1.
Region
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In geography, regions are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics, human impact characteristics, and the interaction of humanity and the environment. Apart from the continental regions, there are also hydrospheric and atmospheric regions that cover the oceans. The land and water global regions are divided into subregions geographically bounded by large geological features that influence large-scale ecologies, such as plains and features. As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among the branches of geography. For example, ecoregion is a used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in biogeography. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called regional geography, where human geography is concerned, the regions and subregions are described by the discipline of ethnography. A region has its own nature that could not be moved, the first nature is its natural environment. The second nature is its physical elements complex that were built by people in the past, the third nature is its socio-cultural context that could not be replaced by new immigrants. Global regions distinguishable from space, and are clearly distinguished by the two basic terrestrial environments, land and water. However, they have generally recognised as such much earlier by terrestrial cartography because of their impact on human geography. They are divided into largest of land regions, known as continents, there are also significant regions that do not belong to either classification, such as archipelago regions that are littoral regions, or earthquake regions that are defined in geology. Continental regions are based on broad experiences in human history. As such they are conceptual constructs, usually lacking distinct boundaries, oceanic division into maritime regions are used in conjunction with the relationship to the central area of the continent, using directions of the compass. To a large extent, major continental regions are mental constructs created by considering an efficient way to large areas of the continents. For the most part, the images of the world are derived as much from academic studies and they are a matter of collective human knowledge of its own planet and are attempts to better understand their environments. Regional geography is a branch of geography that studies regions of all sizes across the Earth and it has a prevailing descriptive character. The main aim is to understand or define the uniqueness or character of a particular region, attention is paid also to regionalization, which covers the proper techniques of space delimitation into regions. Regional geography is considered as a certain approach to study in geographical sciences
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Texas
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Texas is the second largest state in the United States by both area and population. Other major cities include Austin, the second most populous state capital in the U. S. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify its former status as an independent republic, and as a reminder of the states struggle for independence from Mexico. The Lone Star can be found on the Texan state flag, the origin of Texass name is from the word Tejas, which means friends in the Caddo language. Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, although Texas is popularly associated with the U. S. southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas land area is desert. Most of the centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, the term six flags over Texas refers to several nations that have ruled over the territory. Spain was the first European country to claim the area of Texas, Mexico controlled the territory until 1836 when Texas won its independence, becoming an independent Republic. In 1845, Texas joined the United States as the 28th state, the states annexation set off a chain of events that caused the Mexican–American War in 1846. A slave state before the American Civil War, Texas declared its secession from the U. S. in early 1861, after the Civil War and the restoration of its representation in the federal government, Texas entered a long period of economic stagnation. One Texan industry that thrived after the Civil War was cattle, due to its long history as a center of the industry, Texas is associated with the image of the cowboy. The states economic fortunes changed in the early 20th century, when oil discoveries initiated a boom in the state. With strong investments in universities, Texas developed a diversified economy, as of 2010 it shares the top of the list of the most Fortune 500 companies with California at 57. With a growing base of industry, the leads in many industries, including agriculture, petrochemicals, energy, computers and electronics, aerospace. Texas has led the nation in export revenue since 2002 and has the second-highest gross state product. The name Texas, based on the Caddo word tejas meaning friends or allies, was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, during Spanish colonial rule, the area was officially known as the Nuevo Reino de Filipinas, La Provincia de Texas. Texas is the second largest U. S. state, behind Alaska, though 10 percent larger than France and almost twice as large as Germany or Japan, it ranks only 27th worldwide amongst country subdivisions by size. If it were an independent country, Texas would be the 40th largest behind Chile, Texas is in the south central part of the United States of America. Three of its borders are defined by rivers, the Rio Grande forms a natural border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south
4.
U.S. state
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A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
5.
Metropolitan area
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As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
6.
Interstate 20
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Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles beginning near Kent, Texas, at I-10 to Florence, South Carolina, between Texas and South Carolina, I‑20 runs through northern Louisiana, central Mississippi, western and north-central Alabama, and north-central Georgia. I‑20 intersects seven of the ten primary north–south Interstates and also the east-west Interstates 10 and 30, from its terminus at I‑95, the highway continues about 2 miles eastward into the city of Florence as Business Spur 20. I-20 begins 10 miles east of Kent at a fork with I-10, from there, the highway travels east-northeastward through Odessa, Midland, and Abilene before turning eastward towards Dallas/Fort Worth. The La Entrada al Pacifico corridor runs along I-20 between U. S. Route 385 and Farm to Market Road 1788, between Monahans and I-10, I-20 has an 80 miles per hour speed limit. From the highways opening in the 1960s through 1971, I-20 originally went through the heart of the Metroplex via the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike and this old route is now signed I-30, US80 and Texas Spur 557. In 1987, I-20 was rerouted to go through the sections of Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Dallas. Part of I-20 in Dallas is named the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, I-20 continues eastward from Terrell, bypassing Tyler, Marshall, and Longview, before crossing the Louisiana border near Waskom. In Louisiana, I-20 roughly parallels U. S. Route 80 through the part of the state. From that area, the highway traverses rural, hilly terrain, bypassing Minden, Ruston. From Monroe, I-20 enters flatter terrain as it approaches the Mississippi River, before crossing the Mississippi, the highway passes Tallulah. At the Mississippi River, I-20 leaves Louisiana and enters Vicksburg, upon entering Mississippi by crossing the Mississippi River, I-20 immediately enters Vicksburg. Between Edwards and Clinton, the highway follows the original two-lane routing of US80. In Jackson, I-20 sees a short concurrency with both I-55 and US49, also in Jackson is an unusually expansive stack interchange, at the junction of I-20, I-55 North and US49 South. The interchange replaces a former interchange at I-55 North and a cloverleaf at Highway 49. From the Stack, I-20 continues eastward to Meridian, where it begins the nearly 160-mile overlap with I-59, the route of the Mississippi section of I-20 is defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3. I-20 crosses the Alabama state line near York, and it stays conjoined as it passes through western Alabama, at Birmingham, the two highways pass through downtown together before splitting at Exit 130 just east of the Birmingham airport. I-20 continues eastward through Oxford/Anniston, Alabama, and the Talladega National Forest, passing by the Talladega Superspeedway in the process, I-20 enters Georgia near Tallapoosa and after passing through western Georgia, it enters the Atlanta metropolitan area
7.
Tyler, Texas
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Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. This city had a population of 96,900 in 2010, tylers 2014 estimated population is 107,405. It is 100 miles east-southeast of Dallas, Tyler has the nickname Rose Capital of the World. It gained this name due to the quantity of roses processed through the area. Tyler is also home to the Caldwell Zoo and Broadway Square Mall, Tyler is located at 32°20′03″N 95°18′00″W at 544 feet above sea level. Tyler is surrounded by smaller cities, including Whitehouse, Lindale, New Chapel Hill, Bullard, Edom, Brownsboro. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 54.4 square miles. Tyler experiences weather typical of East Texas, which is unpredictable, all of East Texas has the humid subtropical climate typical of the American South. The record high for Tyler is 115 °F, which occurred in 2011, the record low for Tyler is −3 °F, which occurred on January 18,1930. As of the 2010 census,96,900 people resided in the city of Tyler, the population density was 1,782.0 people per square mile. The 41,742 housing units averaged a density of 716.7 per mi2. The racial makeup of the city was,60. 5% White,24. 8% Black,0. 5% Native American,1. 9% Asian,0. 03% Pacific Islander,10. 3% from other races, and 2. 0% from two or more races. About 21. 2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race, the median income for the city was $42,752 and the poverty rate was 19. 5%. In place for nearly 70 years, the Health District became an entity in 1994. With a stated vision To be the Healthiest Community in Texas, the Health District has a broad range of services and responsibilities dedicated to their mission, To Protect, Promote, and Provide for the Health of Our Community. Tyler is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Kevin Eltife, District 1, the Texas Twelfth Court of Appeals is located in Tyler. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Region I Parole Division Office, senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, Tyler is part of Texas US Congressional 1st District, which is currently represented by Republican Louie Gohmert. The United States Postal Service operates several post offices in Tyler, including Tyler, Azalea, Southeast Crossing, several Tyler schools offer international baccalaureate and advanced placement programs
8.
Longview, Texas
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Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison counties in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 80,455, the estimated population in 2015 was 82,287. Most of the city is located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat, Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U. S. Highways 80 and 259 converge just north of the Sabine River, Longview is the principal city of the Longview Metropolitan Statistical Area, comprising Gregg, Upshur, and Rusk counties. Longview is considered a hub city for East Texas, as is the nearby city of Tyler. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Longview as the sixth fastest-growing small city in the United States, Longview was founded in the 1870s by Ossamus Hitch Methvin, Sr. In 1870, Methvin sold 100 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad for one dollar to persuade them to build their line in the direction of land he owned, later that year, he sold another 100 acres for $500 in gold. He hoped the coming of the railroad would increase the value of the rest of his land, Methvin coined the name of the town when he stated, What a long view. In June 1871, Longview was incorporated as the first town in Gregg County, in July 1919, a reporter for The Chicago Defender was in Longview looking into the mysterious death of a black man named Lemuel Walters. An armed white mob attacked a home where the reporter, S. L, jones, was staying and attempted to batter their way in. A gunfight began between the attackers and the men in the house, the white men then began to burn buildings in the black section of the town. In 1942, construction began on the Big Inch pipeline in Longview, from 1943 to 1945, the pipeline transported over 261,000,000 barrels of crude oil to the East Coast. At the time of construction, Big Inch and its twin, Little Inch. Both were integral in supplying the United States war effort in World War II, Longview is located at 32°30′33″N 94°45′14″W. It is bordered to the west by the city of White Oak and is surrounded by other cities and towns, including Kilgore, Gladewater, Gilmer, Ore City, Harleton, Hallsville. It is 37 miles northeast of the similarly sized city of Tyler, incorporated areas include Spring Hill, Greggton, Pine Tree, Judson, and Longview Heights. Average snowfall is less than 2 inches, with one or two ice storms each winter. Normal highs are from the 50s–60s, lows range from the 30s to the 40s
9.
Marshall, Texas
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Marshall is a city in and the county seat of Harrison County in the northeastern corner of the U. S. state of Texas. Marshall is a cultural and educational center in East Texas. At the 2010 census, the population of Marshall was about 23,523, Marshall was a political and production center of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Later it was a railroad center of the T&P Railroad from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. This area of Texas was developed for cotton plantations, planters brought slaves with them from other regions or bought them in the domestic slave trade. It had a proportion of slaves than other regions of the state, and the wealth of the county depended on slave labor. The city was founded in 1841 as the seat of Harrison County after failed attempts to establish a county seat on the Sabine River. The Republic of Texas decided to choose the land donated for the seat by Peter Whetstone, the citys growing importance was confirmed when Marshall was linked by a telegraph line to New Orleans, it was the first city in Texas to have a telegraph service. By 1860, Marshall was the fourth-largest city in Texas and the seat of its richest county, developed as cotton plantations, the county held more slaves than any other in the state. Many planters and other whites were strongly anti-Union because of their investment in slavery, for example, brothers Lionel and Emmanuel Kahn, Jewish merchants in Marshall, fought on opposing sides in the conflict. When Governor Sam Houston refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, pendleton Murrah, Texass third Confederate governor, was also from Marshall. The city became a major Confederate supply depot and manufactory of gunpowder for the Confederate Army, the city was used as the capital of Missouris Confederate government-in-exile, earning it the nickname the City of Seven Flags. This was a nod to the flag of Missouri, in addition to the six flags of nations, Marshall became the seat of Confederate civil authority and headquarters of the Trans-Mississippi Postal Department after the fall of Vicksburg. The city may have been the target of a failed Union advance that was rebuffed at Mansfield. Toward the end of the American Civil War, the Confederate government had $9.0 million in Treasury notes and they may have intended Marshall as the destination of a government preparing to flee from advancing armies. Marshall was occupied by Union forces on June 17,1865, during Reconstruction, the city was home to an office of the Freedmens Bureau and was the base for Union troops. In 1873 the Methodist Episcopal Church founded Wiley College to educate freedmen, African Americans came to the city seeking opportunities and protection until 1878. The White Citizens Party, led by former Confederate General Walter P. Lane and his brother George and their militia ran Unionists, Republicans and many African Americans out of town
10.
