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[[Image:Big Bend Texas.jpg|thumb|350px|The South Rim at Big Bend National Park]]
'''Texas''' is the second largest and second most populous state in the [[United States of America]]. Tourists might enjoy San Antonio and El Paso's Hispanic culture, or Fort Worth western attractions. Galveston, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island are some of the popular Texas resort areas on the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is Texas's leading convention city along with its Southern culture. Professional and college sports are dominant in both Dallas and Houston. Owing to its remarkable size, distinctive culture and politics, and colorful history, many Texans maintain a fiercely independent attitude, with Texan identity often superseding American identity. Few other American states feature their flag so prominently in businesses, on the backs of cars and in advertisements. ▼
▲Owing to its remarkable size, distinctive culture and politics, and colorful history, many Texans maintain a fiercely independent attitude, with Texan identity often superseding American identity. Few other American states feature their flag so prominently in businesses, on the backs of cars and in advertisements.
Texas became a colony of [[Spain]] in the 17th century, and, later, part of [[Mexico]]. Texas rebelled in 1836 and was an independent nation for 10 years before being annexed by the United States in 1845. Despite having existed under the auspices of six different countries (France, Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States of America, and the Confederate States of America), Texas has maintained its fascinating independent spirit, making for a unique and unrivaled exploration ground for any intrigued and intrepid adventurer.▼
Known for their generosity, hospitality, unusual accent, and penchant for the larger-than-life, Texans are wonderful people to meet. The variety of cultural experiences, from feasting on bratwurst with the Germans of the [[Hill Country]] to watching Flamenco dancers with the Tejanos of the Rio Grande valley, is seemingly unlimited.▼
The large size of the state should not be underestimated. Texas measures over 267,000 square miles (695,673 km<sup>2</sup>) in area, making it slightly larger than France. Having a car is essential for travel between cities, and within most. The traveler should factor on long driving times between cities and destinations.▼
Texas is bordered by the U.S. states of [[New Mexico]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]], and the [[Mexico|Mexican]] states of [[Tamaulipas]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Coahuila]], and [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], as well as having a long coast on the Gulf of Mexico.▼
Texas is called the "Lone Star State" and the Lone Star can be found on its state flag as well as its state seal.▼
==Regions==
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== Other destinations ==
* {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Big Bend National Park]]|url=|lat=29.25|long=-103.25|wikidata=Q1427197}}
* {{marker|type=vicinity|name=[[Big Thicket National Preserve]]|url=|lat=30.546667|long=-94.340278|wikidata=Q859338}}
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==Understand==
▲Texas became a colony of [[Spain]] in the 17th century, and, later, part of [[Mexico]]. Texas rebelled in 1836 and was an independent
▲Known for their generosity, hospitality, unusual accent, and penchant for the larger-than-life, Texans are wonderful people to meet.
▲The large size of the state should not be underestimated. Texas measures over {{mi2|267,000
▲Texas is bordered by the U.S. states of [[New Mexico]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Arkansas]], [[Louisiana]], and the [[Mexico|Mexican]] states of [[Tamaulipas]], [[Nuevo León]], [[Coahuila]], and [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], as well as having a long coast on the Gulf of Mexico.
▲Texas is called the "Lone Star State" and the Lone Star can be found on its state flag as well as its state seal.
===History===
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===People===
The ethnic background of Texas is extremely diverse. One-third of the population has
===Climate===
Texas is a huge state and therefore experiences an extreme variety of weather. The state is very warm in the summer months, with temperatures often above 100°F (38°C). In West Texas and the Panhandle, summers are usually dry with fits of stormy weather. North (Dallas/Fort Worth region) and coastal (Houston region) areas have unstable climates (hence the oft-repeated saying about Texas weather: "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes" – though 10 minutes later you might not like the change). In general, the east is humid subtropical, while the west is alternately cold semi-arid, hot semi-arid, and hot desert.▼
Thunderstorms are common, sometimes generating tornadoes and hailstorms. It is often warmer near the coast, though humidity can be unbearable in the summer. Conversely, the spring, autumn and winter are relatively pleasant for most of the state. It rarely dips below the freezing point in winter, except in the Panhandle region, where the winters can get quite cold
▲Texas is a huge state and therefore experiences an extreme variety of weather. The state is very warm in the summer months, with temperatures often above 100°F (38°C). In West Texas and the Panhandle, summers are usually dry with fits of stormy weather. North (Dallas/Fort Worth region) and coastal (Houston region) areas have unstable climates (hence the oft-repeated saying about Texas weather: "If you don't like the weather, wait 10 minutes" – though 10 minutes later you might not like the change).
