West Texas is a vernacular term applied to a region in the southwestern United States that primarily encompasses the arid and semi-arid A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive low annual precipitation, usually between 250-500 mm (10-20 in) of precipitation. A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification that treats steppe climates (BSk and BSh) as intermediates between the desert climates (BW) and humid climates in lands in the western portion of the state of Texas Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and sixth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the.
There is a general lack of consensus regarding the boundaries that separate East Texas According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone County and then southeastward to Galveston Bay", though some separate the Gulf Coast area into a separate region and West Texas.[1] Walter Prescott Webb Walter Prescott Webb was a 20th century U.S. historian and author noted for his groundbreaking historical work on the American West. As president of the Texas State Historical Association, he launched the project that produced the Handbook of Texas. He is also noted for his early criticism of the water usage patterns in the region, the American historian and geographer, suggested that the 98th meridian The meridian 98° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole separates East and West Texas.[2] The Texas writer A.C. Greene proposed that West Texas extends west of the Brazos River The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers . The Brazos is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at 2060 km (1280 miles) from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a 116,000 km² (44,800 sq mi) drainage.[3] Perhaps, the truth is that there is no distinct line that separates East and West Texas. Rather, there are places that are clearly in West Texas and there are places that are clearly in East Texas, and then there are places that fall within a transitional zone between these two regions.
West Texas is often subdivided according to distinct physiographic features. The portion of West Texas that lies west of the Pecos River The Pecos River arises near Pecos, New Mexico, United States, and flows for 926 miles through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it empties into the Rio Grande near Del Rio. The river drains approximately 44,300 square miles (115,000 km2) of land is often referred to as "Far West Texas" or the "Trans-Pecos The term Trans-Pecos, as originally defined in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill, refers to the portion of Texas that lies west of the Pecos River. The term is considered synonymous with "Far West Texas", a subdivision of West Texas. The Trans-Pecos lies within the Chihuahuan Desert, the most mountainous and arid portion of the," a term first introduced in 1887 by the Texas geologist Robert T. Hill Robert Thomas Hill was a significant figure in the development of American geology during the late nineteenth century and in the early part of the twentieth century. As a pioneer Texas geologist, Hill discovered and named the Comanche Series of the Lower Cretaceous, and was a lifelong student of the structure and stratigraphy of the Cretaceous.[4] The Trans-Pecos lies within the Chihuahuan Desert The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert that straddles the U.S.-Mexico border in the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau, bordered on the west by the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, and overlaying northern portions of the east range, the Sierra Madre Oriental. On the U.S. side it occupies the valleys and basins of central and, the most arid portion of the state. Another important subdivision of West Texas is the Llano Estacado Llano Estacado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʎano estaˈkaðo], , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North American continent,, a vast region of level high plains that extends into the Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. The southern border of Swisher County is considered to be the southern boundary of the region, though some consider the region. To the east of the Llano Estacado lies the “redbed country The term red beds usually refers to strata of reddish-colored sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, siltstone or shale that were deposited in hot climates under oxidizing conditions. The red color comes from iron oxide in their mineral structure. Although they have been deposited throughout the Phanerozoic, they are most commonly associated with” of the Rolling Plains The Osage Plains are a physiographic section of the larger Central Lowland province, which in turn is part of the larger Interior Plains physiographic division. The area is sometimes called the Lower Plains, North Central Plains, and the Rolling Plains. The Osage Plains, covering west-central Missouri, the southeastern third of Kansas, most of and to the south of the Llano Estacado Llano Estacado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʎano estaˈkaðo], , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North American continent, lies the Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area. The Rolling Plains The Osage Plains are a physiographic section of the larger Central Lowland province, which in turn is part of the larger Interior Plains physiographic division. The area is sometimes called the Lower Plains, North Central Plains, and the Rolling Plains. The Osage Plains, covering west-central Missouri, the southeastern third of Kansas, most of and the Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area subregions act as transitional zones between East and West Texas.
