Texas Almanac, 2004-2005 Page: 57
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Environment
Environment
Extending from sea level at the Gulf of Mexico to over 8,000 feet in the Guadalupe Mountains of far West
Texas and from the semitropical Lower Rio Grande Valley to the High Plains of the Panhandle, Texas has a
natural environment of remarkable variety. This section discusses the physical features, geology, soils, water,
vegetation, and wildlife that are found in the Lone Star State.
The Physical State of TexasArea of Texas
Texas occupies about 7 percent of the total water
and land area of the United States. Second in size
among the states, Texas has a land and water area of
268,580 square miles as compared with Alaska's
663,267 square miles, according to the United States
Bureau of the Census. California, the third largest
state, has 163,696 square miles. Texas is as large as
all of New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio
and North Carolina combined.
The state's area consists of 261,797 square miles
of land and 6,783 square miles of water.
Length and Breadth
The longest straight-line distance in a general
north-south direction is 801 miles from the north-
west corner of the Panhandle to the extreme southern
tip of Texas on the Rio Grande below Brownsville.
The greatest east-west distance is 773 miles from the
extreme eastward bend in the Sabine River in New-
ton County to the extreme western bulge of the Rio
Grande just above El Paso.
The geographic center of Texas is southwest of
Mercury in northern McCulloch County at approxi-
mately 990 20' west longitude and 310 08'north lati-
tude.
Texas' Boundary Lines
The boundary of Texas by segments, including
only larger river bends and only the great arc of the
coastline, is as follows:
Boundary.............................................................M iles
R io G rande ...........................................................889.0
C oastline .............................................................. 367 .0
Sabine River, Lake and Pass .................................180.0
Sabine River to Red River ....................................106.5
t R ed R iver........................................................... 480.0
*East Panhandle line ............................................ 133.6
*North Panhandle line ..........................................167.0
*W est Panhandle line ...........................................310.2
*Along 32nd parallel .............................................209.0
Total................................................................. 2,842.3
Following the smaller meanderings of the rivers
and the tidewater coastline, the following are the
boundary measurements:
R io G rande .......................................................... 1,254
C oastline (tidewater)................................................624
Sabine River, Lake and Pass...................................292
t R ed R iver..............................................................726
aThe five unchanged line segments above ..............926
Total (including segments marked ') ....................3,822
t A history of the Red River boundary dispute between Texas and
Oklahoma can be found in the 2002-2003 Texas Almanac.Latitude and Longitude
The extremes of latitude and longitude are as fol-
lows: From 250 50' north latitude at the extreme
southern turn of the Rio Grande on the south line of
Cameron County to 360 30' north latitude along the
north line of the Panhandle, and from 930 31' west.
longitude at the extreme eastern point on the Sabine
River on the east line of Newton County to 1060 38'
west longitude on the extreme westward point on the
Rio Grande above El Paso.
Texas' Highs and Lows
The highest point in the state is Guadalupe Peak
at 8,749 feet above sea level. Its twin, El Capitan,
stands at 8,085 feet and also is located in Culberson
County near the New Mexico state line. Both are in
the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which
includes scenic McKittrick Canyon. These elevations
and the others in this article have been determined by
the U.S. Geological Survey, unless otherwise noted.
The named peaks above 8,000 feet and the coun-
ties in which they are located are listed below. These
elevations may differ from those in earlier editions of
the Almanac because of the more accurate measuring
methods currently being used by the USGS.
Named Peaks in Texas Above 8,000 Feet
Name, County....................Elevation
Guadalupe Peak, Culberson .............8,749
Bush Mountain, Culberson .............8,631
Shumard Peak, Culberson ..............8,615
Bartlett Peak, Culberson ...............8,508
Mount Livermore (Baldy Peak), Jeff Davis.8,378
Hunter Peak (Pine Top Mtn.), Culberson. . .8,368
El Capitan, Culberson .................8,085
Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County is the highest
town of any size in Texas at 5,050 feet, and the
county has the highest average elevation. The high-
est state highway point also is in the county at
McDonald Observatory at the end of a tap from
State Highway 118 on Mount Locke. The observa-
tory stands at 6,781 feet, as determined by the Texas
Department of Transportation.
The highest railway point is Paisano Pass, 14
miles east of Marfa in Presidio County.
Sea level is the lowest elevation determined in
Texas, and it can be found in all the coastal counties.
No point in the state has been found by the geologi-
cal survey to be below sea level. fr
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Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce. Texas Almanac, 2004-2005, book, 2004; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162511/m1/57/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.