Texas Facts and Trivia
Texas is popularly known as The Lone Star State.
The Alamo is located in San Antonio. It is where Texas defenders fell to Mexican General Santa Anna and the phrase Remember the Alamo originated. The Alamo is considered the cradle of Texas liberty and the state's most popular historic site.
Texas is the only state to have the flags of 6 different nations fly over it. They are: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and the United States.
The King Ranch in Texas is bigger than the state of Rhode Island.
During the period of July 24-26, 1979, the Tropical Storm Claudette brought 45 inches of rain to an area near Alvin, Texas, contributing to more than $600 million in damages. Claudette produced the United States 24 hour rainfall record of 43 inches.
More wool comes from the state of Texas than any other state in the United States.
Edwards Plateau in west central Texas is the top sheep growing area in the country.
Texas is the only state to enter the United States by treaty instead of territorial annexation.
The state was an independent nation from 1836 to 1845.
Texas boasts the nation's largest herd of whitetail deer.
A coastal live oak located near Fulton is the oldest tree in the state. The tree has an estimated age of more than 1,500 years.
The Hertzberg Circus Museum in San Antonio contains one of the largest assortments of circusana in the world.
Austin is considered the live music capital of the world.
Texas is home to Dell and Compaq computers and central Texas is often referred to as the Silicon Valley of the south.
Professional sports teams include the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Houston Astros, Houston Comets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Texas Rangers.
Dr Pepper was invented in Waco in 1885. The Dublin Dr Pepper, 85 miles west of Waco, still uses pure imperial cane sugar in its product. There is no period after the Dr in Dr Pepper.
The first suspension bridge in the United States was the Waco Bridge. Built in 1870 and still in use today as a pedestrian crossing of the Brazos River.
The capitol in Austin opened May 16, 1888. The dome of the building stands seven feet higher than that of the nation's Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Texas has the first domed stadium in the country. The structure was built in Houston and opened in April 1965.
The Houston Comets are the only team in the country to win four back-to-back WNBA championships. 1997-2000 Cynthia Cooper remains the only player to win the WNBA Championship MVP.
The worst natural disaster in United States history was caused by a hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Over 8000 deaths were recorded.
The first word spoken from the moon on July 20, 1969 was Houston.
Texas' largest county is Brewster with 6,208 square miles.
Texas possesses three of the top ten most populous cities in the United States. These towns are Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
El Paso is closer to Needles, California than it is to Dallas.
Texas includes 267,339 square miles, or 7.4% of the nation's total area.
The state's cattle population is estimated to be near 16 million.
More land is farmed in Texas than in any other state.
More species of bats live in Texas than in any other part of the United States.
Laredo is the world's largest inland port. (as in trucking, manufactoring and traffic)
Port Lavaca has the world's longest fishing pier. Originally part of the causeway connecting the two sides of Lavaca Bay, the center span of was destroyed by Hurricane Carla in 1961.
The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the world's largest rose garden. It contains 38,000 rose bushes representing 500 varieties of roses set in a 22-acre garden.
Amarillo has the world's largest helium well.
The world's first rodeo was held in Pecos on July 4, 1883.
The Flagship Hotel on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston is the only hotel in North America built entirely over the water.
The Heisman trophy is named for John William Heisman the first full-time coach and athletic director at Rice University in Houston.
Brazoria County has more species of birds than any other comparable area in North America.
The Aransas Wildlife Refuge is the winter home of North America's only remaining flock of whooping cranes.
4 comments:
I've lived in Texas all my life and didn't know a lot of these facts! Very interesting!
I didn't either, Pam. I had to look up that one about Laredo being the largest inland port just to be sure. I was thinking shipping and thought it was a mistake.
Texas does practically everything big, and a most fantastic state it is. I have been in and around Dallas frequently and remember traveling through the more southern parts of Texas. I do recall it takes a LONG time to drive through Texas!
Driving out of Texas is always the longest part of any of our trips. And west Texas....the sights are few and far between. Luckily, I live in central Texas!
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