Mount Pleasant, Texas
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Mount Pleasant is the county seat and largest city of Titus County, in the U. S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, Mount Pleasants population was 15,564, Mount Pleasant was founded May 11,1848, to serve as county seat for Titus County, which was created by a legislative act on May 11,1846. Until after the Civil War, Titus County also included the territory of present-day Franklin, High waters along the creeks and the Sulphur River often halted travel in the early years. In the 21st century, Titus County comprises the Mount Pleasant Micropolitan Statistical Area, Mount Pleasant is located at 33°9′28″N 94°58′12″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 12.7 square miles. Mount Pleasant is considered to be part of a subtropical climate. As of the census of 2000,13,935 people,4,558 households, the population density was 1,112.0 people per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 56. 70% White,16. 00% African American,0. 55% Native American,0. 84% Asian,0. 01% Pacific Islander,23. 57% from other races, and 2. 33% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 40. 65% of the population. In the city, the population was distributed as 31. 2% under the age of 18,10. 9% from 18 to 24,28. 1% from 25 to 44,16. 2% from 45 to 64, the median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,805, males had a median income of $22,629 versus $17,080 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,190, about 20. 3% of families and 22. 8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30. 7% of those under age 18 and 16. 1% of those age 65 or over. Mount Pleasant, Texas has grown since the 2000 Census, as of 2010, Titus County Courthouse – located at the Downtown Square, the Courthouse is an important historical building. The courthouse has burned three times since 1850. The current building was constructed in 1895, it suffered damage in a 1960s fire, Downtown Square is bordered by several locally owned businesses. Mount Pleasant is the site of Wal-Marts first store in Texas, radar, the worlds tallest living horse, lived in Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant is a nationally recognized Texas Main Street City under the program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, one of the largest Dr. Pepper murals in the United States is located on the side of a building that once housed a Dr. Pepper bottler
11.
Sulphur Springs, Texas
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Sulphur Springs is a city in Hopkins County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 15,449 and it is the county seat of Hopkins County. Sulphur Springs derives its name from the fact that when the area was first settled. Long before the first European-American settlers arrived, Native American tribes had occupied the areas around the springs, the settlers also gathered around the springs. The town developed around this area from the late 1840s, eli Bib, one of the first European-American settlers, ran a store from his cabin, selling staples, whiskey, persimmon beer, and slabs of ginger cake. In 1849, Dr. and Mrs. Davis moved into the area, Dr. Davis envisioned the spot as a future city. In 1850 the residents organized the areas first church, the Methodist Episcopal, construction of the church was completed in 1853. In 1852, the Presbyterian Church was organized, at that time, the population of the village was 441. In order to serve the growing group of people, commodities began to be brought in from nearby Jefferson, the village became a city in 1854 when the first United States post office was established. The citys name was originally Bright Star, mail to and from the city was delivered by the Pony Express. On May 18,1871, the moved the county seat of Hopkins county from Tarrant to Sulphur Springs. The first known mayor was William A. Wortham, in 1854, Wortham had bought the Texas Star press and moved to Sulphur Springs. He, his brother-in-law, and Bill Davis established the citys first newspaper, the county seat had numerous newspapers. Echo Publishing Company was founded in 1897 and it was the first steam-powered press in Sulphur Springs. After the first plant was lost to a fire, a new plant was constructed which used gasoline as fuel, in 1884 the Sulphur Springs Enterprise was founded. In the same year, James Harvey Cyclone Davis, a Populist US Congressman, founded the Alliance Vindicator, john S. Bagwell bought the Hopkins County Echo in 1916. In 1924, the Texas Star was merged into the Daily News Telegram, the Daily News Telegram later was renamed as the Daily Gazette and later the Weekly Gazette. Eventually, all newspapers were merged into the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram
12.
Paris, Texas
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Paris, Texas is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 25,171 and it is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, and 98 miles northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. Physio-graphically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain, following a tradition of American cities named Paris, the city commissioned a 65-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower in 1993 and installed it in the square. In 1998, presumably as a response to the 1993 construction of a 60-foot tower in Paris, Tennessee, the current tower is at least the second Eiffel Tower replica built in Paris, the first was constructed of wood and later destroyed by a tornado. Lamar County was first settled to the west of Jonesborough and Clarksville, in late 1839, George W. Wright moved from his farm northeast of Clarksville to a hill where he had purchased 1,000 acres of unoccupied land. It was on the old road from the mouth of the Kiomatia River at its confluence with the Red River to the Grand Prairie, Wright opened a general store on the road. By December 1840 the new county was organized, named for Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B, by September 1841, Wrights store was called Paris and served as the local postal office. In August 1844, the county commissioners took Wrights offer of 50 acres, the area of present Lamar County was part of Red River County during the Republic of Texas. By 1840 population growth had demanded organization of a new county and it was organized by elections held on February 1,1841. The county included much of what was separated as Delta County in 1870. The original county seat was Lafayette, a settlement located several miles northwest of the site of present-day Paris. On June 22,1841, John Watson donated forty acres of land to develop a new county seat, the town was platted, no lots were ever sold, and the county court continued to meet at Lafayette. In 1842 the Texas Congress passed a law requiring each county seat to be located within five miles of the center of the county. Accordingly, Mount Vernon was made Lamar county seat in 1843, the following year, George Wright offered to donate fifty acres for a town, if the county commissioners would make it the county seat. The commissioners accepted, and named the town as Paris, the first term of the county court was held there on April 29,1844. The first recorded settlers in the area came in 1826, although settlers were known to have been in the area as early as 1824 and it was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on February 3,1845. Paris was on the Central National Road of the Republic of Texas, by the time of Civil War, Paris had 700 residents. The town had become a center of trade for cattle and farming and it is the site of the first municipally owned and operated abattoir in the United States
13.
Texarkana, Texas
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Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States, located in the Ark-La-Tex region. It is a city with neighboring Texarkana, Arkansas. The population of the Texas city was 36,411 at the 2010 census, the city and its Arkansas counterpart form the core of the Texarkana Metropolitan Statistical Area, encompassing all of Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas. The two cities had a population of 66,330 at the 2010 census, and the metropolitan area had a total population of 136,027. Railroads were quick to see the possibilities of this vast area, by 1874, they had crossed the Red River and had reached the Texas state line. Between February 16 and March 19,1874, trains ran between the Texas border and the Red River, whence passengers and freight were ferried to Fulton to continue by rail. The Red River Bridge opened on March 20,1874, there was keen rivalry between the 1870s railroad builders. The Texas and Pacific Railroad reached across Texas to the Arkansas state line, the border was the logical place for the different railways to connect. On December 8,1873, the Texas and Pacific sold the first town lots for the future city, first to buy was J. W. Davis, who purchased the land where todays Hotel McCartney now stands, opposite Union Station. It is not known who gave Texarkana its name, a popular story credits Colonel Gus Knobel, who surveyed the Iron Mountain Railroad right-of-way from Little Rock to this section to the state line. He allegedly painted TEX-ARK-ANA on a plank and nailed it to a tree, saying, Miller County, on the Arkansas side of the metropolitan area, is probably the only county in the United States that was abolished, only to be reestablished later. Miller County was formed in 1820 to honor James Miller who was Arkansas first governor, Miller County was formed with a large degree of uncertainty as to the location of the line dividing the county and the Mexican boundary. Consequently, settlers felt that Arkansas levied and collected taxes on land that eventually might be held by Mexico, moreover, many who resented the oppression of Texans by the Mexicans were openly declaring allegiance to the Texans. This led to general unrest, and after the Texas Republic was created, so, in 1838, Governor James Conway proposed that the easiest and most effective remedy is the abolition of Miller County to an area which is more patriotic. From that year until 1874, it was a part of Lafayette County and its re-establishment sprung only from the sale of town lots in Texarkana in 1873. Efforts of the town to be incorporated were not realized until October 17,1880, nearly seven years after Texarkana. December 8,1873, is recognized by both cities as the date of organization. Texarkana is located at the junction of Interstate 30 and US highways 59,67,71 and it is bordered by the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, to the east, and by the smaller cities of Nash and Wake Village, Texas, to the west
14.
Interstate 30
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Interstate 30 is an Interstate Highway in the southern United States spanning Texas and Arkansas. I-30 runs from I-20 west of Fort Worth, Texas, northeast via Dallas, the route parallels U. S. Route 67 except for the portion west of downtown Dallas. I-30 intersects with two of the 10 major north–south Interstates and also with the major Interstate routes I-20. I-30 is known as the Tom Landry Freeway between I-35W and I-35E, within the core of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, I-30 is the shortest two-digit Interstate ending in zero in the Interstate system. The Interstates ending in 0 are generally the longest east–west Interstates and it is also the second shortest major Interstate, behind Interstate 45. The largest areas that I-30 goes through include the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Texarkana metropolitan area, the section of I-30 between Dallas and Fort Worth is designated the Tom Landry Highway in honor of the long-time Dallas Cowboys coach. Though I-30 passed well south of Texas Stadium, the Cowboys former home, their new stadium in Arlington, however, the freeway designation was made before Arlington voted to build Cowboys Stadium. This section was known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike, which preceded the Interstate System. Although tolls had not been collected for years, it was still known locally as the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike until receiving its present name. The section from downtown Dallas to Arlington was recently widened to over 16 lanes in some sections, in Dallas, I-30 is known as East R. L. Thornton Freeway between downtown Dallas and the eastern suburb of Mesquite. I-30 picks up the name from I-35E south at the Mixmaster interchange, the Mixmaster is scheduled to be reconstructed as part of the Horseshoe project, derived from the larger Pegasus Project. The section from downtown Dallas to Loop 12 is eight lanes plus an HOV lane and this section will be reconstructed under the Eastern Gateway project to 12 lanes by 2020. From Rockwall to a point past Sulphur Springs, I-30 runs concurrent with US67, through the city of Greenville, I-30 is known as Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. I-30 continues northesterly through East Texas until a few miles from the Texas-Oklahoma border, I-30 enters southwestern Arkansas in Texarkana which is the twin city of Texarkana, Texas. Here, I-30 intersect I-49, Like in Texas, I-30 travels in a direction as it proceeds north east through the state. I-30 then passes through Hope which is where former President Bill Clinton was born, I-30 then serves Prescott, Gurdon, Arkadelphia, and Malvern. At Malvern, drivers can use US70 or US270 to travel into historic Hot Springs or beyond into Ouachita National Forest, about at this location, US70 and US67 join I-30 and stay with the interstate into the Little Rock city limits. Northeast of Malvern, I-30 passes through Benton, before reaching the Little Rock city limits, from Benton to its end at I-40, I-30 is a six-lane highway with up to 85,000 vehicles per day
15.
