Texas Almanac, 1941-1942 Page: 140
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TEXAS ALMANAC.-1941-42.
Sketch of the Physiography and Geography of Texas.In the preceding chapter a brief out-
line of the geology of Texas is given,
telling what structures lie beneath the
varied surface characteristics and how,
In the slow processes of the ages, they
came to assume these forms. The follow-
Ing chapter outlines the surface charac-
teristics today.
Texas lies like a flat amphitheater,
sloping upward from the Gulf coast in
northern, northwesterly and westerly
directions. Looking at the surface of
Texas along the northwest-southeast line
given in the preceding chapter as typical
of a vertical cross-section of Texas earth
structures, one sees first the low coastal
plains, lying below the Balcones Escarp-
ment, then the upland North Central
Plains and beyond these the Great Plains
lying above the great escarpment com-
monly known as the Cap Rock (See Map,
p. 141). If one proceeds in a somewhat
more westernly direction one reaches the
Trans-Pecos area and its mountains.
Greatest Length, Breadth.
Texas has a maximum length of 801
miles from the southern tip near Browns-
ville to the northwestern corner of the
Panhandle. The greatest distance from
east to west is 773 miles. The state ex-
tends through more than ten degrees of
latitude.
The area of the state is 262,398 square
miles of land and 3,498 square miles of
water surface, a total of 265,896.
Texas Boundary Line.
The boundary of Texas by segments,
including only larger river bends and
only the great arc of the coastline, is as
follows :
Miles.
Sabine River, Lake and Pass............. 180 0
Red River .............................. 480 0
Rio Grande ............................. 889 0
Coast lme ....... . .................. 370 0
Sabine River to Red River ................ 06 5
East Panhandle line .................... 133 6
North Panhandle line ................... 167 0
West Panhandle line ..................... 310 2
Along 32d parallel . ................... 209 0
Total ............................ 2,8453
Following the smaller meanderings of the rivers
and the tidewater coastline, the following are the
boundary measurements
Miles.
Sabine River, Lake and Pass .............. 292
Red River ... . . . ................ 726
Rio Grande . .................1,569
*Coastline (tidewater) ....... 624
The five fixed segments given above .. 927
Total, including fixed segments gien in
table above 4,138
As great as this area is, it is enhanced
in effect by the odd shape of the state
with its north-extending Panhandle,
west-extending Trans-Pecos and its
south-extending tip of the Rio Grande
Valley.
Range of Climate.
The highest mean annual temperature
'Whle the tidewater coastline is given as 624
miles, the entire coastline measured in steps of
one mile is 973 miles for the mainland and 709
miles for the Islands.recorded at any Texas station is 74 de-
grees Fahrenheit at Rio Grande City in
Starr County; the minimum is approxi-
mately 54 at Dalhart in the upper Pan-
handle--a spread of 20 degrees. In the
Rio Grande Valley there is seldom frost.
At Vega in the Panhandle there is an an-
nual average of 24 inches of snowfall.
On the eastern border of Texas the
rainfall is more than 50 inches annually
at some stations. At El Paso on the west,
the average is less than 10 inches. The
full, slow-moving streams of East Texas
meander through forests of oak, pine and
cypress to the Gulf. On the Diablo Pla-
teau, the occasional showers that are
dashed to the ground to water the scant
grass and cactus never find their way to
the sea, but drain into shallow salt basins
to be licked up again in the dry atmos-
phere.
Bigness of Texas.
Between these extremes of altitude,
temperature, rainfall and other physio-
graphic and climatic conditions are many
gradations, which give Texas its diver-
sity, geographically, economically and so-
cially.
Not infrequently, someone compares
the area of Texas with that of Rhode
Island, Connecticut, Alabama, Missouri,
France or some other large or small po-
litical division. Or again, one hears such
statements as this: "If Texas were pivot-
ed at Texarkana and swung around in a
circle, El Paso would pass north of Chi-
cago; if pivoted at El Paso, Texarkana
would swing out into the Pacific."
Such statements bring out the vastness
of the area of Texas. But presentation
of facts such as the following do more
to bring out the real resources of this
great area:
Texas has in its pine timber belt an
area as large as Indiana. Texas has an
area along the coast, lying less than 150
feet above sea level and having a sub-
tropical climate, equal to the area of
South Carolina. Texas has an area lying
in a middle temperature climate and
ranging from 3,000 to 4,000 feet above
sea level and being 75 per cent or more
cultivable as large as Pennsylvania. Tex-
as has a mountainous area west of the
Pecos as large as West Virginia. Texas
has a uniformly good farming country,
well-watered and ranging in altitude
from 200 to 2,500 feet above sea level,
situated in central and midwest parts
of the state, equal to the areas of Ohio
and Kentucky. Texas has an area on the
Edwards Plateau, admirably adapted to
cattle, sheep and goat raising and diver-
sified crop production, as large as Ten-
nessee.
Texas has the third longest coast line
among the states, and yet it is, from the
standpoint of actual distance of most of
its territory from the sea, and from
standpoint of transportation and trans-
portation problems, a great inland em-
pire. Briefly, Texas is large, and it is
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Texas Almanac, 1941-1942, book, 1941; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117164/m1/142/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.