Contents |
Population
West Texas has a much lower population density Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key geographic term than the rest of the state. It was once mostly inhabited by nomadic Native American Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as intact political communities. The terminology used to tribes such as the Apache Apache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the American Southwest. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan (Apachean) language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan speakers of Alaska and western Canada. The, Comanche The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Originally, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian culture. There may have been as many as 45,000, and Kiowa The Kiowa are a nation of American Indians who migrated from the Northern Plains to their present location in Southwestern Oklahoma. They are a federally recognized tribe, the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma, with over 11,500 members until after the Civil War Union blockade – Eastern – Western – Lower Seaboard – Trans-Mississippi – Pacific Coast. It does not have as many ties to other parts of the Southern United States The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. Because of the region's unique cultural and historic heritage, including Native Americans, early European settlements of English, Ulster Scots, as does East Texas According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone County and then southeastward to Galveston Bay", though some separate the Gulf Coast area into a separate region, although many of the people who currently populate West Texas are also migrants from other parts of Texas and other Southern states or their descendants. There is a very large Hispanic population, especially near the Rio Grande The Rio Grande is a river that forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission its total length was 1,896 miles (3,051 km) in the late 1980s. Depending on how it is measured, the Rio Grande is the fourth or fifth longest river system in the. Many Mexicans fled Ojinaga and walked to Stonewall during the Mexican revolution in the early days of the 20th century. Many Mexican-Americans still have close family ties in Mexico In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica many cultures matured into advanced civilizations such as the Olmec, the Toltec, the Teotihuacan, the Zapotec, the Maya and the Aztec before the first contact with Europeans. In 1521, Spain conquered and colonized the territory, which was administered as the viceroyalty of New Spain which would eventually become Mexico.
Climate
West Texas receives much less rainfall Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops of water heavy than the rest of Texas and has an arid A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. As a result, environments subject to arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic or semi-arid A semi-arid climate or steppe climate describes climatic regions that receive low annual precipitation, usually between 250-500 mm (10-20 in) of precipitation. A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification that treats steppe climates (BSk and BSh) as intermediates between the desert climates (BW) and humid climates in climate, requiring most of its scant agriculture Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and stratified societies. The study of agriculture is known as to be heavily dependent on irrigation Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall. Additionally, irrigation also has a few other uses in crop production, which include protecting plants. This irrigation, and water taken out farther North for the needs of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico Ciudad Juárez , also known as Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez has an estimated population of 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), across from El Paso, Texas. El Paso and Ciudad Juárez comprise one, has reduced both the Pecos River The Pecos River arises near Pecos, New Mexico, United States, and flows for 926 miles through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it empties into the Rio Grande near Del Rio. The river drains approximately 44,300 square miles (115,000 km2) of land and the once mighty Rio Grande The Rio Grande is a river that forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes. According to the International Boundary and Water Commission its total length was 1,896 miles (3,051 km) in the late 1980s. Depending on how it is measured, the Rio Grande is the fourth or fifth longest river system in the to a stream in some places, even dry at times. Much of West Texas has rugged terrain including many small mountain ranges while there are none in other parts of the state. West Texas contains part of the Chihuahuan Desert and also the Southern Great Plains The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie, steppe and grassland which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming, and the Canadian, known as the Llano Estacado Llano Estacado (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈʎano estaˈkaðo], , commonly known as the Staked Plains, is a region in the southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas, including the South Plains and parts of the Texas Panhandle. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North American continent,.
|
Scenic beauty of the Guadalupe Mountains at sunset |
Monahans Sand Hills of West Texas |
View from Haynes Ridge in Caprock Canyons, Briscoe County, Texas |
Politics
The area is known for its conservative Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and opposes rapid change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism and seek a return to "the way things were." The first established use politics (with the exception of the El Paso area, which leans more to the political left). Some of the most heavily Republican The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. The party's platform is generally considered right of center counties in the United States are located in the region, where former President George W. Bush George Walker Bush ( /ˈdʒɔrdʒ ˈwɔːkər ˈbʊʃ/ ; born July 6, 1946) was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th Governor of Texas, serving from 1995 to 2000 spent most of his childhood. Republican candidates often receive more than 70 percent of the vote in this region. Glasscock County, for instance, gave over 90 percent of its vote to the Republican candidate in both 2004 and 2008.
