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Alternative Title: Prairie State

Learn about Illinois's soybean and corn production, Cahokia Mounds, and cities Chicago, Aurora, and Joliet Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. See all videos for this article

Chicago Hisham F. Ibrahim/Getty Images

Relief and drainage

Much of Illinois's land is flat, with irregular plains in the western, northern, and southern sections. This area once constituted a vast tallgrass prairie, virtually all of which was converted to farmland or urban sprawl. The unglaciated southernmost part of the state is in many ways out of character with the rest of Illinois. Shawnee National Forest, the only large tract of federally administered land in Illinois, covers a great part of this region. Southern Illinois consists of gently sloping, open hills. Rolling hills in the northwestern corner include the state's highest point, Charles Mound, which is 1,235 feet (376 metres) above sea level. The statewide average elevation is about 600 feet (180 metres).

The deep black soil of much of northern and central Illinois has unusual richness, and its quality for agriculture is among the finest in the world. The soils of the southern third of the state are far less suited for farming.

Illinois is drained by as many as 900 streams emptying mostly into the Mississippi River system. The Chicago and Calumet rivers-originally flowing into the St. Lawrence by way of Lake Michigan-have been altered through the construction of canals to drain into the Mississippi by way of the Illinois River, which roughly bisects the northern portion of the state from northeast to southwest. The Ohio River joins the Mississippi at the state's southern tip near Cairo, an area known as "Little Egypt."

Water lies under all of Illinois in natural underground reservoirs. Chicago and many of its suburbs draw their water from Lake Michigan, but most of northern Illinois's water is pumped from underground wells. Some regions face a dwindling water supply; around Joliet the water table has been lowered hundreds of feet since the early 20th century. Most of the state's lakes are man-made.

Climate

Because of its geographic position and its long north-south axis, Illinois experiences wide regional variations in temperature. Across the state, seasonal temperature variation also tends to be great, with typically cold, snowy winters and hot summers; extremes are somewhat ameliorated around Lake Michigan. Mean winter temperatures are about 22 °F (−6 °C) in the north and 37 °F (3 °C) in the south; summer equivalents, respectively, are 74 °F (23 °C) and 80 °F (27 °C). Mean annual precipitation in the north is about 34 inches (864 mm) and in the south 46 inches (1,170 mm). The growing season varies from 205 days in the south to 155 days in the northernmost counties.

Plant and animal life

Illinois vegetational regions are separated into the tallgrass prairie of northern and central Illinois and the oak-hickory forest of the western and southern regions. Only tiny fragments of the original tallgrass prairie have been preserved, and some small areas have been reconstructed; the largest restored prairie in the state is Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, near Joliet. Before European settlers-first the French and then the English-moved in beginning in the 17th century, oak-hickory forests also prevailed in the north. The settlers, needing wood for fuel and construction material and the lumbering industry, stripped most of the trees, which left only 10 percent forest cover in Illinois. More than 6,200 square miles (16,000 square km) of forests remain, some 1,100 square miles (2,800 square km) of them in Shawnee National Forest. The state's length gives it an unusual variety of Northern and Southern plant life. Both Northern and Southern wildflowers grow in Illinois, as do a variety of trees, such as white pines, tamaracks, walnuts, cypresses, and tupelos.

Courtesy of the Illinois Department of Business and Economic Opportunity, Bureau of Tourism

Before 1800 abundant wildlife roamed the prairies and forests, but bison, bears, wolves, mountain lions (pumas), porcupines, and elk have disappeared. Deer became extinct in 1910, but in 1933 the state department of conservation placed small herds that established a growing deer population. By the early 21st century the number of white-tailed deer in the state had reached into the hundreds of thousands. Coyotes and foxes can be found in woodlands and other natural areas and, increasingly, in and around urban areas. Game birds such as quail and pheasant are not as plentiful as in previous times, but waterfowl are abundant during the spring and fall migrations. Pollution has nearly wiped out many species of fish, but bullheads, carp, catfish, white and yellow bass, and walleye still abound.