▲Thunderstorms are common, sometimes generating tornadoes and hailstorms. It is often warmer near the coast, though humidity can be unbearable in the summer. Conversely, the spring, autumn and winter are relatively pleasant for most of the state. It rarely dips below the freezing point in winter, except in the Panhandle region where the winters can get quite cold ([[Lubbock]] and [[Amarillo]] have suffered devastating blizzards in the past), and, though it is quite rare, even points as far south as Corpus Christi and Brownsville have seen snow.
===Size===
Again, the sheer size of the state is not to be underestimated. Brewster County in West Texas is larger in land area than [[Rhode Island]] and [[Delaware]] combined; [[Texarkana]] is closer to [[Chicago]] than it is to [[El Paso]], El Paso is closer to [[Los Angeles]] than it is to [[Beaumont]], and [[Brownsville (Texas)|Brownsville]] is closer to [[Mexico City]] than it is to [[Dallas]]. If you are wanting to take in the full Texas experience, you will need ample time to do so.
===Tourist information===
* [https://www.traveltexas.com/ Travel Texas] website
==Talk==
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==Get in==
Texas shares an international border with [[Mexico]] as well as a 600-mile coastline. It is bordered on the north by the state of [[Oklahoma]], on the west by the state of [[New Mexico]], and on the east by the states of [[Arkansas]] and [[Louisiana]]. As a state of the [[United States]], all visa and passport rules of the U.S. apply.▼
▲Texas shares an international border with Mexico as well as a 600-mile coastline. It is bordered on the north by the state of [[Oklahoma]], on the west by the state of [[New Mexico]], and on the east by the states of [[Arkansas]] and [[Louisiana]]. As a state of the [[United States]], all visa and passport rules of the U.S. apply.
===By plane===
{{see also|Air travel in the United States}}
{{marker|type=go|name=[[Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport]]|lat=32.8977 | long=-97.0403}} ({{IATA|DFW}}) and {{marker|type=go|name=[[George Bush Intercontinental Airport]]|lat=29.9877 | long=-95.3414}} ({{IATA|IAH}}) are the most popular entry points with a wide variety of flights from [[Europe]], [[East Asia]], [[India]], [[Australia]], [[Latin America]], [[Middle East]] ([[Israel]], [[Qatar]], [[Turkey]], [[UAE]]) and from various cities in the U.S. on a variety of U.S. and foreign flag carriers. Houston serves as a hub for United at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Southwest at Houston Hobby while Dallas-Ft Worth serves as a hub for American Airlines and Dallas Love Field as the hub for Southwest. If you are flying within Texas or coming from within the U.S., there are other airports in Texas that are less crowded and may be closer to your final destination in:
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:* {{marker|type=go|name=Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport|url=https://ci.lubbock.tx.us/departments/airport/arrivals-and-departures|lat=33.6566 | long=-101.8224}} ({{IATA|LBB}}) {{mile|7.5}} north of downtown Lubbock and {{mile|120}} south of Amarillo. It is served mainly by intrastate flights with American, United and Southwest. The same airlines also offer non-stop flights from Las Vegas, Phoenix Sky Harbor and Denver.
:* {{marker|type=go|name=McAllen-Miller International Airport|url=https://www.mcallenairport.com/|lat=26.1810 | long=-98.2397}} ({{IATA|MFE}})The nearest airport to Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville in south Texas, near the border.
:* {{marker|type=go|name=San Antonio International Airport|url=https://www.san-antonio-airport.com/|lat=29.5272 | long=-98.4722}} ({{IATA|SAT}}) in the northern neighborhoods of the Alamo city, serves a good chuck of American and Mexican destinations.
