Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Seal of the Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent David Dewhurst since January 21, 2003
Style	The Honorable
Term length	Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	Albert Clinton Horton 1846
Formation	Texas Constitution
Website	Office of the Lieutenant Governor

The Lieutenant Governor of Texas is the second-highest executive office in the government of Texas, a state in the U.S. It is the second most powerful post in Texas government because its occupant controls the work of the Texas Senate and controls the budgeting process as a leader of the Legislative Budget Board.

Under the provisions of the Texas constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Texas Senate. By the rules of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor establishes all special and standing committees, appoints all chairpersons and members, and assigns all Senate legislation to the committee of his choice. The Lieutenant Governor decides all questions of parliamentary procedure in the Senate. He or she also has broad discretion in following Senate procedural rules.

The Lieutenant Governor is an ex officio member of several statutory bodies. These include the Legislative Budget Board, the Legislative Council, the Legislative Audit Committee, the Legislative Board and Legislative Council, which have considerable sway over state programs, the budget and policy. The Lieutenant Governor is also a member of the Legislative Redistricting Board (together with the Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Comptroller, and Land Commissioner), which is charged with adopting a redistricting plan for the Texas House of Representatives, Texas Senate, or U.S. House of Representatives after the decennial census if the Legislature fails to do so.

In the case of a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor's office, the Senate elects one of its members to act as President of the Senate until the next statewide office election, in effect becoming the Lieutenant Governor. A Senator elected as presiding officer in this way retains his district seat and the voting privileges entailed with his Senate election. The Lieutenant Governor is sworn-in on the third Tuesday every four years, the same as the Governor.

The Lieutenant Governor is sworn into office on the third Tuesday every four years in January, and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has been the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Texas since January 21, 2003. Dewhurst began his third term on January 18, 2011, which ends on January 20, 2015.

The Lieutenant Governor assumes the powers of the Governor of Texas when the governor is out of the state or otherwise unable to discharge the office. The Lieutenant Governor is elected separately from the Governor, rather than on the same ticket; it is therefore possible for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to be from different political parties (which was the case during Governor George W. Bush's first term and also during Bill Clements's two nonconsecutive terms). The Lieutenant Governor becomes Governor if the elected Governor resigns or dies while in office (current Governor Rick Perry took office upon George W. Bush's ascendance to the office of President of the United States on December 21, 2000).

Compared to Other Lieutenant Governors[link]

Texas is one of the few states that vests significant power in the office of Lieutenant Governor, making it among the most influential. By contrast, the Lieutenant Governor position in other states has few (if any) legislative responsibilities, akin to the Vice President of the United States. The consequence of a strong Lieutenant Governor of Texas is that the Governor of Texas is weaker than other states' Governors.

In 2010, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst was absent from a meeting of the National Lieutenant Governors Association; he was quoted as saying "I’m too busy to go to any conferences."[1]

See also[link]

Texas portal

• List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas

External links[link]

• Duties and Powers of the Lieutenant Governor

Governor of Texas
Seal of the Governor
Incumbent Rick Perry since December 21, 2000
Style	The Honorable
Residence	Texas Governor's Mansion
Term length	Four years, no term limits
Inaugural holder	James Pinckney Henderson 1846
Formation	Texas Constitution
Website	Office of the Governor

The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature. The governor may grant pardons in cases other than impeachment (but only when recommended by the Board of Pardons and Paroles) or in the case of treason, with permission by the legislature.

Compared to the governors of other U.S. states, the governorship of Texas has been cited by Slate magazine and liberal commentator Molly Ivins as a fairly weak office.^[1][2] In some respects it is the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, who presides over the state Senate, who is a more powerful political figure able to exercise greater personal prerogatives.^[1][2] Current Governor Rick Perry held the Lt. Governorship from 1999–2000, under George W. Bush.