Capital

Springfield

Population¹

(2010) 12,830,632; (2019 est.) 12,671,821

Total area (sq mi)

57,914

Total area (sq km)

149,996

Governor

J.B. Pritzker (Democrat)

State nickname

Prairie State

Land of Lincoln

Date of admission

December 3, 1818

State motto

"State Sovereignty, National Union"

State bird

northern cardinal

State flower²

violet

State song

"Illinois"

U.S. senators

Dick Durbin (Democrat)

Tammy Duckworth (Democrat)

Seats in U.S. House of Representatives

18 (of 435)

Time zone

Central (GMT − 6 hours)

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Illinois | History, Cities, Capital, & Facts

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Geographical and historical treatment of Illinois, including maps and a survey of its people, economy, and government. Its capital city is Springfield, and its largest city and most important cultural and economic center is Chicago. Politically, Illinois is divided between the Chicago area and 'downstate.'

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New York , constituent state of the United States of America , one of the 13 original colonies and states. New York is bounded to the west and north by Lake Erie , the Canadian province of Ontario , Lake Ontario , and the Canadian province of Quebec ; to the east by the New England states of Vermont , Massachusetts , and Connecticut ; to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean and New Jersey ; and to the south by Pennsylvania . The capital is Albany .

Until the 1960s New York was the country's leading state in nearly all population, cultural, and economic indexes. Its displacement by California beginning in the middle of that decade was caused by the enormous growth rate that has persisted on the West Coast rather than by a large decline in New York itself. Texas overtook New York as the second most populous state in 2000. Still, New York remains one of the most populous states in the country, and its gross economic product exceeds those of all but a handful of countries throughout the world.

New York is situated across a region of contrast-from the Atlantic shores of Long Island and the skyscrapers of Manhattan through the rivers, mountains, and lakes of upstate New York to the plains of the Great Lakes region. With canals, railroads, and highways, New York is a principal gateway to the west from the Middle Atlantic and New England states and a hub for travel to and from much of the country. The cities of the state-from New York City through Albany, Utica , and Syracuse to Rochester and Buffalo on the Great Lakes-and their suburbs are home to more than four-fifths of all New Yorkers.

Both the New England and the Southern colonies had a great deal more to do with the movement toward revolution and with stabilizing the new country during its early decades than did New York, but, once the state's growth got under way, it attained a breakneck pace. The state-and New York City in particular-remains the centre of much of the country's economy and finance, as well as of many formative impulses in American art and culture, and the influence and image of both are major elements in national political life. However, the overwhelming presence of New York City has tended to divide the state socially and politically, causing long-standing problems for both the city and the state. Area 54,555 square miles (141,297 square km). Population (2010) 19,378,102; (2016 est.) 19,745,289.

Land

Although New York state is inextricably linked with New York City in many people's minds, the state has a wide range of geographic and climatic conditions. During at least a part of the last Ice Age, most of New York was covered by glaciers; the only exceptions were southern Long Island, Staten Island , and the far southwestern corner of the state.

Relief

The St. Lawrence Lowlands extend northeastward from Lake Ontario to the ocean along the boundary with Canada . Within this area are three subdivisions: a flat to gently rolling strip of land along the St. Lawrence River ; a range of hills south and east of the plain; and, farther south and east, a long, narrow plain dotted with lakes.

The Hudson-Mohawk Lowland follows the Hudson River north from New York City to Albany and then turns west along the Mohawk River . The Hudson valley, between the Catskill Mountains on the west and the Taconic Range on the east, is from 10 to 20 miles (15 to 30 km) wide; the Mohawk valley reaches widths of 30 miles (50 km). Those routes provided access from New York City and New England into the hinterland of New York. Cutting pathways through the mountains of central and western New York, these rivers became the state's avenues of commerce, serving first as the basis of the Erie Canal and later as the route of the New York Central Railroad and of the Governor Thomas E. Dewey (New York State) Thruway.

Two small regions complete the geographic picture in southeastern New York. The Atlantic Coastal Plain , which extends from Massachusetts to Florida , takes in Long Island and Staten Island. A small finger of the eastern Piedmont region juts up from New Jersey for some distance along the west bank of the Hudson.

The Appalachian Highlands , the largest region in New York, comprises about one-half of the state, extending westward from the Hudson valley to the state's southern and western boundaries. The Catskill Mountains (the peaks of which reach some 2,000 to 4,000 feet [600 to 1,200 metres]), the Finger Lakes Hills area, and the Delaware River basin are located in this region. The Catskills, with their mountains and lakes, are primarily a recreation area. The Finger Lakes region also provides many opportunities for summer and winter sports, and its valleys provide excellent grasslands for dairying. The Delaware basin is a mixed-farming area.