Jacksonville, Texas
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Jacksonville is a city located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,544 at the 2010 census and it is the principal city of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County, and part of the larger Tyler–Jacksonville combined statistical area. Jacksonville is located in an area of rolling hills in East Texas, north of the county seat, Rusk, the north-south Highway 69 intersects the east-west U. S. Route 79 at the former Landmark Hotel/Restaurant and the Capital One Bank building in downtown Jacksonville. Area production and shipping of tomatoes gained the town the title Tomato Capital of the World, annual events include the Tomato Fest celebration in June and the Tops in Texas Rodeo held in July. As of the census of 2000, there were 13,868 people,4,882 households, the population density was 981.0 people per square mile. There were 5,397 housing units at a density of 381.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 62. 60% White,21. 70% African American,0. 48% Native American,0. 68% Asian,0. 13% Pacific Islander,12. 72% from other races, and 1. 69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23. 04% of the population,27. 7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13. 8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the family size was 3.28. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 29. 2% under the age of 18,12. 1% from 18 to 24,25. 2% from 25 to 44,17. 9% from 45 to 64, the median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $25,800, males had a median income of $23,650 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,541, about 19. 2% of families and 23. 1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29. 0% of those under age 18 and 17. 7% of those age 65 or over. Jacksonville began in 1847 as the town of Gum Creek, Jackson Smith built a home and blacksmith shop in the area, and became postmaster in 1848, when a post office was authorized. Shortly afterward, Dr. William Jackson established an office near Smiths shop, when the townsite was laid out in 1850, the name Jacksonville was chosen in honor of these two men. The name of the post office was changed from Gum Creek to Jacksonville in June 1850, Jacksonville is located a 31°57′49″N 95°16′07″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 14.1 square miles. On average, the warmest month is July, the highest recorded temperature was 110 °F in 1954
16.
Palestine, Texas
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Palestine is a city in Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 18,712, Palestine was named for Palestine, Illinois, by Daniel Parker. The largest employer is the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which more than 3,900. Another 1,600 work at two Wal-Mart distribution centers, other significant employers include a thriving medical and healthcare sector that tends to the large population of retirees. Palestine was one of the East Texas towns that received much of the debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, palestines NASA Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility, has flown 1,700 high-altitude balloons for universities and research agencies. In 1846, the Texas Legislature created Palestine to serve as a seat for the newly established Anderson County, james R. Antedating the town was a temporary trading post in operation since at least 1843. It grew significantly following the arrival of the railroad in the 1870s and it had a population of over 10,000 by 1898. Palestine, Texas was named so by Micham Main, who named the new town in honor of his hometown of Palestine, Illinois. The Texas State Railroad is a park that allows visitors to ride trains pulled by diesel. It dates back to 1883, with the completion of the Rusk Penitentiary near the city of Rusk, built with inmate labor, the original purpose of the railroad was to transport raw materials for the iron smelter located at the Rusk Penitentiary. In 1906, the line reached Maydelle, and by 1909, regularly-scheduled train service ceased in 1921, the line was leased to various railroad companies until 1969, and the Texas Legislature turned the railroad into a state park in 1972. The International Railroad and the Houston and Great Northern Railroad met in Palestine in 1872 and merged in 1873 to become the International, the IGN later became part of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, then ultimately Union Pacific Railroad. In 1875, IGN President H. M. Hoxie moved to Palestine, merchant owners and railroad executives built other elaborate homes along South Sycamore Street. The IGN built a depot in 1892 and a modern passenger coach shop, in 1902, making Palestine an important locomotive. These shops remained in operation until 1954, when the present facility was built exclusively for freight car repair, today, the Palestine Car Shop is one of only two car shops on the Union Pacific Railroad that perform heavy modifications and repairs to freight cars. The Palestine workforce has more than 100 employees, in 1914 the countys fifth courthouse was completed, which is still standing and in use. Oil was discovered at Boggy Creek, east of Palestine, in 1928 which added to, Palestine became a center for oil-well servicing and supplies in support of other producing fields found later elsewhere in Anderson County. Construction of the earth-filled Blackburn Crossing Dam, creating Lake Palestine as a source of water, was begun in 1960
17.
Ark-La-Tex
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The Ark-La-Tex is a U. S. socio-economic region where Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma abut. The region contains portions of Northwest Louisiana, Northeast Texas, South Arkansas, the region is geographically centered on the Arkansas/Texas stateline at the point of the Federal courthouse and Post Office in downtown Texarkana. Other important cities in the region include Shreveport, in Northwest Louisiana, Marshall in Northeast Texas, although it is not an official US metropolitan area, it has a total population of 1,043,570. Its largest city is Shreveport, Louisiana with Tyler, Texas second, Longview, Texas third, the area covers roughly 46,500 square miles, as it is about 240 miles North to South and about 194 miles East to West. Most of the region is located in the Piney Woods, an ecoregion of dense forest of mixed deciduous, the forests are periodically punctuated by sloughs and bayous that are linked to larger bodies of water such as Caddo Lake or the Red River. According to one source, the name Ark-La-Tex was first promoted for the region by a Shreveport Chamber of Commerce campaign in 1932-33. The culture of the Ark-La-Tex region, and especially its music, shows a mixture of influences from the related, the area had a significant role in the development of country and rock and roll music beginning in the 1940s. Hayride director Horace Logan and regular performer Webb Pierce started a publishing company called Ark-La-Tex Music. Drummer Brian Blade, a Shreveport native, included a song entitled Ark. La. Tex
18.
Southeast Texas
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Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U. S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered on the Houston–Sugar Land–The Woodlands and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas, parts of Southeast Texas overlap with Central Texas, and the region borders Acadiana and the Sabine River. Culturally Southeast Texas is more akin to Arkansas, Louisiana. Southeast Texas is in the Bible Belt creating a strong Fundamentalist Christian sentiment, though 35 percent of Texass population is now Hispanic, African-Americans are still the most populous minority in Southeast Texas. During the Civil Rights Movement several communities clashed over integration, the subregions culture is similar to that of Northeast Texas, but has more of a Cajun/Louisiana Creole influence. Many of the largest cities in East Texas outside Houston still follow a rural Southern way of life, especially in dialect, mannerisms, religion, Southeast Texas includes part of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and most of the Texas portion of the Intracoastal Waterway. The area is crossed by numerous rivers and streams, the largest being the Sabine River, the Neches River. The only large bodies of water in Southeast Texas are Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake, near the coast, the land is low and extremely flat, and often marshy. The Piney Woods extend into the parts of Southeast Texas, reaching as far south as the rice paddies. The highest point on the coast is at High Island, where a salt dome raises the elevation to around 40 feet, away from the coast, the terrain begins exhibiting the rolling hills of East and Central Texas. Toward Central Texas, the pine and hardwood forests give way to East Central Texas forests of post oak. The Golden Triangle is an area of extreme Southeast Texas near the Louisiana border, the triangle is formed by Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, which are the largest cities in the area. The golden refers to the wealth came from the Spindletop oil strike near Beaumont in 1901. In an attempt to distance the area from the petrochemical industry and this name change did not catch on, and area residents still refer to it as the Golden Triangle. The area holds the annual South Texas State Fair in Beaumont, the Big Thicket is an area of dense forest located in the area just north and northwest of the city of Beaumont. Many small towns make up the area, including Woodville and Kountze, the Big Thicket National Preserve protects part of the old thicket, highlighting the areas biological resources. The 97,000 acre preserve boasts a varied ecology of piney woods, swamps and it includes extremely diverse plant species including orchids, cactus, cypress, and pine in close proximity to each other. Approximately 65,000 people visit this area each year, Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texass upper coast
19.
Cajuns
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Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U. S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles. Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisianas population and have exerted an impact on the states culture. The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, the Acadiana region is heavily associated with them. Arcadia derives from the Arcadia district in Greece which since classical antiquity had the extended meanings of refuge or idyllic place, samuel de Champlain fixed the orthography with the r omitted in the 17th century. The term eventually came to only to the northern part of the coast in what is now Canada. The Cajuns retain a unique dialect of the French language and numerous other cultural traits that distinguish them as an ethnic group, Cajuns were officially recognized by the U. S. government as a national ethnic group in 1980 per a discrimination lawsuit filed in federal district court. The Louisiana Acadian is alive and well and he is up front and mainstream. He is not asking for any special treatment, by affording coverage under the national origin clause of Title VII he is afforded no special privilege. He is given only the protection as those with English, Spanish, French, Iranian, Portuguese, Mexican, Italian, Irish. The British Conquest of French Acadia happened in 1710, over the next 45 years, the Acadians refused to sign an unconditional oath of allegiance to Britain. During this period, Acadians participated in militia operations against the British and maintained vital supply lines to the French fortress of Louisbourg. During the French and Indian War, the British sought to neutralize the Acadian military threat, during 1755-1763 Acadia consisted of parts of present-day Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and the Gaspe Peninsula in the province of Quebec. The deportation of the Acadians from these areas has become known as the Great Upheaval or Le Grand Dérangement, the Acadians migration from Canada was spurred by the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. The treaty terms provided 18 months for unrestrained emigration, many Acadians moved to the region of the Atakapa in present-day Louisiana, often travelling via the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Joseph Broussard led the first group of 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana on February 27,1765, on April 8,1765, he was appointed militia captain and commander of the Acadians of the Atakapas region in St. Martinville. Some of the settlers wrote to their family scattered around the Atlantic to encourage them to them at New Orleans. For example, Jean-Baptiste Semer, wrote to his father in France, My dear father you can come here boldly with my dear mother and they will always be better off than in France
20.
Southern United States
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The Southern United States, commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South, is a region of the United States of America. The South does not fully match the geographic south of the United States, arizona and New Mexico, which are geographically in the southern part of the country, are rarely considered part, while West Virginia, which separated from Virginia in 1863, commonly is. Some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries, while the states of Delaware and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia permitted slavery prior to the start of the Civil War, they remained with the Union. However, the United States Census Bureau puts them in the South, usually, the South is defined as including the southeastern and south-central United States. The region is known for its culture and history, having developed its own customs, musical styles, and cuisines, the Southern ethnic heritage is diverse and includes strong European, African, and some Native American components. Since the late 1960s, black people have many offices in Southern states, especially in the coastal states of Virginia. Historically, the South relied heavily on agriculture, and was rural until after 1945. It has since become more industrialized and urban and has attracted national and international migrants, the American South is now among the fastest-growing areas in the United States. Houston is the largest city in the Southern United States, sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from the rest of the United States. The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt, an area of high Protestant church attendance and predominantly conservative, indeed, studies have shown that Southerners are more conservative than non-Southerners in several areas, including religion, morality, international relations and race relations. Apart from its climate, the experience in the South increasingly resembles the rest of the nation. The arrival of millions of Northerners and millions of Hispanics meant the introduction of cultural values, the process has worked both ways, however, with aspects of Southern culture spreading throughout a greater portion of the rest of the United States in a process termed Southernization. The question of how to define the subregions in the South has been the focus of research for nearly a century, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes sixteen states. As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty-seven percent of all U. S. residents, lived in the South, the nations most populous region. Other terms related to the South include, The Old South, the New South, usually including the South Atlantic States. The Solid South, region largely controlled by the Democratic Party from 1877 to 1964, before that, blacks were elected to national office and many to local office through the 1880s, Populist-Republican coalitions gained victories for Fusionist candidates for governors in the 1890s. Includes at least all the 11 former Confederate States, Southeastern United States, usually including the Carolinas, the Virginias, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. The Deep South, various definitions, usually including Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, occasionally, parts of adjoining states are included
21.