The state's first constitution in 1845 established the office of governor, to serve for two years, but no more than four years out of every six (essentially a limit of no more than two consecutive terms).^[3] The 1861 secessionist constitution set the term start date at the first Monday in the November following the election.^[4] The 1866 constitution, adopted just after the American Civil War, increased terms to four years, but no more than eight years out of every twelve, and moved the start date to the first Thursday after the organization of the legislature, or "as soon thereafter as practicable."^[5] The Reconstruction constitution of 1869 removed the limit on terms,^[6] and to this day, Texas is one of 14 states^[7] with no gubernatorial term limit. The present constitution of 1876 shortened terms back to two years,^[8] but a 1972 amendment increased it back to four years.^[9]

The Governor is sworn-in on the third Tuesday of January every four years along with the Lieutenant Governor, so Perry and current Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst both began new terms on January 18, 2011, which ends on January 20, 2015.

Despite the lack of term limits, no Texas governor in the 19th or 20th century ever served more than seven and a half consecutive years in office (Allan Shivers) or eight years total service (Bill Clements, in two non-consecutive four-year terms). Current Governor Rick Perry, who took office in December 2000, has now surpassed both records. Perry joins Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally as the fourth Texas governor to serve three terms.

In case of a vacancy in the office of governor, the lieutenant governor becomes governor.^[10] This was added only in a 1999 amendment, prior to which the lieutenant governor only acted as governor, except during the time of the 1861 constitution, which said that the lieutenant governor would be "styled Governor of the State of Texas" in case of vacancy.^[11] The Governor and first family reside in the Texas Governor's Mansion in Austin, Texas.

Governors of Spanish Texas[link]

See: List of Texas Governors and Presidents

Governors of Mexican Texas[link]

See: List of Texas Governors and Presidents

Presidents of the Republic of Texas[link]

See: President of the Republic of Texas#List of presidents and vice presidents

Governors of Texas[link]

