Once an independent nation, Texas was the 28th state to join the Union. Then as now it was hailed the Lone Star State because its flag is dominated by a single white star. Texas has served under six different flags: Spanish, French, Mexican, Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States. Its cultural diversity, reflecting the steady migration of peoples from around the world, is celebrated in their arts, museums, cuisine, and festivals. Its name comes from Tejas, the Spanish pronunciation of a Caddo Indian word meaning "friends."

Texas borders the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast and Mexico on the southwest along the Rio Grande. Its typography extends from a low lying coastal plain to the forests of the northeast and the prairies of north central Texas; from the Great Plains, a vast grassy region rich in minerals and ideally suited for grazing cattle, to mountains and deserts in the southwest. In the northwest the Texas Panhandle lies between Oklahoma and New Mexico. Barrier islands extend along the Gulf Coast, the largest being Padre Island, designated a National Seashore. Principal cities are Austin, the capital, Houston, the largest, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, and Fort Worth. Chief rivers include the Rio Grande, Pecos, Canadian, Red, Sabine, Colorado, Guadalupe, and San Antonio. The largest natural lake is Caddo Lake on the Texas-Louisiana border. Texas is ranked first among the states in number of forests and in farm acreage; and with an estimated population of more than 20,850,000, it is one of the fastest growing states in the nation.

Because of its 600 miles of sun-warmed coastline on the Gulf of Mexico, Texas has become one of the nation's popular all-year resorts. Recreational opportunities are almost endless: swimming, boating, deep-sea fishing, hiking, horseback riding, white-water rapids, surfboarding, rodeos, more than 900 golf courses, including many PGA and LPGA championship courses, and nearly 700 campgrounds conveniently located throughout the state. Relive the Wild West days at more than 100 dude ranches. Magnificent water parks include Astroworld at Houston and Hurricane Harbor in Arlington. Wherever you look in Texas there's a theme park for thrill seekers of all ages. And like everything else in the state bird watching is big, with more than 600 species to spot and catalogue. The Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail is one reason they call it the birding capital of America.

Notable points of interest are The Alamo in San Antonio, Brackenridge Park in San Antonio and Fair Park in Dallas, King Ranch near Kingsville, Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande, the LBJ Space Center operated in Houston by NASA, the Kalita Humphreys Theater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Mission Concepcion and Mission San Jose in San Antonio. Major art museums and symphony orchestras are located in all the larger cities. For professional sports enthusiasts, there are the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros baseball clubs, the NFL Dallas Cowboys, the NHL Dallas Stars, and the NBA Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs. The map of Texas is dotted with many of the nation's top colleges and universities, including the University of Texas, Baylor, University of Houston, Rice, Texas Christian University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.

Of economic significance in the Texas legend are the riches of oil wells, chemicals, ranches, cattle, and minerals. Today's broad base economy embraces mining, agriculture, forestry, the military, commercial fishing, international trade, finance, transportation, health and science, aerospace, tourism, and manufactures ranging from petroleum and coal products, to chemicals, food processing, and transportation equipment. Natural gas from Texas reaches three-fourths of the United States by pipeline. Houston is the largest of 13 deepwater ports which have access to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The state is served by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and extensive highway system with more highway miles than any other state, a modern rail system with more tracks than any other state, 1,700 airports including the international airports at Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth (the nation's second largest).

Dinosaurs roamed the Texas lands up until 65 million years ago. The first evidence of man appeared in the area 11,000 BC, and there are distinctive cave paintings dating to 4,000 BC. Native American farmers settled in the region known as La Junta de los Rio where the Rio Grande joins Mexico's Rio Conchos. Spanish adventurers arrived in 1519 seeking gold and mapped the Texas coastline. In 1682 the first Spanish mission was established a few miles from present-day El Paso. Three years later the French explorer La Salle planted a colony on the Texas Gulf Coast. The area remained under Spanish control until Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. American colonists in Texas revolted against Mexico under the military leadership of Sam Houston in 1835, and in the following year a declaration of independence was adopted making the Republic of Texas a sovereign nation. Houston was elected the republic's first president. In 1837, when Texas was officially recognized by the United States, a new capital city was named after Stephen F. Austin who had established the first Anglo-American settlement in the region in 1821. Texas was annexed by the U.S. and admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845.

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