Cuisine of the Southern United States
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The most notable influences come from African, English, Scottish, Irish, French, and Native American cuisines. Tidewater, Appalachian, Creole, Lowcountry, and Floribbean are examples of types of Southern cuisine, in recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread north, having an effect on the development of other types of American cuisine. Many elements of Southern cooking—squash, tomatoes, corn, and deep-pit barbecuing—are borrowings from southeast American Indian tribes such as the Caddo, Choctaw, and Seminole. Sugar, flour, milk, and eggs come from Europe, the Southern fondness for fried foods is Scottish, and the old-fashioned Virginian use of ragouts comes from the West Country of England. The Souths fondness for a full breakfast derives from the British full breakfast or fry-up, variously known as the full English breakfast, full Scottish, full Irish, full Welsh, parts of the South have other cuisines, though. A traditional Southern meal is pan-fried chicken, field peas, greens, mashed potatoes, cornbread or corn pone, sweet tea, fried chicken is among the regions best-known exports. It is believed that the Scots, and later Scottish immigrants to many states had a tradition of deep frying chicken in fat. Pork is an part of the cuisine. Stuffed ham is served in Southern Maryland, a traditional holiday get-together featuring whole hog barbecue is known in Virginia and the Carolinas as a pig pickin. Southern meals, especially among the poor of both races, sometimes consist only of vegetables, with a little used in cooking. Beans and greens—white or brown beans served alongside a mess of greens stewed with a little bacon—is a traditional meal in many parts of the South, other low-meat Southern meals include beans and cornbread—the beans being pinto beans stewed with ham or bacon—and Hoppin John. Coleslaw is also popular, both as a dish and on a variety of barbecued and fried meats. Apart from it, though, Southern cooking makes use of cabbage. Chains serving Southern foods—often along with American comfort food—have had great success, many have spread across the country, family-style restaurants serving Southern cuisine are common throughout the South, and range from the humble and down-home to the decidedly upscale. Southern cuisine varies widely by region, In Southern Louisiana, there is Creole cuisine, Louisiana is the largest supplier of crawfish in the U. S. In the coastal areas of South Carolina, rice was an important crop, leading to local specialties like Hoppin John, Arkansas produces Riceland rice and sweet corn, both of which are staples of the cuisine of Southeastern Arkansas. Mississippi and Alabama produce the most catfish in the United States, Oklahoma has a reputation for many grain- and bean-based dishes, such as cornbread and beans or the breakfast dish biscuits and gravy. Mississippi specializes in farm-raised catfish, found in traditional fish houses throughout the state, Arkansas is the top rice-producing state in the nation, and is also noted for catfish, pork barbecue at restaurants, and chicken
22.
Piney Woods
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These coniferous forests are dominated by several species of pine as well as hardwoods including hickory and oak. The World Wide Fund for Nature considers the Piney Woods to be one of the critically endangered ecoregions of the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency defines most of this ecoregion as the South Central Plains. The Piney Woods cover a 54, 400-square-mile area of eastern Texas, northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas and it receives 40-52 inches of precipitation annually. The region has heavy to moderate rainfall, with some receiving over 60 in of rain per year. Longleaf, shortleaf and loblolly pines, along with bluejack and post oaks, a well-developed understory grows beneath the sparse canopy, and includes yaupon holly and flowering dogwood. Pine savannas consist of scattered longleaf and loblolly pines alongside black tupelos, sweetgums, other common trees in this ecoregion include eastern redbud, southern sugar maple, and American elm. American wisteria, a vine, may cover groves of trees Two varieties of wetlands are common in the Piney Woods, bayous are generally found near rivers, in bayous bald cypress, Spanish moss, and water lilies are common plants. Sloughs are shallow pools of standing water that most trees are not capable of growing in, other species, such as the purple bladderwort, a small carnivorous plant, have found niches in sloughs. Hardy species of prickly pear cactus and yucca can be both in the forests and wetlands. The indigenous Texas trailing phlox, a species, grows in the sandy soils of longleaf pine forests. Birds include sandhill cranes, black and turkey vultures, northern mockingbirds, American alligators are not as common as they once were, but their population has rebounded since the 1960s. Louisiana black bears are rare today, but still live in remote thickets, recently, there has been significant talk of reintroducing the black bear into many parts of East Texas. The most common fish is catfish, which are a native species, crayfish are common along river and creek banks. The Piney Woods Region of the four state area is an area for Bigfoot sightings. One such noted legend is the story of the Fouke Monster of Southern Arkansas, the area according to references lists this area to be the third highest in North America for these such sightings. Melanistic cougars, another probable cryptid, have been noted by residents, the majority of the commercial timber growing and wood processing in the state of Texas takes place in the Piney Woods region, which contains about 50,000 square kilometres of commercial forestland. The preserve contains ten distinct ecosystems according to the National Park Service, big Thicket National Preserve is one of two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Texas. The preserve has also listed as a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy
23.
Forest
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A forest is a large area dominated by trees. Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as density, tree height, land use, legal standing. According to the widely used Food and Agriculture Organization definition, forests covered four billion hectares or approximately 30 percent of the land area in 2006. Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and are distributed across the globe, Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of the Earths biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earths plant biomass. Forests at different latitudes and elevations form distinctly different ecozones, boreal forests near the poles, tropical forests near the equator, higher elevation areas tend to support forests similar to those at higher latitudes, and amount of precipitation also affects forest composition. Human society and forests influence each other in both positive and negative ways, Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve as tourist attractions. Forests can also affect peoples health, human activities, including harvesting forest resources, can negatively affect forest ecosystems. Although forest is a term of common parlance, there is no universally recognised precise definition, there are three broad categories of forest definitions in use, administrative, land use, and land cover. Land use definitions are based upon the purpose that the land serves. For example, a forest may be defined as any land that is used primarily for production of timber, land cover definitions define forests based upon the type and density of vegetation growing on the land. Such definitions typically define a forest as an area growing trees above some threshold and these thresholds are typically the number of trees per area, the area of ground under the tree canopy or the section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks. Under such land cover definitions, and area of land only be defined as forest if it is growing trees, areas that fail to meet the land cover definition may be still included under while immature trees are establishing if they are expected to meet the definition at maturity. Under land use definitions, there is variation on where the cutoff points are between a forest, woodland, and savanna. Under some definitions, forests require high levels of tree canopy cover, from 60% to 100%, excluding savannas. Other definitions consider savannas to be a type of forest, the term was not endemic to Romance languages, and cognates in Romance languages, such as Italian foresta, Spanish and Portuguese floresta, etc. are all ultimately borrowings of the French word. The exact origin of Medieval Latin foresta is obscure, uses of the word forest in English to denote any uninhabited area of non-enclosure are now considered archaic. The word was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a term denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for hunting by feudal nobility. These hunting forests were not necessarily wooded much, if at all, however, as hunting forests did often include considerable areas of woodland, the word forest eventually came to mean wooded land more generally
24.
Deciduous
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In a more general sense, deciduous means the dropping of a part that is no longer needed or falling away after its purpose is finished. In plants it is the result of natural processes, in botany and horticulture, deciduous plants, including trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials, are those that lose all of their leaves for part of the year. In some cases leaf loss coincides with winter—namely in temperate or polar climates, in other parts of the world, including tropical, subtropical, and arid regions, plants lose their leaves during the dry season or other seasons, depending on variations in rainfall. The converse of deciduous is coniferous, where foliage is shed on a different schedule from deciduous trees, plants that are intermediate may be called semi-deciduous, they lose old foliage as new growth begins. Other plants are semi-evergreen and lose their leaves before the growing season. Many deciduous plants flower during the period when they are leafless, the absence of leaves improves wind transmission of pollen for wind-pollinated plants and increases the visibility of the flowers to insects in insect-pollinated plants. This strategy is not without risks, as the flowers can be damaged by frost or, in dry season regions, leaf drop or abscission involves complex physiological signals and changes within plants. The process of photosynthesis steadily degrades the supply of chlorophylls in foliage, the brightest leaf colors are produced when days grow short and nights are cool, but remain above freezing. These other pigments include carotenoids that are yellow, brown, anthocyanin pigments produce red and purple colors, though they are not always present in the leaves. Rather, they are produced in the foliage in late summer, parts of the world that have showy displays of bright autumn colors are limited to locations where days become short and nights are cool. In other parts of the world, the leaves of deciduous trees simply fall off without turning the bright colors produced from the accumulation of anthocyanin pigments, the beginnings of leaf drop starts when an abscission layer is formed between the leaf petiole and the stem. This layer is formed in the spring during active new growth of the leaf, the cells are sensitive to a plant hormone called auxin that is produced by the leaf and other parts of the plant. The elongation of cells break the connection between the different cell layers, allowing the leaf to break away from the plant. It also forms a layer that seals the break, so the plant does not lose sap, in the spring, these proteins are used as a nitrogen source during the growth of new leaves or flowers. Plants with deciduous foliage have advantages and disadvantages compared to plants with evergreen foliage, evergreens suffer greater water loss during the winter and they also can experience greater predation pressure, especially when small. Losing leaves in winter may reduce damage from insects, repairing leaves, removing leaves also reduces cavitation which can damage xylem vessels in plants. This then allows deciduous plants to have xylem vessels with larger diameters, the deciduous characteristic has developed repeatedly among woody plants. Trees include maple, many oaks and nothofagus, elm, aspen, Deciduous shrubs include honeysuckle, viburnum, and many others
25.
Conifer
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The Pinophyta, also known as Coniferophyta or Coniferae, or commonly as conifers, are a division of vascular land plants containing a single class, Pinopsida. They are gymnosperms, cone-bearing seed plants, all extant conifers are perennial woody plants with secondary growth. The great majority are trees, though a few are shrubs, examples include cedars, Douglas firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews. As of 1998, the division Pinophyta was estimated to contain eight families,68 genera, although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are ecologically important. They are the dominant plants over large areas of land, most notably the taiga of the Northern Hemisphere, boreal conifers have many wintertime adaptations. The narrow conical shape of northern conifers, and their downward-drooping limbs, many of them seasonally alter their biochemistry to make them more resistant to freezing. While tropical rainforests have more biodiversity and turnover, the conifer forests of the world represent the largest terrestrial carbon sink. Conifers are of economic value for softwood lumber and paper production. The earliest conifers in the record date to the late Carboniferous period, possibly arising from Cordaites. Pinophytes, Cycadophytes, and Ginkgophytes all developed at this time, an important adaptation of these gymnosperms was allowing plants to live without being so dependent on water. Other adaptations are pollen and the seed, which allows the embryo to be transported and developed elsewhere, Conifers appear to be one of the taxa that benefited from the Permian–Triassic extinction event, and were the dominant land plants of the Mesozoic. They were overtaken by the plants, which first appeared in the Cretaceous. They were the food of herbivorous dinosaurs, and their resins and poisons would have given protection against herbivores. Reproductive features of modern conifers had evolved by the end of the Mesozoic era, Conifer is a Latin word, a compound of conus and ferre, meaning the one that bears cone. A descriptive name in use for the conifers is Coniferae. Alternatively, descriptive botanical names may also be used at any rank above family and this means that if conifers are considered a division, they may be called Pinophyta or Coniferae. As a class they may be called Pinopsida or Coniferae, as an order they may be called Pinales or Coniferae or Coniferales. Conifers are the largest and economically most important component group of the gymnosperms, the division Pinophyta consists of just one class, Pinopsida, which includes both living and fossil taxa
26.