#	Name	Picture	Took office	Left office	Party	Lt. Governor	Notes[12]
1	James Pinckney Henderson		February 19, 1846	December 21, 1847	Democratic	Albert Clinton Horton
2	George T. Wood		December 21, 1847	December 21, 1849	Democratic	John Alexander Greer
3	Peter Hansborough Bell		December 21, 1849	November 23, 1853	Democratic	John Alexander Greer (1849–51)	[13]
						James W. Henderson (1851–53)
4	James W. Henderson		November 23, 1853	December 21, 1853	Democratic	Vacant	[14]
5	Elisha M. Pease		December 21, 1853	December 21, 1857	Unionist	David Catchings Dickson (1853–55)
						Hardin Richard Runnels (1855–57)
6	Hardin R. Runnels		December 21, 1857	December 21, 1859	Democratic	Francis R. Lubbock
7	Sam Houston		December 21, 1859	March 18, 1861	Independent	Edward Clark	[15]
8	Edward Clark		March 18, 1861	November 7, 1861	Democratic	Vacant	[14]
9	Francis R. Lubbock		November 7, 1861	November 5, 1863	Democratic	John McClannahan Crockett
10	Pendleton Murrah		November 5, 1863	June 17, 1865	Democratic	Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale	[16]
	Fletcher Summerfield Stockdale		June 11, 1865	June 16, 1865	Military	Vacant	[17]
11	Andrew J. Hamilton		June 17, 1865	August 9, 1866	Democratic-Military	Vacant	[18]
12	James W. Throckmorton		August 9, 1866	August 8, 1867	Democratic	George Washington Jones	[19]
13	Elisha M. Pease		June 8, 1867	September 30, 1869	Republican	Vacant	[19][20]
14	Edmund J. Davis		January 8, 1870	January 15, 1874	Republican	Vacant	[21]
15	Richard Coke		January 15, 1874	December 21, 1876	Democratic	Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr.	[22]
16	Richard B. Hubbard		December 21, 1876	January 21, 1879	Democratic	Vacant	[14]
17	Oran M. Roberts		January 21, 1879	January 16, 1883	Democratic	Joseph Draper Sayers (1879–81)
						Leonidas Jefferson Storey (1881–83)
18	John Ireland		January 16, 1883	January 20, 1887	Democratic	Francis Marion Martin (1883–85)
						Barnett Gibbs (1885–87)
19	Lawrence Sullivan Ross		January 18, 1887	January 20, 1891	Democratic	Thomas Benton Wheeler
20	James Stephen Hogg		January 20, 1891	January 15, 1895	Democratic	George Cassety Pendleton (1891–93)
						Martin McNulty Crane (1893–95)
21	Charles A. Culberson		January 15, 1895	January 17, 1899	Democratic	George Taylor Jester
22	Joseph D. Sayers	50px	January 17, 1899	January 20, 1903	Democratic	James Nathan Browning
23	S. W. T. Lanham		January 20, 1903	January 15, 1907	Democratic	George D. Neal
24	Thomas Mitchell Campbell		January 15, 1907	January 17, 1911	Democratic	Asbury Bascom Davidson
25	Oscar Branch Colquitt		January 17, 1911	January 19, 1915	Democratic	Asbury Bascom Davidson (1911–13)
						William Harding Mayes (1913–15)
26	James E. "Pa" Ferguson		January 19, 1915	August 25, 1917	Democratic	William Pettus Hobby, Sr.	[23]
27	William P. Hobby		August 25, 1917	January 18, 1921	Democratic	Vacant (1917–19)	[24]
						Willard Arnold Johnson (1919–21)
28	Pat Morris Neff		January 18, 1921	January 20, 1925	Democratic	Lynch Davidson (1921–23)
						Thomas Whitfield Davidson (1923–25)
29	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson		January 20, 1925	January 17, 1927	Democratic	Barry Miller
30	Dan Moody		January 17, 1927	January 20, 1931	Democratic
31	Ross S. Sterling		January 20, 1931	January 17, 1933	Democratic	Edgar E. Witt
32	Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson		January 17, 1933	January 15, 1935	Democratic
33	James V. Allred		January 15, 1935	January 17, 1939	Democratic	Walter Frank Woodul
34	W. Lee O'Daniel		January 17, 1939	August 4, 1941	Democratic	Coke R. Stevenson	[25]
35	Coke R. Stevenson	50px	August 4, 1941	January 21, 1947	Democratic	Vacant (1941–43)	[24]
						John Lee Smith (1943–47)
36	Beauford H. Jester		January 21, 1947	July 11, 1949	Democratic	Allan Shivers	[26]
37	Allan Shivers	50px	July 11, 1949	January 15, 1957	Democratic	Vacant (1949–51)	[24]
						Ben Ramsey (1951–53)
38	Price Daniel		January 15, 1957	January 15, 1963	Democratic	Ben Ramsey
39	John Connally		January 15, 1963	January 21, 1969	Democratic	Preston Smith
40	Preston Smith		January 21, 1969	January 16, 1973	Democratic	Ben Barnes
41	Dolph Briscoe		January 16, 1973	January 16, 1979	Democratic	William P. Hobby, Jr.
42	Bill Clements		January 16, 1979	January 18, 1983	Republican
43	Mark White		January 18, 1983	January 20, 1987	Democratic
44	Bill Clements		January 20, 1987	January 15, 1991	Republican
45	Ann Richards		January 15, 1991	January 17, 1995	Democratic	Bob Bullock
46	George W. Bush		January 17, 1995	December 21, 2000	Republican	Bob Bullock (1995–99)	[27]
						Rick Perry (1999–2000)
47	Rick Perry		December 21, 2000	Incumbent	Republican	Bill Ratliff (acting) (2000–03)	[24][28]
						David Dewhurst (2003–present)

Other high offices held[link]

Living former governors[link]

As of May 2011^[update], two former governors were living. The most recent death of a former governor was that of Bill Clements (1979–1983, 1987–1991), on May 29, 2011. The second-most recent governor to serve who has died is Ann Richards (1991–1995), who died on September 13, 2006.

Gubernatorial trivia[link]

Along with the Seal of Office, the governor of Texas also has a flag. It is not in common use.

Background[link]

Texas has had two female governors: Miriam A. "Ma" Ferguson and Ann Richards. Ferguson was one of the first two women elected governor of a U.S. state (on November 4, 1924), along with Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming. Ross was inaugurated on January 5, 1925, while Ferguson was inaugurated on January 20, so Ross is considered the first female state governor. Ferguson was the wife of former governor Jim "Pa" Ferguson, while Richards was elected "in her own right," being neither the spouse nor widow of a governor.