A plateaulike region known as the Erie-Ontario Lowlands lies to the north of the Appalachian Highlands and west of the Mohawk valley and extends along the southern shores of the Great Lakes. It is composed of lake plains bordering the Great Lakes that extend up to 30 miles (50 km) inland from the lakes. Because of the moderating influence of the lakes on the weather, the region has become an important fruit-growing area. Between the lake lowlands and the western reaches of the Adirondacks and north of Oneida Lake lies the Tug Hill Upland, which is one of the least-settled parts of the state because of its poor soil and drainage and its excessive winter snow conditions.

Drainage

Among New York's special geographic features are its two major shorelines: some 130 miles (210 km) bordering the Atlantic and 370 miles (600 km) on Lakes Erie and Ontario; in addition, the western shore of Lake Champlain stretches along the northeast corner of the state. The state also has some 8,000 lakes and 9 major rivers. The Hudson and Mohawk rivers have played the most important roles in the state's history, but the Genesee and Oswego , flowing northward into Lake Ontario, also have been important. The Delaware , Susquehanna , and Allegheny drain the southern and western portions of the state and provide a large part of New York City's water supply . The East River connects Long Island Sound with New York Bay and separates Long Island and Manhattan. The most dramatic of the waterfalls that dot the state is Niagara Falls , a source of much hydroelectric power as well as one of the major scenic attractions of the Northeast.

Soils

New York soils can be grouped into categories based on their parent material. One of the most productive groups is found in regions of lime-rich glacial till . Where drainage is good and the terrain not too steep, these soils are excellent for agriculture. They occur in a broad belt across the state and into the Hudson valley. Another lime-rich soil group is found in areas that were formerly glacial lake beds, such as the Erie-Ontario Lowlands and large parts of the Hudson and St. Lawrence valleys. Soils of this group are fine-textured and are characterized by level topography. Where drainage is not a problem, these soils are quite suitable for agriculture. Alluvial soils, formed from the sediments of glacial meltwater and the floodwaters of present-day streams, are found in many valley bottoms, especially in the Appalachian Highlands and along the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. Most of Long Island is also covered by alluvial soils, which often have excellent productive potential. Other soils less suitable for agriculture are derived from lime-poor glacial till, such as those north of the major limestone outcroppings near Lake Ontario, or from material that is too shallow or coarse, such as those in the rugged mountainous areas of the state or in the sandy region west and north of Albany.

Climate

The early Dutch settlers found that New York's climate fell far short of their expectations. Since Manhattan is actually Mediterranean in latitude , these early settlers were rather bewildered to encounter its snowy, freezing winter weather. If Manhattan was uncomfortably cold and wet in the winter months, the rest of the state must have been an even greater disappointment.

Average July temperatures range from 77 °F (25 °C) in New York City to 64 °F (18 °C) at Indian Lake in the Adirondacks; averages in January range from 33 °F (0.5 °C) on Long Island to 14 °F (−10 °C) at Stillwater Reservoir in the Adirondacks. These figures represent the extremes, but there are substantial differences in climate between New York City and upstate Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. A tendency to cloudiness across the state results in few completely clear days.

Precipitation ranges from 32 to 45 inches (810 to 1,140 mm) a year, with the Catskills receiving the greatest amount, while the Erie-Ontario Lowlands receive the least. The region around Syracuse receives an unusual amount of lake-effect snow (an annual average of about 115 inches [2,900 mm]) because of its location near Lake Ontario; the Buffalo area, on Lake Erie, is also renowned for its annual heavy snowfalls (averaging some 95 inches [2,400 mm]).

Plant and animal life

More than three-fifths of New York state is forested woodland. Some 150 kinds of trees, including such southern species as the tulip tree (yellow poplar) and sweet gum , are found in the state. Most woodland, however, is dominated by a small number of northern hardwoods, chiefly beeches and sugar maples in association with species of ash, basswood, cherry, birch, red maple , oak, and, occasionally, conifers such as white pine and hemlock. The spruce-fir association found in extensive parts of the Adirondacks and the largely oak-dominated forests in southeastern New York are the major exceptions to the northern hardwood forests.

