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Texas is a state located in the South Central United States nicknamed the Lone Star State. Austin is the state capital. Texas -- the second largest U.S. state in both area and population -- spans 268,820 square miles and has a growing population of 23.9
million. Houston is the state's largest city and fourth-largest in the United States, while the Dallas-Fort Worth, Arlington, Irving, Plano, Carrolton and Frisco area combined make up the largest metropolitan area in the State and the fourth-largest in
the nation. Texas contains diverse landscapes, resembling, in places, both the Deep South and the desert Southwest. Traveling from east to west, one could observe piney woods and semi-forests of oak and cross timbers, rolling plains and prairie, and
finally the desert of the Big Bend. The phrase "everything is bigger in Texas" derives in part from the state's geographic sprawl and the wide open spaces of its desert and prairie regions. Due to its long history as a center of the American cattle
industry, Texas is associated throughout much of the world with the image of the cowboy. Historically and culturally, Texas is usually considered part of the American South. However, with its Spanish and Mexican roots, it can also be classified as part of
the American Southwest. While residents acknowledge these categories, many claim an independent "Texan" identity superseding regional labels. The term "six flags over Texas" comes from the multiple countries that have claimed the territory. Spain
was the first European country to claim the area of Texas. France held a short lived colony in Texas. Mexico owned the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence becoming an independent Republic. In 1845 it joined the United States as the 28th
state. The state's annexation helped set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican-American War in 1846 and the U.S. Civil War. Texas would also join the Confederate States of America as a charter member on March 1, 1861. In the early 1900s, oil
discoveries initiated an economic boom in the state. Texas has since economically diversified. It has a growing base in high technology, biomedical research and higher education. Its gross state product is the second-highest in the nation.
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