Texas governors have been born in fourteen states: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Baylor University is the most common alma mater of Texas governors, with five of them - Lawrence Sullivan Ross, Pat Morris Neff, Price Daniel, Mark White, and Ann Richards - considered alumni (though Ross attended but never completed a degree). To date, Coke Stevenson is the most recent governor who never attended college, and Bill Clements is the most recent who attended college but did not graduate.

Ann Richards is possibly most famous for insulting her fellow Texan Vice-President George H. W. Bush during his 1988 presidential campaign, drawling to the Democratic National Convention "Poor George, he can't help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth!". Bush defeated Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis by a respectable margin. Seven years later, she found herself expelled from the Governor's office with her defeat in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election by the former president's eldest son, George W. Bush.

Elections[link]

Three governors have served non-consecutive terms: Elisha M. Pease, Miriam A. Ferguson, and Bill Clements. As was the case in most Southern states, Texas elected no Republican governors from the end of Reconstruction until the late twentieth century. Bill Clements was the state's first Republican governor since Edmund J. Davis left office in 1874, 105 years earlier. Dolph Briscoe was the last governor to be elected to a two-year term, in 1972; he was also the first to be elected to a four-year term, in 1974, since the post-Reconstruction period when two-year terms had first been established.

Texas governors in popular culture[link]

W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel served as the inspiration for the fictional, but similarly named Mississippi Governor Menelaus "Pappy" O'Daniel in the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Ann Richards had a cameo appearance on an episode of the animated comedy series King of the Hill, in which she has a brief romance with Bill Dauterive after he takes the fall for mooning her in the elevator of an Austin hotel (Hank actually mooned her because he thought his friends were going to be mooning the people in the elevator but they set him up).

See also[link]

Texas portal

• List of Texas Governors and Presidents
• List of Presidents of the Republic of Texas
• List of Lieutenant Governors of Texas

Notes[link]

References[link]

General

• Legislative Reference Library of Texas -- Governors of Texas
• Governor (of Texas) from the Handbook of Texas Online
• The Handbook of Texas Online: Texas History Quiz -- Presidents and Governors of Texas
• Explanation of the strengths of governors

Constitutions

• 1876 Constitution, as amended (Current)
• 1876 Constitution
• 1869 Constitution
• 1866 Constitution
• 1861 Constitution
• 1845 Constitution

Specific

v t e Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Texas Governors J. P. Henderson Wood Bell J. W. Henderson Pease Runnels Houston Clark Lubbock Murrah Hamilton Throckmorton Pease Davis Coke Hubbard Roberts Ireland Ross Hogg Culberson Sayers Lanham Campbell Colquitt J. Ferguson Hobby Neff M. Ferguson Moody Sterling M. Ferguson Allred O'Daniel Stevenson Jester Shivers Daniel Connally Smith Briscoe Clements White Clements Richards Bush Perry Lieutenant Governors Horton Greer Henderson Dickson Runnels Lubbock Clark Crockett Stockdale Jones J. W. Flanagan Campbell D. W. Flanagan Fountain Pickett Hubbard Sayers Storey Martin Gibbs Wheeler Pendleton Crane Jester Browning Neal A. B. Davidson Mayes Hobby, Sr. Johnson L. Davidson T. W. Davidson Miller Witt Woodul Stevenson J. L. Smith Shivers Ramsey P. Smith Barnes Hobby, Jr. Bullock Perry Ratliff Dewhurst

v t e Texas state agencies Executive Dept. of Agriculture · Alcoholic Beverage Commission · Animal Health Commission · Dept. of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services · Attorney General · School for the Blind and Visually Impaired · Brazos River Authority · State Cemetery · Comptroller of Public Accounts · School for the Deaf · Commission on Environmental Quality · Education Agency · Employees Retirement System · Ethics Commission · Facilities Commission · Dept. of Family and Protective Services · Film Commission · Forest Service · Office of the Governor · Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority · Health and Human Services Commission · Dept. of State Health Services · Higher Education Coordinating Board · Historical Commission · Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs · Dept. of Insurance · Commission on Jail Standards · General Land Office · Library and Archives Commission · Dept. of Licensing and Regulation · Lottery Commission · Lower Colorado River Authority · Dept. of Motor Vehicles · Dept. of Parks and Wildlife · Preservation Board · Dept. of Public Safety · Railroad Commission · Real Estate Commission · Residential Construction Commission · Soil and Water Conservation Board · State Fair · Teacher Retirement System · Texas A&M University System · Dept. of Transportation · Trinity River Authority · University of Houston System · University of Texas System · Texas State University System · Workforce Commission · Juvenile Justice Department Legislative House of Representatives · Senate Judicial Courts of Appeals · Court of Criminal Appeals · Dept. of Criminal Justice · State Bar · Supreme Court