Small mammals such as deer mice, eastern cottontails, snowshoe hares, woodchucks, gray squirrels, muskrats, and raccoons are common. Larger mammals include white-tailed deer , beavers, and black bears. New York is host to numerous migratory birds. Year-round residents include eastern meadowlarks, American goldfinches, cardinals, eastern bluebirds, cedar waxwings, bluejays, several kinds of woodpeckers and owls, red-tailed hawks, ruffed grouses, mallards, and common house sparrows, introduced to North America from Europe in the early 1850s.

People

Population composition

Since the colonial period much of New York's growth has resulted from immigration , both from other states and from abroad. Before the American Revolution the Dutch, English, Scots, and Germans were the primary settlers; they were followed in the first half of the 19th century by New Englanders spreading across developing parts of upstate New York and into Westchester county and northern Long Island. The influx of European immigrants came first from the northern and central parts of the Continent and later from southern countries.

The primary countries of origin are Italy, parts of the former Soviet Union (notably, Russia and Ukraine), Poland, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom , and Canada. Many of today's New Yorkers either are foreign-born or have parents who were born abroad, and a significant percentage of people are from a great number of other parts of the world besides Europe and Canada. Nearly half of the population is Roman Catholic, and about one-tenth is Jewish.

The nonwhite portion of the population grew significantly during the 20th century. The first large-scale influx of African Americans from the Southern states occurred during World War I , but it was small compared with the migration that occurred during and after World War II . In 1940 only 4.4 percent of the population was nonwhite, but by the beginning of the 21st century the proportion had increased to about one-sixth, concentrated in the state's metropolitan areas and, within those areas, in the central cities. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, many immigrants of African descent came from diverse areas in the Caribbean and Africa, and they represent different religions, linguistic groups, and social backgrounds.

Settlement patterns

The cultural and social distinctions between various parts of New York state have diminished. Upstate cities, for example, are nearly as varied ethnically as New York City. Certain cultural and social characteristics introduced by early settlers remain visible and, to some degree, still influence lifestyles. During the colonial period and for a number of years after the American Revolution, New England was a major source of migrants to New York, and there are traces of the New England influence, particularly in the architecture and small-town planning of the northern shore of Long Island and in northern Westchester county. The Dutch influence around Albany remains in little more than place-names and street names, plus some preserved or rehabilitated Dutch architecture. German and Scottish settlers have left their mark in the Schoharie valley and parts of the Hudson and Mohawk valleys (German), in Orange and Ulster counties, and in the Cherry Valley area (Scottish).

The distinction between upstate and downstate is normally along political lines-upstate, conservative; downstate, liberal. Political differences are matched by social differences. Downstate is divided between New York City and the suburbs, and within the city differences between the boroughs are important. Although Manhattan has many low-income residents, it is more characterized as a centre for sophisticated lifestyles and liberal politics. In the outer boroughs are relatively stable ethnic neighbourhoods and communities in the process of changing their ethnic or racial makeup; they tend to be more conservative than those in Manhattan but generally are oriented toward the Democratic Party . The suburbs are dominated by white middle- and high-income families living in detached houses, though the income spread in the suburbs has increased, and the inner suburbs are beginning to resemble the city's outer boroughs.

The rural upstate areas must be distinguished from the upstate cities and their suburbs. Rural New York remains conservative both politically and socially. The city regions vary from relatively sophisticated Rochester, with its heavy concentration of white-collar technical and managerial employees, to the more conservative Syracuse-central New York area. Buffalo, with its emphasis on heavy industry, has a large blue-collar population.

Demographic trends

Beginning in the 20th century, much internal migration took place within the state. Higher- and middle-income whites moved to the suburbs, leaving low-income whites and African Americans within the central cities. Likewise, much economic activity, notably manufacturing and the headquarters of corporations, also moved to the suburbs. This movement of people and economic activity resulted in an urban crisis familiar across the United States: an increasing need for the cities to combat crime and other symptoms of poverty, coupled with the removal of the social and economic resources to do so. Although New York City's population began rebounding in the late 20th century and the economic strength of the state's large metropolitan areas generally has been growing, the cities' poor increasingly have been unable to participate in the prosperity and seem likely to slip still farther behind.

