Texas is a state in both the West and South regions of the United States of America. It is also considered part of the Southwest and the Great Plains. With an area of 268,581 square miles (695,622 km²) and a population of 22.8 million, Texas is second to Alaska in area, and second to California in population.

The state name derives from a word in the Caddoan language of the Hasinai: táysha, tecas, or tejas (the Spanish spelling); meaning "those who are friends," "friends," or "allies".

Texas declared its independence from Mexico in 1836 and existed as the independent Republic of Texas for nearly 10 years. It joined the United States in 1845 as the 28th state. Texas is known for its large size, and its "larger than life" reputation. The state is often used as a point of reference for large geographical areas.

Geography

Texas Hill CountryThe geography of Texas spans a wide range of features and timelines. Texas is 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. It is considered to form part of the U.S. South and also part of the U.S. Southwest.

The Rio Grande, Red River and Sabine River all provide natural state lines where Texas borders Oklahoma on the north, Louisiana and Arkansas on the east, and New Mexico and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south.

Rio Grande ValleyBy residents, the state is generally divided into North Texas, East Texas, South Texas, and West Texas, but according to the Texas Almanac, Texas has four major physical regions: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and The Basin and Range Province. This is the difference between human geography and physical geography.

Some regions of Texas are associated with the South more than the Southwest (primarily East Texas), while other regions share more similarities with the Southwest than the South (primarily West Texas and South Texas). Even the northwestern part of the state seems to have more in common with parts of the United States (Kansas and Nebraska) that are considered "midwestern" and never "southern". The size of Texas prohibits easy categorization of the entire state wholly in any recognized region of the United States; geographic, economic, and even cultural diversity between regions of the state preclude treating Texas as a region in its own right.

Economy 
Cotton harvesting in TexasIn 2005 Texas had a gross state product of $982.4 billion, the second highest in America after California. Gross state product per capita as of 2005 was $42,899. Texas's growth is often attributed to the availability of jobs, the low cost of housing (housing values in the Dallas and Houston areas, while generally rising, have not risen at the astronomical rates of other cities such as San Francisco), the lack of a personal state income tax, low taxation and limited regulation of business, a geographic location in the center of the country, limited government (the Texas Legislature meets only once every two years), favorable climate in many areas of the state, and vast, plentiful supplies of oil and natural gas. Texas has 4.6 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.

Texas remained largely rural until World War II, with cattle ranching, oil, and agriculture as its main industries. Cattle ranching (though important) was never Texas's chief industry – before the oil boom back to the period of the first Anglo settlers, the chief industry was cotton farming (as in most of the South).

In 1926, San Antonio had over 120,000 people, the largest population of any city in Texas. After World War II, Texas became increasingly industrialized. Its economy today relies largely on information technology, oil and natural gas, fuel processing, electric power, agriculture, and manufacturing. The major segment of the economy depends largely on the region involved – for example, the timber industry is a major portion of the East Texas economy but a non-factor elsewhere, while aerospace and defense manufacturing is primarily centered within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The state has two major economic centers: Dallas and Houston. Houston stands at the center of the petrochemical and biomedical research trades while Dallas functions as the center of the aerospace/defense manufacturing and information technology labor market in Texas. Other major cities include San Antonio, Austin, Brownsville, Lubbock, Amarillo, Abilene, College Station, Beaumont, McAllen, Tyler, Odessa and Midland. Other important cities include Killeen (home to Fort Hood, the largest military post in the U.S.) and the cities of El Paso, Eagle Pass, and Laredo (these have particular significance due to their location on the border with Mexico, making them important trade points).

As of 2006, Texas, for the first time, has more Fortune 500 company headquarters  than any other state (California has 55; ironically, it was due to the move of Fluor from California to Texas). This has been attributed to both the growth in population in Texas and the rise of oil prices in 2005, which resulted in the growth in revenues of many Texas oil drilling and processing companies.

 
Port of HoustonTexas is the largest international exporter among the 50 American states, with international merchandise exports totaling $117.2 Billion in 2004.[4] The Port of Houston is among the top 10 sea ports in the world in terms of commerce[citation needed]; Air Cargo World rated Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport as "the best air cargo airport in the world".[

Texans pride themselves in a history of tradition, yet they seek new social and technological developments also. Round Rock is the headquarters of Dell and the surrounding area is known as "Silicon Hills". Dallas is a famously cosmopolitan metropolis and the birthplace of the integrated circuit, Houston is a global leader in the energy industry. The cultures of San Antonio and El Paso retain their Mexican heritage while Fort Worth maintains its western heritage. With a nod to its diversity and its past as a former sovereign nation, the state tourism slogan is "Texas: It's like a whole other country.®" (The slogan is used only in domestic advertising, a different slogan is used for marketing to Latin American countries.)

Texas is one of the top filmmaking states in the United States, just after California and New York. In the past 10 years alone (1995-2004), more than $2.75 billion has been spent in Texas for film and television production. The Texas Film Commission was founded for free services to filmmakers, from location research to traveling.

Since 2003, Texas state officials have been committed to developing the economy of Texas with various initiatives such as the Texas Enterprise Fund and the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, which invest money into developing Texas business.

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