v t e  State of Texas Austin (capital) Topics Architecture Climate Cuisine Geography Government History Languages Literature Sports Texans Transportation Symbols Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Regions Ark‑La‑Tex Big Bend Blackland Prairies Brazos Valley Central Texas Coastal Bend Cross Timbers Deep East Texas East Texas Edwards Plateau Golden Triangle Hill Country Llano Estacado Northeast Texas North Texas Osage Plains Panhandle Permian Basin Piney Woods Rio Grande Valley Southeast Texas South Plains South Texas Trans-Pecos West Texas Metropolitan areas Abilene Amarillo Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Beaumont–Port Arthur Brownsville–Harlingen College Station–Bryan Corpus Christi Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington El Paso Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Laredo Longview Lubbock McAllen–Edinburg–Mission Midland Odessa San Angelo San Antonio–New Braunfels Sherman–Denison Texarkana Tyler Victoria Waco Wichita Falls Counties There are 254 counties in Texas. (See Table of Texas counties or List.)

State of Texas
Flag Seal
Nickname(s): The Lone Star State
Motto(s): Friendship
Official language(s)	No official language (see Languages spoken in Texas)
Spoken language(s)	English 68.7% Spanish 27.0%[1]
Demonym	Texan Texian (archaic) Tejano
Capital	Austin
Largest city	Houston
Largest metro area	Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex[2]
Area	Ranked 2nd in the U.S.
- Total	268,581[3] sq mi (696,241 km2)
- Width	773[4] miles (1,244 km)
- Length	790 miles (1,270 km)
- % water	2.5
- Latitude	25° 50′ N to 36° 30′ N
- Longitude	93° 31′ W to 106° 39′ W
Population	Ranked 2nd in the U.S.
- Total	25,674,681 (2011 est)[5]
- Density	98.1/sq mi  (37.9/km2) Ranked 26th in the U.S.
Elevation
- Highest point	Guadalupe Peak[6][7][8] 8,751 ft (2667.4 m)
- Mean	1,700 ft  (520 m)
- Lowest point	Gulf of Mexico[7] sea level
Before statehood	Republic of Texas
Admission to Union	December 29, 1845 (28th)
Governor	Rick Perry (R)
Lieutenant Governor	David Dewhurst (R)
Legislature	Texas Legislature
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. Senators	Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) John Cornyn (R)
U.S. House delegation	23 Republicans, 9 Democrats (list)
Time zones
- most of state	Central: UTC −6/−5
- tip of West Texas	Mountain: UTC −7/−6
Abbreviations	TX Tex. US-TX
Website	www.texas.gov

Texas (ⁱ/ˈtɛksəs/) (Alibamu: Teksi ^[9]) is the second most populous and the second most extensive of the 50 United States, and the most extensive state of the 48 contiguous United States. The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in East Texas.^[10] Located in the South Central United States, Texas shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south, and borders the US states of New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²), and a growing population of 25.7 million residents.^[11]

During the Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas: La Provincia de Texas.^[12] Antonio Margil de Jesús was known to be the first person to use the name in a letter to the Viceroy of Mexico in July 20, 1716. The name was not popularly used in daily speech but often appeared in legal documents until the end of the 1800s.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan areas, respectively. Other major cities include El Paso and Austin—the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texas state flag and on the Texas state seal today.^[13]

Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American South and Southwest.^[14] Although Texas is popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10% of the land area is desert.^[15] Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.

The term "six flags over Texas" came from the several nations that had ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short-lived colony in Texas. Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th state. The state's annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state, Texas declared its secession from the United States in early 1861, joining the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. After the war and its restoration to the Union, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation.