Economy

New York state's economy ranks among the largest in the world and accounts for a significant portion of the gross domestic product of the United States. In addition, since the early 21st century, New York's economic policy has improved its business climate by encouraging the building of new and expanded corporate facilities and increasing the number of new jobs. However, in many ways New York's economy is similar to those of the other Northeastern states. The service sector predominates, though manufacturing is also important. Although the economies of other states are growing more rapidly, New York still has great economic strength. The state has, for example, a complex network of nearly every form of transportation. Its resources of electrical power for domestic and commercial use are enormous, including conventional coal- and oil-burning thermal plants, hydroelectricity from the Niagara region, and a large nuclear capability.

State government plays both regulatory and promotional roles in the economy. The Public Service Commission controls the rates charged by public utilities, and the Division of Housing and Community Renewal encourages the development of affordable housing and community preservation programs. The Department of Commerce aids in attracting new economic activity to the state, providing information and assistance to industries seeking to locate there, giving financial support to local communities interested in developing industrial parks, and offering other incentives to encourage the location of more industries within such areas.

New York tends to have somewhat lower unemployment rates during downturns in the national economy than does the rest of the country, but it also recovers less rapidly. This is largely a result of the state's economic mix and its heavy dependence on nonmanufacturing activities.

Almost one-fourth of New York's workforce is unionized, about double the national average. Unionization has grown rapidly in the service sector among such government employees as teachers, sanitation workers, police, and firefighters. The nature of labour-management relations varies considerably from industry to industry, with workers in construction and the garment and apparel industries wielding great power. The state legislature frequently devotes attention to the field of labour relations , particularly public-sector employee relations .

Agriculture

Farmland covers nearly one-third of the state's land area; about three-fifths of New York's farmland is cropland. Dairying is the most important source of farm income, providing more than one-half of the total. Other important sources of farm income are poultry and eggs, livestock products, fruits, vegetables, and field crops. The state raises a variety of horticultural specialties, including nursery products, crops grown in greenhouses, flower bulbs, and seeds, and it competes with Vermont in the production of maple sugar. The fruit and vegetable farms supply the food-processing industry with such products as apples, cherries, peaches, currants, strawberries, tomatoes, peas, beans, sweet corn, and cabbage . There is also a long-standing winemaking tradition that began commercially in the state in the early 1800s. New York is one of the country's largest wine producers; particularly well known for their wines are the Hudson valley and Finger Lakes regions.

Manufacturing, services, and taxation

A declining proportion of New York's workforce is engaged in manufacturing activities. In 1947 more than one-third of the state's employed population was in manufacturing, but by the early 21st century that proportion had dropped to only about one-tenth of the total. New York's service and manufacturing economy remains diverse. It includes financial services; printing and publishing; fashion, apparel, and textiles; food processing; optics and imaging instruments; computer hardware and software; biomedical and chemical products; industrial, electric, and electronic machinery and systems; and transportation equipment and distribution services.

There is some economic specialization within different parts of the state. Services and activities related to finance, insurance, and real estate are more concentrated in the New York City metropolitan area than in upstate New York. Buffalo is strong in heavy industry, while Rochester dominates the manufacture of photographic and optical equipment and is primarily responsible for the state's strong position in instrument production.

Syracuse ranks high in the state in the production of primary metals, machinery, and paper and allied products, as well as in educational employment. The Utica- Rome area specializes in machinery and primary metals, while the Albany- Troy -Schenectady area is strong in the production of paper and allied products. Albany, as the state capital, leads in government employment. Binghamton , the site of a forerunner of the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), has a concentration of employment in the computer and business-machine field.

New York state residents pay one of the highest per capita tax rates in the United States, a system made possible by the state's relatively healthy economic base. The state imposes income, sales, business, and excise taxes. Local revenues are derived mainly from property and sales taxes. The broad state base plus the widespread use of local sales taxes allows New York to rely less on local property taxes than do other large or heavily populated states. Since the late 20th century, the size of New York's government has been reduced through consolidation and privatization, prompting a series of tax cuts designed to make the state more competitive economically.

Transportation

A great part of New York's economic advantage is its location on important natural transportation routes and facilities that connect urban centres within and without the state.

The Erie Canal , opened in 1825, tied New York City and its port to Buffalo and the westward-expanding country. The main railroad system followed the route of the canal, with feeder lines that jutted north and south into the remainder of the state. After World War II the limited-access Thruway stretched from New York to the Pennsylvania state line, passing through Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo. The basic paths of these main transportation routes are not substantially different from those that were used by the state's original settlers.

