Texas (U.S. State)

The official state dinosaur of Texas is Sauroposeidon proteles, a massive plant-eating dinosaur that lived 112 million years ago and could grow up to 112 feet (34 meters) long — as long as three school buses!

The official state gemstone of Texas is blue topaz, which can be found in the Llano Uplift region of Central Texas.

The official state sport of Texas is rodeo, which showcases traditional cowboy skills like bull riding, calf roping, and barrel racing.

The Space Center Houston is where astronauts train for missions, and visitors can see real spacecraft that have been to space and back.

The Alamo in San Antonio is visited by over 1 million people each year, who come to see where a small group of Texans fought for independence against a much larger Mexican army.

The State Capitol building in Austin is taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., proving the saying that “everything is bigger in Texas.”

Six Flags Over Texas amusement park gets its name from the six different nations that have governed Texas throughout history: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States, and United States.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world, attracting more than 2 million visitors each year.

The River Walk in San Antonio, Texas, is a network of walkways along the San Antonio River, lined with restaurants, shops, and hotels that are beautifully lit with colorful lights at night.

The Fort Worth Stockyards is a historic district where you can watch a real cattle drive through the streets twice daily, just like in the Old West.

The Dallas Cowboys football team plays in AT&T Stadium, which has the world’s largest column-free interior and a retractable roof that weighs 14,000 tons — as heavy as 7,000 cars!

The San Jacinto Monument near Houston is 15 feet (4.57 meters) taller than the Washington Monument and commemorates the battle where Texas won its independence from Mexico.

The Texas State Fair in Dallas features Big Tex, a 55-foot-tall talking cowboy statue that has been greeting visitors since 1952.

Famous Texans include singers Beyoncé and Willie Nelson, actors Matthew McConaughey and Eva Longoria, and athletes like Simone Biles and Nolan Ryan.

Texas has been home to three U.S. Presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower was born in Denison, Lyndon B. Johnson was born near Johnson City, and George W. Bush considers Texas his home state.

The Texas accent, with its distinctive drawl and expressions like “y’all” and “fixin’ to,” is one of the most recognizable accents in America.

Tex-Mex food, a popular cuisine combining Mexican and American influences, was born in Texas and includes favorites like fajitas, nachos, and chili con queso.

The Houston Rodeo Cook-Off features more than 250 teams competing to make the best barbecue, serving over 40,000 pounds (18,144 kg) of meat to hungry visitors.

Texas has more than 50 professional and college football teams, reflecting how important the sport is to Texan culture.

The first frozen margarita machine was invented in Dallas in 1971 by restaurateur Mariano Martinez, who modified a soft-serve ice cream machine.

Texas has a strong tradition of country music, with famous musicians like George Strait, Willie Nelson, and Selena helping define the “Texas sound.”

Dr Pepper was invented in Waco, Texas, in 1885, making it older than Coca-Cola and one of the oldest major soft drinks in America.

The Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo features ten vintage Cadillacs half-buried in the ground at the same angle as the Great Pyramid of Giza, and visitors are encouraged to spray paint them.

Texas is so big that El Paso, Texas, is closer to California than it is to Dallas, Texas!

A weather phenomenon called “Blue Northers” can cause temperatures in Texas to drop by 20–30 degrees in just minutes when cold fronts sweep down from the north.

Texas has no state income tax, which is one reason many people and businesses move to the Lone Star State.

The Marfa Lights are mysterious glowing orbs that appear in the desert near Marfa, Texas, and have puzzled scientists for over 100 years.

The Waco Suspension Bridge, built in 1870, was Texas’s first major suspension bridge and still stands today!

The Tyler Municipal Rose Garden is the largest rose garden in America, with over 38,000 rose bushes of 600 different varieties.

Texas grows enough cotton each year to make about two pairs of jeans for every person in the United States — pretty close to covering everyone’s denim dreams!

Luckenbach, Texas, became world-famous thanks to a song by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, even though the town only has a handful of residents!

Fritos corn chips were invented in San Antonio, Texas, in 1932 by Charles Elmer Doolin, who bought the recipe for just $100.

Texas has more farms than any other state, with over 200,000 farms covering 125 million acres — that’s about half the entire state!

The Balcones Fault Zone runs through the middle of Texas, creating an escarpment (cliff) that divides the state into higher land to the west and lower land to the east.

The Texas Hill Country features rolling hills, spring-fed rivers, and beautiful wildflowers, making it one of the most scenic regions in the state.

Enchanted Rock, a massive pink granite dome near Fredericksburg, rises 425 feet (130 meters) above the surrounding landscape and Native Americans believed it had magical powers.

Texas has 10 climatic regions, 14 soil regions, and 11 distinct ecological regions, making it one of the most geographically diverse states.

The Gulf of Mexico provides Texas with miles of beaches, important shipping ports, and rich fishing grounds that support the state’s seafood industry.

Padre Island National Seashore is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world, stretching for 70 miles (110 km) along the Texas coast.

The critically endangered whooping crane, North America’s tallest bird at 5 feet (1.52 meters) tall, spends its winters on the Texas Gulf Coast.

The Texas Rangers, established in 1823, is the oldest state law enforcement agency in North America and was created to protect settlers from Native American raids.

The “Come and Take It” flag from the Battle of Gonzales in 1835 became a symbol of Texas defiance when Texians refused to return a cannon to Mexican authorities.

Spindletop gushed oil on January 10, 1901, producing more oil in one day than all other wells in America combined, launching the modern petroleum industry.

Texas German is a unique dialect spoken by descendants of German immigrants who settled in the Hill Country in the 1840s and 1850s.

The Chisholm Trail, used for cattle drives from Texas to Kansas after the Civil War, saw more than 5 million cattle and one million mustangs travel north between 1867 and 1884.

The Texas State Capitol in Austin is made of pink granite from Marble Falls, and the building is so large it has 360,000 square feet (0.03 km²) of floor space.

The USS Texas, docked near the San Jacinto Monument, is the only remaining U.S. battleship that fought in both World War I and World War II.

The Big Bend region is one of the darkest places in the continental United States at night, making it perfect for stargazing and seeing the Milky Way.

Galveston Island was the site of the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, which resulted in the loss of many lives, with estimates ranging from 6,000 to 12,000.

The Texas School Book Depository in Dallas is now a museum that teaches about the life of President John F. Kennedy, who visited the city in 1963.