Highland Hospital

. . The recorded history of Texas begins with the arrival of the first Spanish conquistadors in the region of North America now known as Texas in 1519 who found the region occupied by numerous Native American tribes the Native Americans' ancestors had been there for more than 10,000 years as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of prehistoric Leanderthal Lady During the period of recorded history from A.D 1519 to 1848 all or parts of Texas were claimed by five countries: France Spain Mexico the Republic of Texas and the United States of America as well as the confederacy during the the civil war. The Great Plains region in central Texas spans through the state's panhandle and Llano Estacado to the state's hill country near Austin This region is dominated by prairie and steppe "Far West Texas" or the "Trans-Pecos" region is the state's Basin and Range Province the most varied of the regions this area includes Sand Hills the Stockton Plateau desert valleys wooded mountain slopes and desert grasslands, Major highways Difficulties with the Native Americans, The Houston area is a leading center for building oilfield equipment. Much of its success as a petrochemical complex is due to its busy ship channel the Port of Houston in the United States the port ranks first in international commerce and 10th among the largest ports in the world. Unlike most places high oil and gasoline prices are beneficial for Houston's economy as many of its residents are employed in the energy industry. Houston is the beginning or end point of numerous oil gas and products pipelines.

Texas 225.svg State Highway 225 a.k.a - La Porte Freeway 10 External links. . The Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research a think tank has described Greater Houston as "one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse metropolitan areas in the country". Houston's diversity fueled by large waves of immigrants has been attributed to its relatively low cost of living strong job market proximity to Latin America and role as a hub for refugee resettlement a 2012 Kinder Institute report found that based on the evenness of population distribution between the four major racial groups in the United States (non-Hispanic white non-Hispanic black Hispanic or Latino and Asian) Greater Houston was the most ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the United States ahead of New York City in 2017 according to the U.S Census Bureau non-Hispanic whites made up 24.9% of the population of Houston proper Hispanics or Latinos 44.5% Blacks or African Americans 22.9% and Asians 6.7%! Texas is the second-largest U.S state after Alaska with an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km2) Though 10% larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size If it were an independent country Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile and Zambia. War on the plains Comanche (right) trying to lance Osage warrior Painting by George Catlin 1834, (16.5) Lucas Gusher Spindletop near Beaumont Texas, Bridgeland Houston received the official nickname of "Space City" in 1967 because it is the location of NASA's Lyndon B Johnson Space Center Other nicknames often used by locals include "Bayou City" "Clutch City" "Crush City" "Magnolia City" "H-Town" and "Culinary Capital of the South".[citation needed]. The 2003 Texas redistricting of Congressional districts led by Republican Tom DeLay was called by the New York Times "an extreme case of partisan gerrymandering" a group of Democratic legislators the "Texas Eleven" fled the state in a quorum-busting effort to prevent the legislature from acting but was unsuccessful the state had already redistricted following the 2000 census Despite these efforts the legislature passed a map heavily in favor of Republicans based on 2000 data and ignoring the estimated nearly one million new residents in the state since that date Career attorneys and analysts at the Department of Justice objected to the plan as diluting the votes of African American and Hispanic voters but political appointees overrode them and approved it. Legal challenges to the redistricting reached the national Supreme Court in the case League of United Latin American Citizens v Perry (2006) but the court ruled in favor of the state (and Republicans); . Dallas Since 1911 Texas has led the nation in length of railroad miles within the state Texas railway length peaked in 1932 at 17,078 miles (27,484 km) but declined to 14,006 miles (22,540 km) by 2000 While the Railroad Commission of Texas originally regulated state railroads in 2005 the state reassigned these duties to TxDOT, Harris County Annex M has the headquarters of the Harris County Transit agency, This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.