Texas, United States — Towns & Travel Guide

What is Texas known for?

Texas is known as the Lone Star State, once the independent Republic of Texas before it joined the United States in 1845. The single star on its flag recalls those years. It borders Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, and meets Mexico along the Rio Grande.

The Gulf of Mexico washes its southeastern coast. It ranks as the second-largest state by area.

Where is Texas?

Texas is the second-largest state by area in the United States, a vast reach of the American South. Louisiana borders it on the east and Arkansas at the northeast corner. Oklahoma runs along the north.

New Mexico lies to the west. To the south and southwest, the Rio Grande forms a natural boundary with Mexico, dividing Texas from the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. Four Mexican states face it across the river.

The land is immense. On the southeast, Texas opens to the Gulf of Mexico, its one stretch of coast. The Rio Grande runs the length of the southern border, from the New Mexico side in the west down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Inland, the country spreads wide and flat toward New Mexico and the interior. The Gulf shoreline curves along the southeast. Distances are huge here.

From the Gulf of Mexico coast to the New Mexico line, and from Oklahoma south to the Rio Grande, Texas covers ground on a scale matched by few states, second only in area to one other. The state fills the map.

What is Texas like?

Texas carries the identity of the Lone Star State, marked by the single star on its flag. That star recalls the years when Texas stood on its own as the Republic of Texas, an independent country before it joined the United States in 1845. Independence runs deep in its self-image.

The Republic of Texas left its mark. The long border with Mexico, drawn along the Rio Grande, ties the state closely to its southern neighbour and the Mexican states beyond. Two worlds meet at the river.

Spanish is spoken widely across Texas, a legacy of the border with Mexico and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. The culture of the Rio Grande country blends the traditions of both sides of the river. Along the Gulf of Mexico, the coast takes on a maritime character.

The interior, stretching toward New Mexico and Oklahoma, keeps its own inland identity within the American South. Its ways run large. From the Gulf coast to the border river, Texas holds a culture shaped by its size, its independent past, and its long frontier with Mexico.

What is the history of Texas?

Texas began as its own country, the Republic of Texas, an independent nation marked by the single star that gave the Lone Star State its name. It joined the United States in 1845. The Rio Grande became its southern boundary with Mexico, dividing Texas from Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.

The Gulf of Mexico opened its coast to the sea. From that border river to the Gulf, the young state grew across a vast southern land.

What is the climate of Texas?

Texas has a warm, subtropical climate, hottest across the long summers of the interior. The Gulf of Mexico keeps the southeastern coast humid, while the drier country toward New Mexico bakes under clear skies. Heat lingers for months.

Along the Rio Grande, the southern border stays warm deep into the year. Winters are mild, though cold fronts sweep down from Oklahoma and the north.

How do you get to Texas?

Most travellers reach Texas by air, road, or sea. Major airports serve the state, while interstate highways cross its borders from Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico to link it with the rest of the country. The Gulf of Mexico gives it seaports along the southeastern coast.

Border crossings span the Rio Grande from Mexico. Routes converge from every side.