One Texas industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle. Due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The state's economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy and high tech industry in the mid-20th century. As of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57.^[16] With a growing base of industry, the state leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace, and biomedical sciences. It leads the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product.

Geography[link]

Guadalupe Mountains

Texas is the second largest U.S. state, behind Alaska, with an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 km²). It is 10% larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, though it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were a country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile and Zambia.

Texas is in the south-central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers. The Rio Grande river forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south. The Red River forms a natural border with Oklahoma and Arkansas to the north. The Sabine River forms a natural border with Louisiana to the east. The Texas Panhandle has an eastern border with Oklahoma at 100° W, a northern border with Oklahoma at 36°30' N and a western border with New Mexico at 103° W. El Paso lies on the state's western tip at 32° N and the Rio Grande.^[17]

Hill Country

With 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions, and 11 distinct ecological regions, regional classification becomes problematic with differences in soils, topography, geology, rainfall, and plant and animal communities.^[18] One classification system divides Texas, in order from southeast to west, into the following: Gulf Coastal Plains, Interior Lowlands, Great Plains, and Basin and Range Province. The Gulf Coastal Plains region wraps around the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast section of the state. Vegetation in this region consists of thick piney woods. The Interior Lowlands region consists of gently rolling to hilly forested land and is part of a larger pine-hardwood forest. The Great Plains region in central Texas is located in 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.

Texas has 3,700 named streams and 15 major rivers.^[19][20] The largest of these rivers is the Rio Grande. Other major rivers include the Pecos, the Brazos, Colorado, and Red River, which forms the border with Oklahoma. While Texas has few natural lakes, Texans have built over 100 artificial reservoirs.^[21]

The size and unique history of Texas make its regional affiliation debatable: it can be fairly considered a Southern or a Southwestern state, or both. The vast geographic, economic, and cultural diversity within the state itself prohibits easy categorization of the whole state into a recognized region of the United States. Notable extremes range from East Texas which is often considered an extension of the Deep South, to Far West Texas which is generally acknowledged to be part of the interior Southwest.

Geology[link]

Shaded Relief Map of the Llano Estacado

Texas is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which ends in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The continental crust forms a stable Mesoproterozoic craton which changes across a broad continental margin and transitional crust into true oceanic crust of the Gulf of Mexico. The oldest rocks in Texas date from the Mesoproterozoic and are about 1,600 million years old. These Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks underlie most of the state, and are exposed in three places: Llano uplift, Van Horn, and the Franklin Mountains, near El Paso. Sedimentary rocks overlay most of these ancient rocks. The oldest sediments were deposited on the flanks of a rifted continental margin, or passive margin that developed during Cambrian time. This margin existed until Laurasia and Gondwana collided in the Pennsylvanian subperiod to form Pangea. This is the buried crest of the Appalachian Mountains–Ouachita Mountains zone of Pennsylvanian continental collision. This orogenic crest is today buried beneath the Dallas–Waco—Austin–San Antonio trend.

The late Paleozoic mountains collapsed as rifting in the Jurassic period began to open the Gulf of Mexico. Pangea began to break up in the Triassic, but seafloor spreading to form the Gulf of Mexico occurred only in the mid and late Jurassic. The shoreline shifted again to the eastern margin of the state and the Gulf of Mexico passive margin began to form.

Palo Duro Canyon

Today 9 miles (14 km) to 12 miles (19 km) of sediments are buried beneath the Texas continental shelf and a large proportion of remaining US oil reserves are located here. At the start of its formation, the incipient Gulf of Mexico basin was restricted and seawater often evaporated completely to form thick evaporite deposits of Jurassic age. These salt deposits formed salt dome diapirs, and are found in East Texas along the Gulf coast.^[22]

East Texas outcrops consist of Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments which contain important deposits of Eocene lignite. The Mississippian and Pennsylvanian sediments in the north; Permian sediments in the west; and Cretaceous sediments in the east, along the Gulf coast and out on the Texas continental shelf contain oil. Oligocene volcanic rocks are found in far west Texas in the Big Bend area. A blanket of Miocene sediments known as the Ogallala formation in the western high plains region is an important aquifer.^[23] Located far from an active plate tectonic boundary, Texas has no volcanoes and few earthquakes.^[24]