillion, the second highest in the U.S. Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,975. The state holds the most Fortune 500 company headquarters in the United States.
