TEXAS GEOGRAPHY

1. TEXAS GEOGRAPHY Texas is a big place can you handle it?

2. In your composition book write the following Rivers • These are the requirements on your map of Texas (the cover of your foldable) • Rio Grande River • Canadian River • Colorado River • Pecos River • Brazos River • Sabine River • Red River • Guadalupe River • Nueces river • Trinity River • Prairie Dog Town River • San Antonio River

3. In your composition book, write the following landforms • These are the requirements on your map of Texas for landforms • High Plains (Great Plains) • North (Central) Plains • Mountains & Basins • Edwards Plateau • Grand Prairie • Post Oak Belt • Gulf Coastal Plains • West Texas Mountains

4. In your composition book, write the following landforms Cities • These are the cities that are expected to be on your map of Texas • San Antonio • Galveston • Houston • Amarillo • El Paso • Dallas • Fort Worth • Austin

5. Why Geography? • Geography prepares us for modern life • People, businesses, governments depend on geography everyday to meet their needs • Computer software such as GIS and GPS use geography to help people

6. Sizing Up Texas • Second largest US State • The area of Texas is 267,277 square miles • Some parts of Texas are closer to the capitals of other states than to Austin.

7. Sizing Up Texas • Texas is the combined size of: New York Pennsylvania Ohio Illinois Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts Vermont New Hampshire New Jersey Maine

8. Sizing Up Texas • El Paso, Texas is closer to the Pacific Ocean than to Houston. • Some students in Texas live 4 hrs from the nearest school • How could these geographic facts affect Texas?

9. 6 Geographical Questions • Location • Place • Regions • Human-Environment Interaction • Human Systems • Physical Systems

10. Location – Where is it? • Absolute Location – The exact location of a place on the earth’s surface • Relative Location – The location of a place in relation to other places • The Absolute location and Relative location of Texas affect it in many ways – How has Texas’ relative location to Mexico affected it?

11. Using Latitude and Longitude • The Absolute Location of a place is given using latitude and longitude coordinates • Coordinates are written using a numerical measurement and a directional label. • Latitude is given first followed by longitude • (31° N, 97° W) is the approximate location of Belton on the earth’s surface

12. Place – What is it like? • Place refers to the physical and human characteristics of a location • Physical Characteristics include: • Landforms, Climate, plants, animals • Human Characteristics include: • Language, Religion, Architecture, Music, Politics, ways of life

13. Physical Characteristics

15. Human Characteristics

17. Regions – How does it compare to other places? • Geographers divide areas into regions in order to better study them. • Regions are places that are united based on common characteristics • Regions can be based on physical, human, business and other characteristics

18. 4 Natural Regions of Texas REGION- land area that shares similar elevation, precipitation, climate, soil, and vegetation

19. Natural Regionsof Texas

20. Human-Environment Interaction How do humans react to their environment and how does it affect them? • Ex: Pollution Deforestation Hurricanes/Tornadoes Farming Damming Rivers to make lakes

22. Human Systems • Movement - How people move through the environment • Cultural Diffusion - new ideas brought by migrating people become widely accepted. • People bring ideas and goods with them when they move from one place to another.

23. Movement in Texas

24. Vocabulary-Wow, there are so many words! Houston Skyline

25. Precipitation Drip, drip, drip… How much rain does our area receive each year? What part of Texas receives the most rain? What part receives the least amount of rain?

26. Texas Aquifers Rain slowly fills these giant underground lakes. The aquifer then supplies water for drinking and irrigation. Edwards Aquifer Ogallala Aquifer

27. Reservoirs-man-made lakes Ahhhhhhhh!

28. What is your elevation? How tall are you? West Texas is a tall place with Guadalupe Peak reaching 8, 749 feet. The Humble area is about 90 feet above sea level. Elevation-height of the land

29. Texas mountains that take a prize!

30. Escarpment-steep cliff • Caprock-in Texas Panhandle • Balcones-in central Texas

31. Other Important Terms

32. Most Important Mineral Resources NATURAL GAS PETROLEUM-GAS

33. Petrochemical Industry • To turn the oil and gas into something useful, you must refine it at a petrochemical plant. • The area around Pasadena and Deer Park has many of these refineries. • Ever heard of Stinkadena? TEXACO TEXACO TEXACO

34. AGRIBUSINESS • Agribusiness combines farming, ranching and related businesses. • It is an important part of the Texas economy. • Cotton is the number one cash crop for our state.

35. TEJANO • Texas has a very rich cultural history. • Much of the Texas culture is tied to Mexico such as food, architecture, and language. • A Tejano is a person of Mexican heritage who calls Texas home. Caliente! Yummy! Hola!