This region was one of the first areas of Texas to abandon its Democratic The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. It is one of the world's oldest political parties and boasts the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United roots; some counties (such as Midland) have not supported a Democrat for president since 1948. However, Democrats continued to win most local races well into the 1990s.
Industry
Major industries include livestock Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food or fibre, or labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning of "livestock" is common, petroleum Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, toxic, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, and other organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling. It is refined and separated, most easily by and natural gas Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with other fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills. It is an important fuel source, a major feedstock for fertilizers, and a potent greenhouse gas production, textiles A textile is a flexible material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw wool fibres, linen, cotton, or other material on a spinning wheel to produce long strands. Textiles are formed by weaving, knitting, crocheting, knotting, or pressing fibres together such as cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Pakistan, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely, grain Cereals, grains, or cereal grains are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their fruit seeds (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis): the endocarp, germ, and bran. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple crops. In their natural and because of its proximity to the Mexican border, the maquiladora A maquiladora or maquila (IPA: [maˈkila]) is concept often referred to an operation that involves manufacturing in a country that is not the client's and as such has an interesting duty or tariff treatment. It normally requires a factory, that may import materials and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing industry. West Texas has become notable Wind power in Texas consists of many wind farms with a total installed nameplate capacity of 9,410 MW from over 40 different projects. Texas produces the most wind power of any U.S. state, followed by Iowa with 3,670 MW for its numerous wind turbines producing clean, alternative electricity.
|
Pumpjacks, like this one south of Midland, are a common sight in West Texas oil fields |
Irrigated agriculture in West Texas |
A freight train crossing the level plains of the Llano Estacado. |
Cities and Towns of West Texas
Major West Texas cities and metropolitan areas include: Abilene, Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and San Angelo.
Some of the smaller West Texas cities and towns include: Alpine, Andrews, Big Spring, Brownfield, Crane, Fort Stockton, Hale Center, Lamesa, Levelland, Littlefield, Marfa, Monahans, Ozona, Pampa, Pecos, Plainview, Post, Seminole, Slaton, Snyder, Socorro, Sweetwater, and Van Horn.
Gallery
References
- ^ Cochran, M., Lumpkin, J. and Heflin, R. 1999. West Texas: a portrait of its people and their raw and wondrous land. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 176 pp.
- ^ Webb, W.P. 1935. The Texas Rangers: a century of frontier defense. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 583 pp.
- ^ Greene, A.C. 1998. Sketches from the five states of Texas. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 176 pp.
- ^ Hill, R.T. 1887. The topography and geology of the Cross Timbers and surrounding regions in Northern Texas. The American Journal of Science, 3rd Series, 33:291-303.
See also
- List of geographical regions in Texas
- Llano Estacado
- Davis Mountains
- Palo Duro Canyon
- Guadalupe Mountains
- McKittrick Canyon
- Big Bend
- Mount Blanco
- Wind power in Texas
Categories: Regions of Texas
|
Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:31:13 GMT+00:00
Kansas City Star Here, in the midst of the striking beauty of the Big Bend country in West Texas , far from the heated debates about drones, guardsmen and infrared cameras ...
unknown
Mon, 05 Jul 2010 01:23:43 GM
ALPINE, Texas (AP) - All five people aboard a small aircraft died when the air ambulance crashed shortly after takeoff from a . West Texas. airport.
Q. I'm a single guy looking to relocate to west Texas for a good job and a good quality of life (coming from northeast Ohio). I'm looking for a city or town that is comfortable year round with no humidity. I also need a place with lots of things to do and to make new friends. I'm basically starting over from scratch, any good suggestions would be appreciated.
Asked by Rustynail - Tue Jan 27 02:49:57 2009 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Do you have a job yet? I've heard the Dallas and Houston police departments are hiring, you might want to look into that.
Answered by Where's my McNuggets? - Tue Jan 27 03:03:36 2009