The railways first challenged the supremacy of the canal as a carrier of goods. Beginning in the mid-19th century with the establishment of the New York Central Railroad, a system was built that tied New York's major cities to Chicago , Boston , Montreal , and other urban centres. Although the number of passengers carried has declined, the railroads remain important handlers of freight. Much of this freight originates via the facilities of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, still one of the largest and busiest port complexes in the United States, handling about one-tenth of all the country's imports and a large proportion of all immigrants to the United States.

Central to the highway system are the limited-access highways. The Thruway connects at Albany to the Adirondack Northway, which extends northward to Canada. In central New York a major highway runs from the Pennsylvania state line to Canada, passing through Binghamton, Syracuse, and Watertown . At Syracuse this route intersects with the Thruway, maintaining the city as a transportation hub and accounting in large part for its economic viability. Another limited-access expressway extends across the southern tier of the state. On Long Island a set of east-west highways ties the island to New York City, New England, and upstate New York.

The New York City metropolitan area, with its combination of subways, buses, and railroads, has the most complex commuter system in the country. The vast New York transit system provides intracity passenger transport. Commuter railroads serve suburban Long Island, Westchester county, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Many of these transportation networks were brought under the control of a single agency, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in 1968.

The three largest airports in the New York City metropolitan area are John F. Kennedy International, La Guardia, and Newark Liberty International, in New Jersey. Other airports providing national and international service are located in Albany, Buffalo, Islip, Rochester, and Syracuse, among others, and the state has a number of regional and county airports.

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New York | history - geography - state, United States

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New York , constituent state of the United States of America , one of the 13 original colonies and states.

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Capital:

Austin
...(Show more)

Population:

(2020) 29,145,505; (2022 est.) 30,029,572
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Governor:

Greg Abbott (Republican)
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Date Of Admission:

Dec. 29, 1845
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U.S. Senators:

John Cornyn (Republican)Ted Cruz (Republican)
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Texas, constituent state of the United States of America. It became the 28th state of the union in 1845. Texas occupies the south-central segment of the country and is the largest state in area except for Alaska. The state extends nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south and about the same distance from east to west.

Water delineates many of its borders. The wriggling course of the Red River makes up the eastern two-thirds of Texas's boundary with Oklahoma to the north, while the remainder of the northern boundary is the Panhandle, which juts northward, forming a counterpart in the western part of that state. The Sabine River forms most of the boundary with Louisiana to the east, where by land it is bounded by Arkansas as well. The crescent-shaped coastline of the Gulf of Mexico lies to the southeast, and the Rio Grande carves a shallow channel that separates Texas from Mexico to the southwest. The state of New Mexico lies to the west. Austin, in the south-central part of the state, is the capital.

The vastness and diversity of Texas are evident in nearly all aspects of its physical features, economy, history, and cultural life. The territory of Texas was part of the Spanish Empire for more than a century. It was then part of the new country of Mexico from 1821 to 1836, when it gained its independence, and had a short-lived existence as a republic before joining the Union. The image of Texas was that of a raw and lawless frontier when it relinquished its independence to become a state. Although Texans still identify strongly with their cowboy heritage, the state's image of Texas changed dramatically over the course of the 20th century; present-day Texas is known for its great agricultural wealth, major oil and natural gas production, industry and finance, huge urban centres that foster a cosmopolitan cultural life, and seemingly unending stretches of high prairie and ranges devoted to cattle and cotton.

The name of the state derives from the Caddo word thecas, meaning "allies" or "friends." (The Spanish spelled the word tejas or texas and used it to describe the area where this Native American tribe lived.) Texas is commonly divided into East and West, although the dividing line between the two is ambiguous. Generally, though, East Texas has a wet climate and is characterized by cotton and by ties to the Old South, while West Texas is dry and is known for cattle ranching and an affinity with the West. Area 268,597 square miles (695,662 square km). Population (2020) 29,145,505; (2022 est.) 30,029,572.

Land

Relief

Texas comprises a series of vast regions, from the fertile and densely populated Coastal Plains in the southeast to the high plains and mountains in the west and northwest. Stretching inland from the Gulf Coast, the Coastal Plains, encompassing about two-fifths of the state's land area, range from sea level to about 1,000 feet (300 metres) in elevation. These flat, low prairies extend inland to form a fertile crescent that is well adapted to farming and cattle raising. Near the coast much land is marshy, almost swamp, except where drained by man-made devices.