In addition to Dallas-Ft Worth and Bush Intercontinental in Houston, flights from Mexico land in Austin, San Antonio and McAllen in Texas and in Ciudad Juarez and Monterrey as the nearest Mexican airports to Texas. The roads leading from Monterrey to Reynosa/McAllen and Nuevo Laredo/Laredo are not safe due incidences of carjacking, illegal roadblocks and other violence perpetrated by drug cartel members against travelers. Same thing south of Brownsville/Matamoros in Tamaulipas state.
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===By bus===
For the braver, more adventurous (and more frugal) passengers, inter-city busses are an option. Please take into consideration that this mode of transportation is primarily used by those who cannot afford air travel and you may be riding with migrant workers, and very low income Americans. Even so, conditions in stations and on the buses are adequate. The Greyhound takes you to remote cities within Texas, and can
===By boat===
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# [[File:I-10.svg|link=Interstate 10#Texas|22px]]: [[Interstate 10#Texas|Interstate 10]] runs on an east-west route through Texas, connecting Beaumont, Houston, San Antonio, West Texas and El Paso.
# [[File:I-20.svg|22px]] & [[File:US 80.svg|22px]]: Also running on an east-west route, Interstate 20 connects Longview, Tyler, the Metroplex, Abilene, Midland and El Paso. It ends/begins at I-10
# [[File:I-27.svg|22px]]: A north-south route, Interstate 27 connects Amarillo and Lubbock.
# [[File:I-30.svg|22px]]: Although it has a brief run in Texas, Interstate 30 connects Texarkana and the Metroplex.
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* '''Schlitterbahn''', [[New Braunfels]]
* '''Wonderland Park''', [[Amarillo]]
* '''Joyland Amusement Park''', [[Lubbock]]▼
* '''Schlitterbahn Galveston''', [[Galveston]]
* '''Galveston Pleasure Pier''', [[Galveston]]
* '''Great Wolf Lodge''', [[Grapevine (Texas)|Grapevine]]
* '''Kalahari Indoor Waterpark''', [[Round Rock]]
* '''Kemah Boardwalk''', [[Kemah]]
===Culture and "Texana"===
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===Nature===
* '''[[Big Bend National Park]]''' is mountains, desert, wilderness, and river ''(Rio Grande)'' scenery. There are snakes, deer, javelina (wild pigs) plus many other types of wildlife. At the western entrance is '''Terlingua''' ''(an old ghost town)'' which is the home to the annual ''International Chili Cookoff''. Farther down the road to the west along the '''El Camino del Rio''' ''(The River Road)'' scenic drive to [[Presidio]] is the town of [[Lajitas]] whose mayor is a goat (a real goat) that guzzles beer like water -- put a bottle or can near his mouth and he will grab it right out of your hand in his teeth and turn it up until it all drains into his mouth.
* Get an idea of the size and space of Texas with a drive through the [[Trans-Pecos|Chihuahuan Desert]] or through the [[Texas Panhandle]].
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* '''Kolaches''' are a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit or other fillings such as sausage, chocolate, jalapeño-cheese, etc., rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Due to the earlier large influx of Czech settlers into Texas along with their descendants, kolaches later became extremely popular in the state and both Caldwell and West, Texas, claim the title of "Kolache Capital" of the state and most doughnut shops and convenience stores such as Shipley's Do-Nuts also sell kolaches.
Aside from those Texas staples mentioned earlier it is also relatively easy to find hole in the wall ethnic restaurants serving a wide variety of authentic ethnic cuisines from around the world
==Drink==
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Refer to the [[Tornado safety]] page for further information.
==Respect==
Texans usually pride themselves on being friendly and hospitable to visitors. When talking with someone, if you smile, give a firm handshake, and look them in the eye, you'll generally have a better outcome to your conversation.
Texas has a historical reputation as the home of devout evangelical Christians, and in particular Southern Baptists. This coincides with the rise of the share of Hispanic Roman Catholics. Texans are more likely to go to weekly religious services than people in most other states. In particular, people living in rural areas are strongly religious. Conservative Christian religion can have a strong influence in social and cultural life for those people. If you visit Texas, you may be invited to church, to pray, or to discuss your religion. It's best simply to show respect for your hosts and try to stay out of any longer discussions. If you are genuinely curious, asking respectful questions about others' beliefs will usually be answered in a straightforward way. As when traveling generally, it's best to avoid jokes about religious figures or things that your hosts find to be religiously significant.
==Go next==
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