Flora
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Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animal life is fauna, Flora, fauna and other forms of life such as fungi are collectively referred to as biota. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the gut flora or skin flora. The word flora comes from the Latin name of Flora, the goddess of plants, flowers, the distinction between vegetation and flora was first made by Jules Thurmann. Prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately, plants are grouped into floras based on region, period, special environment, or climate. Regions can be geographically distinct habitats like mountain vs. flatland, floras can mean plant life of a historic era as in fossil flora. Lastly, floras may be subdivided by special environments, Native flora, the native and indigenous flora of an area. The plants that are grown by humans. Traditionally this classification was applied to plants regarded as undesirable, many native plants previously considered weeds have been shown to be beneficial or even necessary to various ecosystems. The flora of an area or time period can be documented in a publication also known as a flora. Floras may require specialist botanical knowledge to use with any effectiveness, traditionally they are books, but some are now published on CD-ROM or websites. It is said that the Flora Sinensis by the Polish Jesuit Michał Boym was the first book that used the name Flora in this meaning, however, despite its title it covered not only plants, but also some animals of the region. A published flora often contains diagnostic keys, often these are dichotomous keys, which require the user to repeatedly examine a plant, and decide which one of two alternatives given best applies to the plant
27.
Pine
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A pine is any conifer in the genus Pinus, /ˈpiːnuːs/, of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The Plant List compiled by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts 126 species names of pines as current, together with 35 unresolved species, the modern English name pine derives from Latin pinus, which some have traced to the Indo-European base *pīt- ‘resin’. Before the 19th century, pines were often referred to as firs, the genus is divided into three subgenera, which can be distinguished by cone, seed, and leaf characters, Pinus subg. Pinus, the yellow, or hard pine group, generally harder wood. Ducampopinus, the foxtail or pinyon group Pinus subg, strobus, the white, or soft pine group, generally with softer wood and five needles per fascicle Most regions of the Northern Hemisphere host some native species of pines. One species crosses the equator in Sumatra to 2°S, in North America, various species occur in regions at latitudes from as far north as 66°N to as far south as 12°N. Various species have been introduced to temperate and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, where they are grown as timber or cultivated as ornamental plants in parks, a number of such introduced species have become invasive and threaten native ecosystems. Pine trees are evergreen, coniferous trees growing 3–80 m tall. The smallest are Siberian dwarf pine and Potosi pinyon, and the tallest is a 81.79 m tall ponderosa pine located in southern Oregons Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the bark of most pines is thick and scaly, but some species have thin, flaky bark. The branches are produced in regular pseudo whorls, actually a very tight spiral, the spiral growth of branches, needles, and cone scales are arranged in Fibonacci number ratios. The new spring shoots are sometimes called candles, they are covered in brown or whitish bud scales and point upward at first, then turn green. These candles offer foresters a means to evaluate fertility of the soil, pines are long-lived, and typically reach ages of 100–1,000 years, some even more. The longest-lived is the Great Basin bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva, one individual of this species, dubbed Methuselah, is one of the worlds oldest living organisms at around 4,600 years old. This tree can be found in the White Mountains of California, an older tree, now cut down, was dated at 4,900 years old. It was discovered in a grove beneath Wheeler Peak and it is now known as Prometheus after the Greek immortal, pines have four types of leaf, Seed leaves on seedlings, born in a whorl of 4–24. Juvenile leaves, which follow immediately on seedlings and young plants, 2–6 cm long, single, green or often blue-green and these are produced for six months to five years, rarely longer. Scale leaves, similar to bud scales, small, brown and non-photosynthetic, needles, the adult leaves, are green and bundled in clusters called fascicles
28.
Hardwood
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Hardwood is wood from dicot angiosperm trees. The term may also be used for the trees from which the wood is derived, in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen. Hardwood should not be confused with the heartwood, which can be from hardwood or softwood. Hardwoods are produced by trees that reproduce by flowers, and have broad leaves. Hardwood from deciduous species, such as oak, normally shows annual growth rings, hardwoods have a more complex structure than softwoods and are often much slower growing as a result. The dominant feature separating hardwoods from softwoods is the presence of pores, the vessels may show considerable variation in size, shape of perforation plates, and structure of cell wall, such as spiral thickenings. As the name suggests, the wood from trees is generally harder than that of softwoods. Solid hardwood joinery tends to be compared to softwood. In the past, tropical hardwoods were easily available, but the supply of some species, such as Burma teak, cheaper hardwood doors, for instance, now consist of a thin veneer bonded to a core of softwood, plywood or medium-density fibreboard. Hardwoods may be used in a variety of objects, but are most frequently seen in furniture or musical instruments because of their density which adds to durability, appearance, different species of hardwood lend themselves to different end uses or construction processes. This is due to the variety of characteristics apparent in different timbers, including density, grain, pore size, growth and fibre pattern, flexibility and ability to be steam bent. For example, the grain of elm wood makes it suitable for the making of chair seats where the driving in of legs. There is a correlation between density and calories/volume, list of woods Hardwood flooring Softwood Janka hardness test Brinell scale Schweingruber, F. H. Anatomie europäischer Hölzer—Anatomy of European woods. Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landscaft, Birmensdorf, finnish Museum of Natural History, University of Helsinki. The Anatomy of Wood, Its Diversity and variability
29.
Louisiana
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Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the state in the U. S. with political subdivisions termed parishes. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Much of the lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh. These contain a rich southern biota, typical examples include birds such as ibis, there are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a process in the landscape. These support a large number of plant species, including many species of orchids. Louisiana has more Native American tribes than any other state, including four that are federally recognized, ten that are state recognized. Before the American purchase of the territory in 1803, the current Louisiana State had been both a French colony and for a period, a Spanish one. In addition, colonists imported numerous African people as slaves in the 18th century, many came from peoples of the same region of West Africa, thus concentrating their culture. Louisiana was named after Louis XIV, King of France from 1643 to 1715, when René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. The suffix -ana is a Latin suffix that can refer to information relating to an individual, subject. Thus, roughly, Louis + ana carries the idea of related to Louis, the Gulf of Mexico did not exist 250 million years ago when there was but one supercontinent, Pangea. As Pangea split apart, the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened, Louisiana slowly developed, over millions of years, from water into land, and from north to south. The oldest rocks are exposed in the north, in such as the Kisatchie National Forest. The oldest rocks date back to the early Tertiary Era, some 60 million years ago, the history of the formation of these rocks can be found in D. Spearings Roadside Geology of Louisiana. The sediments were carried north to south by the Mississippi River
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Arkansas
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Arkansas is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. Its name is of Siouan derivation from the language of the Osage denoting their related kin, the states diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the Ozark and the Ouachita Mountains, which make up the U. S. Interior Highlands, to the forested land in the south known as the Arkansas Timberlands, to the eastern lowlands along the Mississippi River. Arkansas is the 29th largest by area and the 33rd most populous of the 50 United States, the capital and most populous city is Little Rock, located in the central portion of the state, a hub for transportation, business, culture, and government. The northwestern corner of the state, such as the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers Metropolitan Area and Fort Smith metropolitan area, is a population, education, the largest city in the eastern part of the state is Jonesboro. The largest city in the part of the state is Pine Bluff. The Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union as the 25th state on June 15,1836, in 1861 Arkansas withdrew from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Upon returning to the Union in 1868, the state would continue to suffer due to its reliance on slavery. White rural interests continued to dominate the politics until the Civil Rights Movement. Arkansas began to diversify its economy following World War II and relies on its service industry, aircraft, poultry, steel, tourism, cotton, and rice. The culture of Arkansas is observable in museums, theaters, novels, television shows, restaurants, wright, and physicist William L. McMillan, who was a pioneer in superconductor research, have all lived in Arkansas. The name Arkansas derives from the root as the name for the state of Kansas. The Kansa tribe of Native Americans are closely associated with the Sioux tribes of the Great Plains, the word Arkansas itself is a French pronunciation of a Quapaw word, akakaze, meaning land of downriver people or the Sioux word akakaze meaning people of the south wind. In 2007, the legislature passed a non-binding resolution declaring the possessive form of the states name to be Arkansass which has been followed increasingly by the state government. Arkansas borders Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, Oklahoma to the west, Missouri to the north, as well as Tennessee, the United States Census Bureau classifies Arkansas as a southern state, sub-categorized among the West South Central States. The state line along the Mississippi River is indeterminate along much of the border with Mississippi due to these changes. Arkansas can generally be split into two halves, the highlands in the northwest half and the lowlands of the southeastern half, the highlands are part of the Southern Interior Highlands, including The Ozarks and the Ouachita Mountains. The southern lowlands include the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Arkansas Delta and this dual split can yield to general regions named northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast, or central Arkansas
31.