The Coastal Plains ends at the Balcones Escarpment, where tremors have occurred. Northwest of this fault, the land extends into the Texas Hill Country and into the tablelands of the Edwards Plateau to the south and the North Central Plains to the north. The entire region varies from about 750 to 2,500 feet (200 to 750 metres) above sea level, and farming and livestock raising constitute the basic economy. In Hill Country there are small industries and recreational areas.

The North Plains subdivision, centred on Amarillo, depends on grain farming, ranching, oil, and small industries. The South Plains subdivision, with Lubbock as the principal city, has large underground water reservoirs that allow large-scale irrigated cotton farming.

At the western edge of the North Central Plains lies the Caprock Escarpment, an outcropping of rock that stretches to the north and south for about 200 miles (320 km). Beyond that escarpment lies the third largest region of Texas, the High Plains country, and to the south lies the Trans-Pecos region.

From the High Plains country of West Texas emerged many of the legends of Texas weather and of the Texas cowboy. On these plains, sandstorms are common. Many wide, flat riverbeds in the region remain dry most of the year, but they can become sluiceways for flash floods. In this region lies the flat, dry area known as the Llano Estacado ("Staked Plain"). According to legend, when traveling through the region in the mid-16th century, the Spanish expedition from New Spain (Mexico) led by Francisco Vázquez de Coronado laid down stakes to serve as guides for the return trip. Even Native Americans hesitated to venture across these lands.

The state's most rugged terrain lies to the west of the Pecos River. Trailing down from the Rocky Mountains, the Guadalupe Mountains lead into Big Bend country, whose name is derived from a bend in the Rio Grande. The highest peak in Texas is Guadalupe Peak, which rises to 8,749 feet (2,667 metres) above sea level. Much of the native ruggedness of the region is preserved in Big Bend National Park.

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Texas | Map, Population, History, & Facts

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Texas, constituent state of the United States of America. It became the 28th state of the union in 1845. Texas occupies the south-central segment of the country and is the largest state in area except for Alaska. The state extends nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from north to south and about the same distance from east to west.

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Population:

(2020) 39,538,223; (2022 est.) 39,029,342

...(Show more)

Date Of Admission:

September 9, 1850

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U.S. Senators:

Dianne Feinstein (Democrat) Alex Padilla (Democrat)

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Relief

The heartland of California is the Central Valley, which runs for 450 miles (725 km) through the centre of the state, forming a trough between the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. The valley is the state's agricultural centre. Its single opening is the delta through which the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers drain into San Francisco Bay. The valley is sealed off by the Cascade Range to the northeast and by the Klamath Mountains to the northwest. In the far north the terrain is rugged and heavily forested, becoming wetter on the coastal side and drier and barren in the higher northeast. In the south the Central Valley is closed off by the transverse ranges, most notably the Tehachapi Mountains, which are regarded as a dividing wall between southern and central California.

Most of eastern California is desert. The sparsely settled northeastern corner of the state is a jumble of barren plains and mountains, as well as a volcanic plateau. In the east-central region is the Trans-Sierra desert, which extends along the sheer east escarpment of the Sierra Nevada range and comprises part of the vast interstate Great Basin of the Basin and Range Province. The Trans-Sierra desert ranges from 2,000 to 7,400 feet (600 to 2,300 metres) above sea level. Its largest towns are in the Owens Valley, which was a fertile farmland until its groundwater flow was diverted to Los Angeles through a mammoth series of conduits built in 1908-13.

The Sierra Nevada rises just to the west of the Trans-Sierra desert. The eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada is sheer, dropping some 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) within a 10-mile (16-km) stretch near Owens Lake. On the west the range slopes in gradually declining foothills toward the Central Valley, comprising the San Joaquin and Sacramento river valleys. From the wall that rises near Lassen Peak in the north, the Sierra Nevada extends south for 430 miles (700 km) to the fringes of Los Angeles. Aside from Mount Whitney (14,494 feet [4,418 metres] above sea level), 10 other peaks in the Sierra Nevada exceed 14,000 feet (4,200 metres) in elevation. East-west passes are few but high; some are found at more than 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) in elevation. There are three national parks in the Sierra Nevada: Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and Yosemite. The last, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978, rises from the purplish foothills of the Mother Lode Country and extends through the ice-carved valleys of the Merced and Tuolumne rivers. Its valleys feature waterfalls and granite domes.

