Texas
Texas (English: Texas) is a state in the south of the USA. Takes the 2nd place in terms of area (after Alaska) and population (after California). It is one of the centers of agriculture, animal husbandry, education, as well as the oil and chemical industries of the United States.
Geography
Texas is located in the south of the USA on the border with Mexico. It also borders the states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Has access to the Gulf of Mexico.
The capital of the state is the city of Austin. There are 22 agglomerations and 2 megacities on the territory of the state. The largest cities are Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, Arlington, Corpus Christi.
Judicial system
The state of Texas has a complex judicial structure, divided into 5 broad levels: supreme courts of appeals, intermediate courts of appeals, state courts of first instance, district courts, and local courts of first instance.
In 2018, the crime rate in the state decreased by 5.4% compared to 2017.
Famous people
- Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Renee Zellweger
- Selena Quintanilla-Perez
- Charles Johnson
- Katherine Ann Porter
- Selena Gomez
- Nelson(1933-) – country musician
- Lance Armstrong
Dallas, Texas
Dallas | |
City in the United States | |
Location | |
State | Texas |
County | Dallas County |
Coordinates | 32°46’45″N, 96°48’32″WL |
General | |
Surface | 999.3 km² |
– country | 881.9 km² |
– water | 117.4 km² |
Residents (April 1, 2020) |
1,304,379 (1479 inhabitant/km²) |
– agglomeration | 6,731,317 (2010) |
Politics | |
Mayor | Eric Johnson (D) |
Website | dallascityhall.com |
Downtown Dallas |
According to COUNTRYAAH, Dallas is the third largest city in the state of Texas (after Houston and San Antonio), with a population of 1.2 million in the city itself and 6.1 million in the Dallas – Arlington – Fort Worth metropolitan area. This makes the agglomeration the fourth largest in the United States in terms of population.
History
Dallas was founded in 1841 and is named after Vice President George M. Dallas. John Neely Bryan built a cottage near Trinity River that year and started a ferry service there. His house still stands in downtown Dallas.
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while on a driving tour in Dallas, presumably by Lee Harvey Oswald.
On July 7, 2016, 12 police officers were shot in an attack in the city. Five of them did not survive this.
Demographics
Of the population, 8.6% is older than 65 and 32.9% consists of single -person households. Unemployment is 4% (2000 census figures).
About 35.6% of the population of Dallas is Hispanic and Hispanic, 25.9% of African origin and 2.7% of Asian origin.
The population of Dallas increased from 1,006,646 in 1990 to 1,188,580 in 2000.
Media
The Dallas Morning News is the only major newspaper in the Dallas area. The newspaper has around half a million subscribers, making it one of the top twenty in the United States.
Museums
- Dallas Museum of Art
- Nasher Sculpture Center
- The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art
- The Trammel & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art
Sights
- Sixth Floor Museum in the Dallas County Administration Building (formerly Texas School Book Depository), from this building Lee Harvey Oswald is said to have shot at John F. Kennedy,
- Nieman-Marcus, department store chain that originated here,
- Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family from the hit television series Dallas.
Climate
In January the average temperature is 7.0 °C, in July it is 29.9 °C. Annual average precipitation falls 916.4 mm (data based on the measurement period 1961-1990).
Sports
Dallas has three sports clubs that compete in one of the top four American professional sports. It’s about:
- Dallas Stars (ice hockey)
- Dallas Mavericks (basketball)
- Dallas Cowboys (American football)
In addition, football club FC Dallas plays in Major League Soccer.
Dallas was the host city for the 1994 World Cup with the Cotton Bowl stadium.
Trivia
The city became more famous worldwide through the television series of the same name, mainly set in the 1980s, Dallas.
Town twinning
- Brno (Czech Republic)
- Dijon (France)
- Kirkuk (Iraq)
- Monterrey (Mexico)
- Riga (Latvia)
- Saratov (Russia)
- Sendai (Japan)
- Taipei (Taiwan)
- Tianjin, (China)
- Qingdao, (China)
- Dalian, (China)
- Nanjing, (China)
- Trujillo, (Peru)
- Taguig City, (Philippines)
Big Bend National Park
In the very heart of the Texas Chihuahua desert, up to the border with Mexico, the Big Bend National Park covers an area of 3,242 km2. It was established in 1944 and covers the northern third of one of the four largest deserts in North America – the approximately 8,000-year-old Chihuahua Desert. The big bend of the Rio Grande River in southwest Texas became the geographic name of the area and the park was named after it. The Rio Grande River itself forms the southern boundary of the park here.
The park boasts a very diverse flora and fauna. It is home to more than 1,200 species of plants, 11 species of amphibians, 56 species of reptiles, 40 species of fish, 75 species of mammals, 450 species of birds and about 3,600 species of insects. For example, the rare Chisos oak grows here, which you can only find in the Chisos Mountains in the very center of the park. The highest point of the Chisos Mountains is Emory Peak with a height of 2,387 meters above sea level. These mountains are also the refuge of a very rare species of white-tailed deer.
The desert around Big Bend is also home to the rare roadrunner bird, which you won’t find anywhere else. It resembles a bit of a brown pheasant, but with well-developed legs. A local specialty is also herds of nimble javelin pigs (a type of peccary), which scramble underfoot and look for something to eat or steal. Park rangers warn that inquisitive javelins can rip apart an abandoned tent while the owners are out on a trip. However, since the piglets are under the protection of the park, you must not harm them in any way.
Among the main attractions of Big Bend National Park are Pine Canyon Falls, Santa Elena, Mariscal and Boquillas canyons, Chihuahua desert and others. Thanks to the natural uniqueness of this area, the Mexican side is also protected, where a new park bearing the name “Maderas del Carmen y Canyon de Santa Elena” is located. Dugout Wells is a kind of green island with an incredible 380 species of birds, flowering cacti and tall poplars. The heart of the national park is the Chisos Basin mountain base located at an altitude of 1,600 meters, which is criss-crossed by a number of hiking trails. For example, a steep but not very long hike to the rock Window, from where you can enjoy a wonderful view of the desert, is popular.
The park is also attractive in terms of archeology and geology, as fossils from the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods have been found here. Most of the objects that archaeologists discovered here date back to 9,000 years ago. Big Bend is also a national park full of extremes. Throughout the year, temperatures fluctuate from freezing to a tropical 38 degrees Celsius, and the altitude varies from 550 meters to 2,400 meters above sea level. If you want to sleep comfortably and well, choose the Rio Grande Village campsite located in the middle of dense vegetation, which is nourished by moisture from the Rio Grande River. Even though the water here is not wild at all and in some places you will come across shallow rivers, canoeing is still one of the very popular activities of many visitors. The local rock maze is particularly interesting, which is best accessed from the untouched corners of the Santa Elene canyon’s bamboo groves.