Oklahoma
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Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central United States. Oklahoma is the 20th-most extensive and the 28th-most populous of the 50 United States, the states name is derived from the Choctaw words okla and humma, meaning red people. The name was settled upon statehood, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory were merged, on November 16,1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state to enter the union. Its residents are known as Oklahomans, or informally Okies, and its capital, a major producer of natural gas, oil, and agricultural products, Oklahoma relies on an economic base of aviation, energy, telecommunications, and biotechnology. In 2007, it had one of the economies in the United States, ranking among the top states in per capita income growth. Oklahoma City and Tulsa serve as Oklahomas primary economic anchors, with nearly two-thirds of Oklahomans living within their metropolitan statistical areas. With small mountain ranges, prairie, mesas, and eastern forests, most of Oklahoma lies in the Great Plains, Cross Timbers, interior Highlands—a region especially prone to severe weather. The name Oklahoma comes from the Choctaw phrase okla humma, literally meaning red people, equivalent to the English word Indian, okla humma was a phrase in the Choctaw language used to describe Native American people as a whole. Oklahoma later became the de facto name for Oklahoma Territory, and it was approved in 1890. Oklahoma is the 20th-largest state in the United States, covering an area of 69,898 square miles and it is one of six states on the Frontier Strip and lies partly in the Great Plains near the geographical center of the 48 contiguous states. It is bounded on the east by Arkansas and Missouri, on the north by Kansas, on the northwest by Colorado, on the far west by New Mexico, much of its border with Texas lies along the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen, a failed continental rift. The geologic figure defines the placement of the Red River, the Oklahoma panhandles Western edge is out of alignment with its Texas border. The Oklahoma/New Mexico border is actually 2.1 to 2.2 miles east of the Texas line, the border between Texas and New Mexico was set first as a result of a survey by Spain in 1819. It was then set along the 103rd Meridian, in the 1890s, when Oklahoma was formally surveyed using more accurate surveying equipment and techniques, it was discovered the Texas line was not set along the 103rd Meridian. Surveying techniques were not as accurate in 1819, and the actual 103rd Meridian was approximately 2.2 miles to the east and it was much easier to leave the mistake than for Texas to cede land to New Mexico to correct the surveying error. The placement of the Oklahoma/New Mexico border represents the true 103rd Meridian, cimarron County in Oklahomas panhandle is the only county in the United States that touches four other states, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado and Kansas. Its highest and lowest points follow this trend, with its highest peak, Black Mesa, at 4,973 feet above sea level, situated near its far northwest corner in the Oklahoma Panhandle. The states lowest point is on the Little River near its far southeastern boundary near the town of Idabel, Oklahoma, which dips to 289 feet above sea level
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Red River of the South
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The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers in the southern United States of America. The river was named for the country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name. The Mexicans and Indians on the borders of Mexico are in the habit of calling any river, the Red River formed part of the US-Mexico border from the Adams-Onís Treaty until the Texas Annexation and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Red River is the second-largest river basin in the southern Great Plains and it rises in two branches in the Texas Panhandle and flows east, where it acts as the border between the states of Texas and Oklahoma. It forms a border between Texas and Arkansas before entering Arkansas, turning south near Fulton, Arkansas and flowing into Louisiana. The total length of the river is 1,360 miles, the Red River rises near the edge of the northwestern dip slope of the Llano Estacado mesa in two forks in northern Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. The North Fork Red River meets the southern and largest fork near the Texas-Oklahoma border, the southern fork, which is about 120 miles long, is generally called the Prairie Dog Town Fork. It is formed in Randall County, Texas, near the county seat of Canyon, by the confluence of intermittent Palo Duro Creek and Tierra Blanca Creek. The Red River turns and flows southeast through Palo Duro Canyon in Palo Duro Canyon State Park at an elevation of 3,440 feet, then past Newlin, Texas, past that point, it is generally considered the main stem of the Red River. Near Denison, the exits the eastern end of Lake Texoma. The lake is fed by the Washita River from the north. After the river out of the southeastern end of the lake, it runs generally east towards Arkansas. Soon after, the river crosses south into Louisiana and its waters eventually discharge into the Atchafalaya River and flow eastward or southward into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1946, the Red River flood spilled over into Pineville because of insufficient levee height, however, the taller and stronger levee held in Alexandria. Willie E. Kees, Jr. the young newly elected mayor of Pineville, the Red Rivers watershed covers 65,590 square miles and is the southernmost major right tributary of the Mississippi, and the southernmost major river system in the Great Plains. Its drainage basin is mostly in the states of Texas and Oklahoma and its basin is characterized by flat, fertile agricultural land, with only a few major cities. The drainage basin of the Red River is very arid and receives little precipitation, as a result, much of the river above the Texas-Oklahoma border is intermittent, and until the river is past its great bend south in Arkansas, the flow varies widely
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Taxodium
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Taxodium /tækˈsoʊdiəm/ is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin word taxus, meaning yew, within the family, Taxodium is most closely related to Chinese swamp cypress and sugi. Species of Taxodium occur in the part of the North American continent and are deciduous in the north. They are large trees, reaching 100–150 ft tall and 2–3 m trunk diameter, the needle-like leaves,0. 5–2 cm long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot. The cones are globose, 2–3.5 cm diameter, with 10-25 scales, each scale with 1-2 seeds, they are mature in 7–9 months after pollination, the male cones are produced in pendulous racemes, and shed their pollen in early spring. Taxodium species grow pneumatophores, or cypress roots, when growing in or beside water, the three extant taxa of Taxodium are treated here as distinct species, though some botanists treat them in just one or two species, with the others considered as varieties of the first described. The three are distinct in ecology, growing in different environments, but hybridise where they meet, – pond cypress The pond cypress occurs within the range of bald cypress, but only on the southeastern coastal plain from North Carolina to Louisiana. It occurs in still blackwater rivers, ponds and swamps without silt-rich flood deposits, – bald cypress The bald cypress is native to much of the southeastern United States, from Delaware to Texas, especially Louisiana and inland up the Mississippi River to southern Indiana. It occurs mainly along rivers with silt-rich flood deposits, a specimen in Santa María del Tule, Oaxaca, the Árbol del Tule, is 43 m tall and has the greatest trunk thickness of all trees,11.42 m in diameter. It is a tree, occurring on the banks of streams and rivers, not in swamps like the bald. †Taxodium dubium Heer Glyptostrobus pensilis K. Koch Sequoia sempervirens Endl, the trees are especially prized for their wood, of which the heartwood is extremely rot- and termite-resistant. The heartwood contains a sesquiterpene called cypressene, which acts as a natural preservative and it takes decades for cypressene to accumulate in the wood, so lumber taken from old-growth trees is more rot resistant than that from second-growth trees. However, age also increases susceptibility to Pecky Rot fungus, which attacks the heartwood and causes some damaged trees to become hollow, bald Cypress wood was much used in former days in the southeastern United States for roof shingles. The shredded bark of trees is used as a mulch. In earths history Taxodium was much more widespread in the Northern Hemisphere than today, the oldest fossils were found in Late Cretaceous deposits from North America. The trees persisted in Europe until around 2.5 million years ago, bükkábrány mummified forest Gymnosperm Database - Taxodium Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary website National Audubon Society, undated
34.
Spanish moss
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Instead, it is a flowering plant in the family Bromeliaceae which grows hanging from tree branches in full sun through partial shade. Formerly this plant has been placed in the genera Anoplophytum, Caraguata, the northern limit of its natural range is Northampton County, Virginia, with unsubstantiated colonial-era reports in southern Maryland where no populations are now known to be extant. The primary range is in the southeastern United States, through Argentina and it has been introduced to similar locations around the world, including Hawaii and Australia. The plant has no roots and its brown, green, or yellow flowers are tiny. It propagates both by seed and vegetatively by fragments that blow on the wind and stick to tree limbs, Spanish-moss is an epiphyte which absorbs nutrients and water through its leaves from the air and rainfall. While it rarely kills the tree upon which it grows, it can become so thick that it shades the trees leaves. In the southern U. S. Spanish-moss shelters a number of creatures, including rat snakes, one species of jumping spider, Pelegrina tillandsiae, has been found only on Spanish-moss. Chiggers, though assumed to infest Spanish-moss, were not present among thousands of other arthropods identified in one study. It was introduced to Hawaii in the 19th century, and became a popular ornamental, on Hawaii it is often called Peles hair after Pele the Hawaiian goddess. The term Peles hair is used to refer to a type of filamentous volcanic glass. Spanish-moss has been used for various purposes, including building insulation, mulch, packing material, mattress stuffing, in the early 1900s it was used commercially in the padding of car seats. In 1939 over 10,000 tons of processed Spanish-moss was produced and it is still collected today in smaller quantities for use in arts and crafts, or for beddings for flower gardens, and as an ingredient in the traditional wall covering material bousillage. In some parts of Latin America, Spanish moss is used in Nativity scenes, in the desert regions of the southwestern United States, dried Spanish-moss plants are used in the manufacture of evaporative coolers, colloquially known as swamp coolers. These are used to cool homes and offices much less expensively than using air conditioners, a pump squirts water onto a pad made of Spanish-moss plants. A fan then pulls air through the pad and into the building, evaporation of the water on the pads serves to reduce the air temperature, thus cooling the building. J. A Portable Dictionary of the Higher Plants
35.
Jefferson, Texas
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Jefferson is a historic city in Marion County in northeastern Texas, United States. The population was 2,024 at the 2000 census and it is the county seat of Marion County, Texas, and is situated in East Texas. Tourism in Jefferson is enhanced by a number of events that are throughout the year. The fountain includes a statue of Hebe, the Greek goddess of Youth, early records indicate that Jefferson was founded around 1841 on land ceded from the Caddo Indians. At that time, a log jam more than 100 miles long existed on the Red River north of present Natchitoches, the Indians said that this log jam, known as the Great Red River Raft, had always existed. The Red River Raft acted as a dam on the river and raised the level of Caddo Lake, Jefferson was one of the most important ports in Texas between 1845 and 1872. The town reached its peak population just a few years after the Civil War and is reported to have exceeded 30,000, during this time, Jefferson was the sixth largest town in Texas. There were attempts over the years to remove the raft and permit the flow of the Red River. In 1873, using nitroglycerin, the Army Corps of Engineers was finally able to clear the raft from the Red River and this lowered the level of Caddo Lake and Big Cypress to the extent that riverboat traffic to Jefferson was no longer commercially feasible. At the peak of river traffic Jefferson had a population of over 7,000, a few years later, it had dropped to a little over 3,000. One of the legends surrounding Jefferson involved Jay Gould, the railroad magnate, the legend goes that Gould wanted to bring his railroad through Jefferson but the town leaders refused because they had the river traffic. Gould responded by saying that grass would grow in the streets without the railroad, Gould is even given credit for supporting the removal of the Red River Raft and the subsequent decline of Jefferson as a river port. Much of this tale is fiction, but it makes a good tale, townspeople obtained Goulds railcar and it is displayed as a tourist attraction in downtown Jefferson. Jefferson, since 2000, has been the location for the Pulpwood Queens Book Club Girlfriend Weekends annual conference, Jefferson is located at 32°45′40″N 94°20′58″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 4.4 square miles. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jefferson has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated Cfa on climate maps. As of the census of 2000, there were 2,024 people,871 households, the population density was 465.7 people per square mile. There were 1,042 housing units at a density of 239.7 per square mile
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Caddo Lake
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Caddo Lake is a 25,400 acres lake and bayou on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County and southern Marion County in Texas and western Caddo Parish in Louisiana. The lake is named after the Southeastern culture of Native Americans called Caddoans or Caddo and it is an internationally protected wetland under the Ramsar Convention and includes one of the largest flooded cypress forests in the United States. Caddo is one of Texass few non-oxbow natural lakes and is the 2nd largest in the South, however, according to Caddo legend, the lake was formed by the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. There may be some truth to the legend, as Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee was formed by that earthquake. Most geologists feel the lake was formed, either gradually or catastrophically, by the Great Raft, the cities of Port Caddo, Swansons Landing, and Jefferson in Texas, and Mooringsport in Louisiana, had thriving riverboat ports on the lake. Industry once again came to Caddo Lake with the discovery of oil beneath it, the worlds first over water oil platform was completed in Caddo Lake in 1911. The Ferry Lake No.1 was erected by Gulf Refining Company, the well bottomed at 2,185 feet and produced 450 barrels per day. Oil derricks sprang up throughout the lake, around the turn of the 20th century, the oil industry left Caddo for richer fields at Kilgore and other locations in Texas. Texas tried to preserve parts of Caddo in 1934 by establishing a state park, the establishment of the Longhorn Army Ammunition Plant on the shores of Caddo, in the mid-20th century, polluted large portions of the surrounding wetlands until its closure in the 1990s. Most of the plant site is now a federal wildlife refuge. An ecologist named Lionel Janes conducted a survey of Caddo Lake in 1913 and 1914, based on an examination of cross sections of bald cypress and hardwood trees and many dead stumps he estimated that the lake came into existence sometime between 1770 and 1780. Wildlife inhabiting Caddo Lake includes owls, eagles, and alligators, as a result of efforts by the Caddo Lake Institute, in October 1993 Caddo Lake became one of thirteen areas in the United States protected by the Ramsar Convention. As of 2003 Caddo Lake flora and fauna consisted of 189 species of trees and shrubs,75 grasses,42 woody vines,216 kinds of birds,90 fish and reptiles, and 47 mammals. One of these species, Crataegus opaca or mayhaw, produces fruit which is used for making jelly, forty-four of Caddos native species were either endangered, threatened or rare. From 2001 until 2003 Caddo Lake residents fought a battle with the City of Marshall. Voices advocating preservation of Caddo Lake included rocker Don Henley, singer and songwriter for The Eagles, the lake is currently under siege by a fast-spreading, Velcro-like aquatic fern, Salvinia molesta, also known as Giant Salvinia. Accidentally introduced to the lake by boaters, the noxious weed doubles in size every two to four days, rapidly killing off life below the surface. Most of the growth of the plant is currently on the Louisiana side, efforts at removing the weed have included biological means via beetles that normally eat the weed but cannot survive the Texas cold and now include herbicide
37.