In the southeast lies the Mojave Desert, which, at more than 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km), occupies one-sixth of the land area of California. Its landmarks are broad basins and eroded mountains, fault blocks, and alluvial surfaces, most of which are more than 2,000 feet (600 metres) above sea level. Vegetation includes the evergreen creosote bush, yucca, saltbush, burroweed, encelia, cottonwood, and mesquite. Higher up are juniper and piñon pine.

Just south of the Mojave Desert is the lower Colorado Desert, an extension of the Sonoran Desert, which begins in the Coachella Valley. The Colorado Desert descends to the Imperial Valley adjacent to the Mexican border. The valley is a heavily irrigated agricultural area known for its winter crops. More than 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km) of the desert lie below sea level, including the 300-square-mile (800-square-km) Salton Sea, a lake with no outlet that was created in 1905-07 when the nearby Colorado River broke out of its channel.

The roughly 1,100-mile- (1,800-km-) long coastline of California is mountainous, most dramatically so in the Santa Lucia Range south of San Francisco, where towering cliffs rise about 800 feet (240 metres) above the ocean. Hills of lesser elevation flank entrances to the coast's three major natural harbours, at San Diego, San Francisco, and Eureka. Coastal mountains, made up of many indistinct chains, are from about 20 to 40 miles (30 to 65 km) in width and from 2,000 to 8,000 feet (600 to 2,400 metres) in elevation.

Southern California's dense settlement lies along a coastal plateau and in valleys ranging from about 10 to 60 miles (16 to 100 km) inland. Along the coast north of the Tehachapi Mountains, the population becomes sparser, though the central coastal region has grown rapidly since the 1990s. The populous coastal area around San Francisco Bay gives way to the less-developed northern coast, where lumbering and fishing villages lie beside creeks and rivers flowing from the Coast Ranges. This is the area of coastal redwood forests and Redwood National Park, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980.

The 800-mile (1,300-km) San Andreas Fault is a major fault line running through most of California. Tectonic movement along the fault has caused massive earthquakes, including the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. The Hayward Fault in the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Gabriel fault zone in metropolitan Los Angeles have produced several major earthquakes, though the destructive quake centred in the Los Angeles suburb of Northridge in 1994 occurred along one of the San Andreas's larger secondary faults. Separate fault systems in the Sierra Nevada and the Klamath Mountains are tectonically active as well.

Drainage

Water is chronically scarce in southern California and the desert regions, but excesses of rain and snowmelt cause winter flooding along the rivers of the northern coast. Complex systems of dams and aqueducts transport water from north to south, but not without the protests of those who regard the export of water from their regions as a bar to future growth or as a threat to environmental balance. The Colorado River Aqueduct at the Arizona border carries water from that river across the southern California desert and mountains to serve the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The California State Water Project, launched in 1960, is the largest water-transfer system ever undertaken. It is designed to deliver water daily from the Feather River (a tributary of the Sacramento River) in north-central California to communities as far south as the Mexican border.

The largest lake of the Sierra Nevada is Lake Tahoe, astride the California-Nevada border at an elevation of 6,229 feet (1,899 metres). A mountain-ringed alpine lake about 193 square miles (500 square km) in area, it has among the world's greatest average depth and a maximum depth of about 1,640 feet (500 metres). Elsewhere in the Sierra lie hundreds of smaller lakes, some above the timberline in regions of tumbled granite and smooth-walled canyons. West of the Sierra Nevada is Clear Lake; at 67 square miles (174 square km), it is the largest natural lake wholly within the state. On the eastern flank of the Sierra are Mono Lake and Owens Lake, both long endangered by agricultural development.

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California | Flag, Facts, Maps, Capital, Cities, & Destinations

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Geographical and historical treatment of California, including maps and a survey of its people, economy, and government. The fluid nature of the state's social, economic, and political life-shaped so much by immigrants-has for centuries made California a laboratory for testing new modes of living.

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Douglas C. Munski | See All • Edit History

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North Dakota | Capital, Map, Population, & Facts

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North Dakota, constituent state of the United States of America. North Dakota was admitted to the union as the 39th state on November 2, 1889. A north-central state, it is bounded by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So…