Capital: Austin
Government: Bicameral Legislature
28th State to enter the Union: Dec. 29,1845
Present Constitution adopted: 1876
State motto: Friendship (1930)
State symbols
Origin of name: Texas, or Tejas, was the Spanish pronunciation of a Caddo Indian word meaning 'Friends.' or "allies."
Nickname: Texas is called the Lone Star State because of the design of the state flag: a broad vertical blue stripe at left centered by a single white star, with horizontal bars of white (uppermost) and red on the right.
Area (total)
267,277 sq. miles (171,057,280 acres)
Land area
261,914 sq. miles (167,624,960 acres)
Water area
5,363 sq. miles (3,432,320 acres)
Forested area
22.032 million acres
State forests
5 (7,519 acres)
National forests
4 (637,386 acres)
Geographic center: About 15 miles northeast of Brady in northern McCulloch County.
Highest point: Guadalupe Peak (8,749 ft.) in Culberson County in far West Texas.
Lowest point: Gulf of Mexico (sea level).
Normal average annual precipitation range: From 60.57 inches at Jasper County, in far East Texas, to 9.43 inches at El Paso, in far West Texas.
Record highest temperature:
Seymour, August 12,1936 120°F
Monahans, June 28,1994 120°F
Record lowest temperature:
Tulia, Feb. 12,1899 -23°F
Seminole, Feb. 8,1933 -23°F
Ethnicity, 2013
Population density (2010) 90.3 per square mile.
Voting-age Pop., (2012) 18,279,737
Ten largest cities:
(2014 Texas Vital Statistics)
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