Wetland
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A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink, Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, the water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens, and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to people about wetland issues. Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they may also play a role in water-sensitive urban design. A patch of land that develops pools of water after a storm would not be considered a wetland. Wetlands have unique characteristics, they are distinguished from other water bodies or landforms based on their water level. Specifically, wetlands are characterized as having a table that stands at or near the land surface for a long enough period each year to support aquatic plants. A more concise definition is a community composed of hydric soil, Wetlands have also been described as ecotones, providing a transition between dry land and water bodies. In environmental decision-making, there are subsets of definitions that are agreed upon to make regulatory and policy decisions. A wetland is an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic processes, There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog and fen. Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types, the largest wetlands in the world include the swamp forests of the Amazon and the peatlands of Siberia. Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty, wetlands are defined as follows, Article 2.1, may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands. Although the general definition given above applies around the world, each county, Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. This definition has been used in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act, some US states, such as Massachusetts and New York, have separate definitions that may differ from the federal governments. It is not uncommon for a wetland to be dry for long portions of the growing season, the most important factor producing wetlands is flooding
38.
Omaha, Texas
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Omaha is a city in Morris County, northeast Texas, United States. The population at the 2010 U. S. Census was 1,024, Omaha is located at 33°11′N 94°45′W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 1.2 square miles. This area of Texas had been settled under Spanish and Mexican rule. It was primarily settled after annexation by the United States by migrants from the South, in that period, farmers had established cotton plantations. It was also an area of pine forests, the US Post Office had changed the name to Gavett. By 1890 Omaha had three churches, a school, a newspaper, and a population of 450. The town was incorporated in 1914, a new enterprise of raising vegetable-plant seedlings for sale developed in the area. During the twentieth century, Omaha was the site of an operation that sent millions of these seedlings to destinations throughout the United States. In 1980 it had a population of 960 and twenty-three rated businesses, randolph E. Moore, a native of Omaha, played in the Texas League and the National League in the 1920s and 1930s. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in Arlington, at the 2000 census, there were 1001 people,389 households and 264 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.6 per square mile, there were 438 housing units at an average density of 373.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 76. 98% White,20. 02% African American,0. 10% Native American,0. 20% Asian,0. 50% Pacific Islander,1. 40% from other races, and 0. 80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3. 60% of the population,29. 3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17. 2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the family size was 2.95. 24. 1% of the population were under the age of 18,7. 8% from 18 to 24,22. 4% from 25 to 44,22. 0% from 45 to 64, the median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 75.6 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.5 males. The median household income was $25,724 and the family income was $30,865
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Interstate 20 in Texas
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The original distance of Interstate 20 was 647 miles from I-10 to the Louisiana border, reduced to the current distance of 636 miles with the rerouting of I-20 in the 1980s and 1990s. I-20 is known as the Ronald Reagan Memorial Highway within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Interstate 20 in Texas was designated in 1959, and was to replace or run parallel to U. S. Route 80. Initial construction began from east to west and as bypass loops around larger cities, in 1971, I-20 was rerouted across the southern side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, with the old section through downtown Dallas and Fort Worth being redesignated as Interstate 30. In 1991, the entire concurrent designation of US80 was removed from the I-10 interchange to Dallas, I-20 begins at a junction with I-10 in a desolate region of West Texas about 6 miles east of the town of Kent. I-20 leaves the interchange with I-10 with a limit of 80 until Milemarker 89. Interstate 20 also generally heads to the east-northeast passing by the cities of Odessa, I-20 runs concurrently with the La Entrada al Pacífico corridor from its junction with US385 in Odessa to its junction with FM1788 near Midland International Airport. Near Sweetwater, I-20 begins to head east as it heads towards the city of Abilene, in Abilene, I-20 curves towards the north and transverses the northern part of the city while also forming the northern arc of the loop around the city. In Weatherford, I-20 again heads back towards the east as it heads towards the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, I-20 interchanges with I-30 west of Fort Worth with I-30 heading east and I-20 to the southeast. I-20 heads back towards the east when it interchanges with Interstate 820, I-20 forms the southern arc of the complete loop around the city of Fort Worth, and serves as the southernmost west–east freeway in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Interchanging with I-35W south of downtown Fort Worth, I-20 heads east towards Dallas passing through Arlington, from Arlington, I-20 passes into Dallas County at Grand Prairie and heads east in to Dallas, interchanging with I-35E south of downtown and I-45 shortly after. I-20 intersects with I-635 on Dallas southeast side before heading east towards East Texas, the interstate varies from 4 to 10 lanes from its I-30 junction near Weatherford to its US-80 junction near Terrell. I-20 leaves the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and heads generally to the east-southeast through East Texas, I-20 begins heading to the east as it passes to the north of the city of Tyler at Lindale, Texas. The intersection of I-20 at US69 in Lindale is the highest traffic count intersection on I-20 east of Terrell to the Louisiana state line, from Lindale, I-20 continues east, going through Kilgore in the piney woods region of East Texas. I-20 leaves the state of Texas near Waskom and just west of Shreveport, Interstate 20 has one auxiliary route in Texas. Interstate 820 is a 35. 2-mile loop around the city of Fort Worth, I-20 absorbed the southern section as part of its relocation to the south and I-30 being extended westward over the old alignment of I-20 through the center of town. All of the business loops within Texas are maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation, Interstate 20 has fifteen business loops in the state, all located in western Texas. Along I-20, TxDOT identifies each business route as Business Interstate 20 followed by an alphabetic suffix, along Texas Interstates, the alphabetic suffixes on business route names ascend eastward and northward. There are gaps in the values to allow for future system expansion
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U.S. Route 59 in Texas
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U. S. Highway 59 in the U. S. state of Texas is named the Lloyd Bentsen Highway, after Lloyd Bentsen, former U. S. senator from Texas. In northern Houston, US59, co-signed with Interstate 69, is the Eastex Freeway, to the south, which is also co-signed with I-69, it is the Southwest Freeway. The stretch of the Southwest Freeway just west of The Loop was formerly one of the busiest freeways in North America, with a peak AADT of 371,000 in 1998. US59 actually straddles the border between Texas and Arkansas north of I-30 near Texarkana, with the east side of the highway on the Arkansas side and the west side of the highway on the Texas side. In the past, both remained on the border past I-30 as State Line Avenue to downtown Texarkana, today. Nearly 90 percent of this route is designated to become part of I-69 in the future, currently 75-mile-per-hour speed limits are allowed on US59 in Duval County and portions of northern Polk County. The total length of the southernmost segment of US59 that passes through Texas, the US96 designation was originally applied in 1926 from Rosenberg, Texas, near Houston, to Pharr in the Rio Grande valley. This diagonal route, south of U. S.90, the highways east–west nature was boosted in 1934 when US96 was rerouted from Alice to Laredo. US59 begins at the Mexico–US border with Loop 20 on the World Trade International Bridge over the Rio Grande in Laredo, the portion of US59 that is co-signed with Loop 20 is also named the Bob Bullock Loop. At under 2 miles, the two run together concurrent with I-69W from the Mexico–US border until I-35 in Laredo, where I-69W temporarily ends. In Duval County, the limit on US59 is 75 miles per hour. US59 shares a short congruency with SH44 in and around Freer, from Freer, US59 passes through the southeastern part of McMullen County, but does not intersect any highways. The highway continues northeast, intersecting US281 in George West, between Laredo and Interstate 37, US59 passes through many rural areas and ranching sites. From I-37, US59 heads northeast passing through Beeville, US59 bypasses Victoria to the south, and becomes a divided highway, and has a series of interchanges, until it becomes a freeway south of Houston in Rosenberg and resumes the designation of I-69. Between Houston and Victoria, US59 passes through Edna, Ganado, El Campo, US59 intersects many major Texas highways in Houston, including I-10 and I-45. Leaving Houston, US59 intersects Beltway 8 again on the northside of town, passing by Bush Intercontinental Airport, between Houston and Livingston, most of US59 is a limited-access freeway but the I-69 designation ends at the Montgomery-Liberty county line. US59 passes through or bypasses the towns of Cleveland and Livingston,46 miles north of Livingston, US59 bypasses Lufkin, where it overlaps US69. 10 miles north of Lufkin, US59 bypasses Nacogdoches and heads in an almost entirely east-west direction, drivers wishing to stay on US59 must turn left in Tenaha, where the highway intersects US96 and ends its overlap with US84
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U.S. Route 67 in Texas
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U. S. Route 67 is a major U. S. highway in the state of Texas. It runs from the US-Mexico Border south of Presidio to Texarkana at the Texas-Arkansas border, US67 is part of the La Entrada al Pacifico international trade corridor from its southern terminus to US385 in McCamey. US67 enters Texas from Mexico as Federal Highway 16 south of Presidio, US67 travels miles between Chinati Mountains State Natural Area and Big Bend Ranch State Park. US67 shares an overlap with US90 from Marfa to Alpine, leaving US90, US67 travels north towards I-10. US67 shares an overlap with I-10 for almost 25 miles, in Fort Stockton, US385 joins this overlap. US 67/385 leave I-10 just east of Fort Stockton, US67 in Presidio has the highest mile marker posted on any highway. US67 leaves I-10 with US385 and the two share an overlap until McCamey, US67 travels in a mostly east-west direction towards San Angelo. US67 travels though mostly rural areas, passing through or near the towns of Rankin, Big Lake, in San Angelo, parts of US67 are known as the Houston Harte Expressway, named after the San Angelo-native publishing magnate. US67 starts an overlap with US277 in San Angelo along the Houston Harte. US67 ends its overlap with US277 northeast of San Angelo, US67 travels towards Ballinger and has an overlap with US83. Between the towns of Santa Anna and Stephenville, US67 shares overlaps with US highways 84,183, the overlap with US377 starts in Brownwood and ends in south east Stephenville. US67 leaves Stephenville and travels to Glen Rose, the location of Dinosaur Valley State Park, US67 then travels to Cleburne, where the western half of the bypass is a 4 lane freeway and the eastern half is a two-lane highway. US67 travels through the towns of Keene, Alvarado, and Venus before entering Midlothian, US67 shares an unsigned overlap with I-35E/US77 to Downtown Dallas, where US67 leaves I-35E and joins I-30. US67 shares an overlap with I-30 that starts in Downtown Dallas. The two highways travel through east Dallas, Mesquite, and Garland, Texas before crossing over Lake Ray Hubbard, after the second crossing, the highways enter Rockwall. In Royse City, US67 signage begins, the highways then arrive in Greenville. US67 travels through Sulphur Springs, before leaving I-30 east of town, US67 then parallels I-30, occasionally crossing the highway. US67 passes though the towns of Mount Vernon, and Mount Pleasant, east of Mount Pleasant, US67 travels miles south of I-30 traveling through Morris County
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U.S. Route 69 in Texas
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U. S. Route 69 is a north–south United States highway. When it was first created, it was only 150 miles long, the highways southern terminus is in Port Arthur, Texas at an intersection with State Highway 87. Its northern terminus is in Albert Lea, Minnesota at Minnesota State Highway 13, US69 begins at its southern terminus with SH87 in Port Arthur. This intersection is also the terminus for US96 and US287. US69, US96, and US287 continue in a northwest, then west, at this intersection, US69, US96, and US287 merge with I-10. I-10/US 69/US 96/US287 continue in a direction through Beaumont for several miles. Just after the intersection with US90, I-10 splits from the multiplex and resumes its course, leaving US69, US96. US69 north of I-10 is also officially known as Eastex Freeway. In Lumberton, US96 splits from US69 and US287 and heads northeast towards Jasper, while US69, in Woodville, US69 splits from US287 a few blocks north of US190. US287 continues northwest towards Corrigan while US69 proceed north towards Lufkin, in this area, between US190 in Woodville and FM256 in Colmesneil, US69 is a part of the Texas Forest Trail. Before reaching Lufkin, US69 forms another segment of the Texas Forest Trail between SH63 in Zavalla and FM1818 northwest of Zavalla, in Lufkin, US69 is concurrent with US59 and State Loop 287 while the route through the city is named Business US69. US69, State Loop 287, and US59 continue around the east side of Lufkin until US59 separates at the intersection with US59 Business northeast of Lufkin. US69 and State Loop 287 continue until the intersection of SH103, at that point, US69 is concurrent for a short distance with SH103 and State Loop 287. At the intersection of US69, State Loop 287 and SH103, US69 departs Lufkin and heads northwest while SH103, US69 continues on a north to northwest path through the towns of Alto, Rusk, Jacksonville and Bullard. Just south of Bullard, US69 has a concurrency with FM2493. US69 continues northward into Tyler, in Tyler, US69 continues northward through the city until the intersection of SH110 and SH155, where US69 heads west and merges with SH110 and SH155 through Tyler. This continues until SH110 separates from US69 on the northwest side of Tyler, at this intersection, SH110 heads west while US69 continues north. US69 crosses Interstate 20 at Lindale where it is signed as Main Street, at FM16 in Lindale, US69 begins its third and last segment as part of the Texas Forest Trail
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U.S. Route 79 in Texas
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U. S. Route 79 is a U. S. highway that begins in the state of Texas at Interstate 35 in Round Rock. The highway travels northeast–southwest through the state, crossing into Louisiana approximately 23 miles northeast of Carthage, US79 begins at an interchange with Interstate 35 in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. The highway travels through the town as Palm Valley Boulevard, entering into the town of Hutto just before an interchange with State Highway 130. Leaving Hutto, US79 takes a more rural route, bypassing the town of Taylor, US79 runs through the town of Rockdale before entering Milano, where it begins an overlap with U. S. Route 190 and a brief concurrency with State Highway 36. The overlap with US190 ends in Hearne, where an overlap with State Highway 6 begins, US79 leaves State Highway 6, resuming its northeast–southwest run. The highway runs through several towns, including Franklin and Buffalo. Running through the city, the highway intersects US Route 287, leaving Palestine, US79 travels through a heavily forested area of east Texas serving the towns of Jacksonville and Henderson. Leaving Henderson, the runs in an east–west direction before arriving at Carthage. About 23 miles northeast of Carthage US79 leaves Texas and enters into Louisiana, running towards Shreveport
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U.S. Route 80 in Texas
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U. S. Route 80 is a U. S. highway that begins in the state of Texas in Dallas at an interchange with I-30. US80 runs in an east-west direction for most of its length from Dallas to Louisiana, the current route of US80 in Texas is significantly shorter than it was when the highway was completed in 1931. The highway used to run from the New Mexico state line, near El Paso, much of the highway was bypassed/replaced by the Interstate Highway System. US80 has been replaced by I-10 from New Mexico to I-20, the rest of the highway has been replaced by I-20 from here to the highways current start in Dallas. The old highway has since replaced by local roads and state highways. The current highway begins as a freeway at I-30 in Dallas and this freeway runs from Dallas to Spur 557 between Forney and Terrell. This freeway was part of I-20 and is built to Interstate standards. The freeway passes through the suburbs of Mesquite, Sunnyvale, in Terrell, US80 serves as the major east-west highway in the town, passing through the town square. US80 leaves Terrell serving smaller communities, such as Elmo, US80 intersects SH19 east of Edgewood. The highway runs in mostly a straight line from Terrell to Mineola, US80 leaves Mineola running in a slight southeast direction towards Longview. From here, the turns in a slight northeast direction traveling into Marshall. The highway soon overlaps I-20, leaving the interstate to serve the community of Waskom, the two highways cross into Louisiana, parallel with each other traveling to Shreveport. U. S. Route 180 Texas State Highway 20 Texas State Highway 180 Texas State Highway 352 Texas State Highway Spur 557 Texas State Highway Spur 580
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U.S. Route 82 in Texas
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In the U. S. state of Texas, U. S. Route 82 is a U. S. Highway that begins on the New Mexico border and heads east through West Texas and Lubbock to the Arkansas border at Texarkana. US82 crosses into Texas from New Mexico at Texas Farm to Market Road 769, turning northeastward toward Plains, US82 is co-signed with US380 from Plains to Brownfield, where it joins US62, and US380 leaves the route. US 82/62 continues northeastward toward Lubbock, on the east side of the city, it once again merges with US62 where it continues eastward through Ralls, where US62 makes a sharp turn to the north and leaves the route. After climbing out of Blanco Canyon, US82 eventually exits the Llano Estacado, US 82/SH114 continues eastward as a co-signed route until Seymour, where it merges with U. S. Highways 183,277 and 283, with US183 and 283 leaving the route at Mabelle, US 82/277 continues eastward to Wichita Falls, merging with I-44 and US287 just south of downtown at Mile marker 0. The highway continues east towards Whitesboro, Texas and Sherman, Texas where it crosses US Highway 75 at a diamond interchange. Prior to the 1990s, the two ran concurrently on the route of Texas State Highway 56 before being rerouted northeast of Sherman on its present-day route. The highway continues east to Bells, Texas where US82 cross US Route 69, in Bonham, Texas, US82 crosses Texas SH121 while the route runs parallel with SH56 until Honey Grove, Texas where SH56 ends. The Marsha Sharp Freeway, named for former Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball coach Marsha Sharp, is currently being built along US82 in Lubbock, in 1998, funding was first received. The five-phase project was scheduled to be completed in 2015, phase 2 of the project was scheduled to be completed in December 2008 at a cost of $140 million. It involved construction of the freeway from Salem Avenue to Avenue L and erecting interchanges at 19th Street, Quaker Avenue, Fourth Street, currently construction on the freeway has started from Millwaukee ave to Upland ave and on the intersection of spur 327 and U. S. 62/82. It is being upgraded to a 4 lane divided highway west of Nocona
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U.S. Route 84 in Texas
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U. S. Route 84 is a U. S. highway that runs from Pagosa Springs, CO to Midway, GA. In Texas, the highway enters the state from New Mexico at Farwell, major cities along the highway include Lubbock, Abilene, Waco and Palestine. The highway exits Texas into Louisiana near Joaquin, crossing the Toledo Bend Reservoir, US84 enters into Texas concurrent with US70 from New Mexico. The US70 overlap ends in Muleshoe, US84 bypasses the towns of Littlefield and Shallowater before entering Lubbock. The highway just passes north of the Texas Tech University campus, as Avenue Q, the highway parallels I-27 before crossing it, just north of that highways southern terminus. Leaving the city, US84 serves the towns of Post and Snyder before reaching Roscoe, the two highways run through Sweetwater before reaching Abilene. US84 leaves the interstate on the side of the city. US84 joins US 83/US277, with US277 leaving the concurrency after a short distance, US84 leaves US83, northeast of Tuscola. US84 runs southeast to Coleman, overlapping with US283 in the process, after leaving Brownwood, US84 leaves US67 and joins US183. US84 becomes a solo route again in Goldthwaite, traveling through Gatesville, in Gatesville, the hwy meets SH36, which coincidentally also runs to Abilene, albeit in a more direct way than US84. East of McGregor, US84 becomes a 4-lane divided highway before becoming a freeway in Woodway, at SH6, US84 becomes a surface street, running through Waco. The highway enters Bellmead before leaving the Waco area, several miles to the east, the highway enters Palestine. US84 runs through several smaller communities before crossing over the Toledo Bend Reservoir, into Louisiana, US84 is part of the El Camino East/West Corridor, which spans five states starting in Texas. Studies are underway to build a new route of US84 around the city of Lubbock. This bypass, tentatively named Loop 88, is to start construction in 2020, in Abilene, Winters Freeway from Canyon Rock Road to FM707 is beginning upgrades. This includes converting two-way frontage roads to one-way, adding u-turns, removing the crossover of Iberis Road, an upgrade is in progress along US84 from Ritchie Road to Harris Creek Road, this includes implementing a divide-interchange with Speegleville Road in south Waco. US84 in Tenaha between the US 59/US 96/Future I-69/Future I-369 interchange and just about 2 miles east of the interchange will become I-69 and this would allow for heavy traffic on I-69 not have to slow down throughout Tenaha. This segment is expected to work in 2016
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U.S. Route 175
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U. S. Highway 175 is an east-west United States highway completely within the state of Texas. It comes very close to meeting its parent route, US75, before the decommissioning of US75 south of downtown Dallas in favor of Interstate 45, US175 met its parent US75. US 175s western terminus is in Dallas, Texas at Interstate 45, the highways eastern terminus is in Jacksonville, Texas at an intersection with US69. Much of the US175 corridor is part of TxDOTs network of routes in the event of a hurricane. TxDOT also considers the highway an alternative to using I-20 to travel to, the state transportation agency feels the corridor is an important aid that students can use to get to Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, as well. US175 begins south of downtown Dallas at an interchange with Interstate 45 south of Interstate 30, Cesar Chavez Boulevard, at this point, US175 is six lanes in width. The highway heads towards the southeast as a freeway carrying the moniker of S. M. Wright Freeway, at an interchange with State Highway 310, US175 begins to head to the east while the S. M. Wright Freeway name follows SH310. US175 passes through the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas past an interchange with Loop 12, then a few later, Interstate 20 just southwest of the I-20. The highway continues as a freeway past the I-20 interchange, where it crosses into. At this point, US175 narrows from six lanes to four, after a few miles, US175 leaves Dallas just after the Woody Road exit then goes into the city of Seagoville. The portion of the route through Seagoville is its last urban portion before US 175s surroundings become more suburban, the river marks the city limit boundary between Seagoville and Crandall. After rising out of the area, the highway goes through Crandall by intersecting Farm to Market Road 741, then passing the center of town. Then, US175 goes into a rural area, passing by rolling blackland prairies. A rural interchange for County Road 4104-Bud Stoy Road marks the city border of Crandall. The freeway continues into Kaufman past a right curve at the State Highway 243 interchange. After another mile, an exit for State Highway 34 comes along, after that exit, US175 loses its freeway characteristics but continues as a four-lane divided highway. The highway passes by more rolling prairie and farmland for several miles before approaching Kemp, here a bypass takes US175 around the north and east of town, while the first of three business routes of US175 goes through Kemp along US 175s previous routing in the area. After the bypass makes its way past a freeway-style exit at State Highway 274, the highway continues as a divided four-lane road past two multi-bridge spans of Cedar Creek Reservoir
United States
Texas
Interstate 20
Interstate 30
U.S. Highway 59
U.S. Highway 67
U.S. Highway 69
U.S. Highway 79
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 82
U.S. Highway 84
U.S. Highway 175
U.S. Highway 259
U.S. Highway 271
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