1.
Neches River
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The Neches River begins in Van Zandt County east of Rhine Lake and flows for 416 miles through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and B. A. Steinhagen Reservoir are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee, Evadale, Beaumont, Vidor, Port Neches, Nederland, Groves, with the exception of the manmade lakes, much of the river is in a natural state. For example, from Lake B. A. Steinhagen down to Beaumont and this important ecosphere preserves the area where several ecosystems converge - an event that harkens back to the last glacial period. The Big Thicket Visitor Center is off U. S. Highway 69 several miles north of Kountze, the Lower Neches Valley Authority is the river authority which oversees the Neches River in Tyler, Hardin, Liberty, Chambers, and Jefferson counties of Texas. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service purchased land along the Neches River beginning in 2006 for the creation of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge includes land on which Dallas had proposed to build a reservoir to meet the needs of the city. Tentatively named Lake Fastrill, this reservoir was not scheduled to be built until 2050. However, in February 2010 the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the lower forty miles of the river, from the Beaumont Interstate 10 bridge to Sabine Lake, is industrialized. The river is a deep ship channel running between the Port of Beaumont to Sabine Lake. The channel is currently 40 feet deep and 400 ft wide, the total estimated cost of the Sabine-Neches Waterway project is $1.1 billion. Several petro-chemical plants are located in the rivers southern section. The Sabine-Neches Navigation District, formed in 1909, has management responsibilities of the portion of the river which is part of the Sabine-Neches Waterway, the Port of Beaumont is located on the Neches River at Beaumont, Texas. It begins near the mouth of the river and the Rainbow Bridge, list of Texas rivers USS Neches — a fleet oiler built in 1920. Sabine-Neches Waterway Lower Neches Valley Authority Neches River from the Handbook of Texas Online Fun365Days
2.
U.S. Route 190
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U. S. Route 190 is an east–west United States highway in Louisiana and Texas. It evolved from the shortest of intrastate routes in 1926 to a length comparable to a main Interstate Highway route, leading from the swamps and pine forests of Louisiana to the West Texas desert. It runs east through Texas Hill Country speckled with sage brush, intersecting with State Highway 305, crossing into Schleicher County, just outside Eldorado was where the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch gained national attention. Continuing on a northeastward route US190 enters McCulloch County and into Brady, Texas. Being the closest city to the center of Texas, the city proclaims being the True Heart of Texas. Continuing east US190 enters Lampasas County, entering Lometa, merging and running concurrent with U. S. Route 183 south into the city of Lampasas. Splitting from US183 and continuing east, US190 runs through Kempner and into the southern corner of Coryell County. On the east side of Copperas Cove, a concurrency with Interstate 14 begins, US190 then traverses through part of Fort Hood, into Bell County and Killeen. Being directly adjacent to the cantonment of Fort Hood, both Killeen and Copperas Cove depend on the fort and those stationed there. A restaurant in Killeen was the site of one of the worst mass shootings in U. S. history where 23 people were killed. US190 next intersects and merges with I-35 north through Belton and enters Temple, where Interstate 14 ends, continuing east and south US190 passes through Rogers and enters Milam County then Cameron and merges with U. S. Route 77 south for a distance. A few miles south of Cameron US190 merges and runs concurrent with U. S. Route 79 north, continuing east, US190 enters San Jacinto County, passing north of Oakhurst and Point Blank, crossing Lake Livingston, entering Polk County and into Onalaska. East of Woodville FM256 splits north and US190 crosses BA Steinhagen Lake, into Jasper County, intersecting with State Highway 63 east, continuing east US190 travels through Holly Springs enters Newton County and proceeds into Newton. In Newton US190 turns south through Bon Wier, and then crosses the Louisiana line, in Newton County, Texas, US190 has been designated one of the routes on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail. The site number attached to the signs denote the location of the sign, the sign in the picture is located on the westbound side of the highway, inside the Texas line, just west of the Welcome to Texas sign near the Sabine River. US190 crosses the Sabine River and enters the western portion of Louisiana in swampy bayou terrain three miles west of Merryville, Louisiana, Merryville is the location of the old Coushatta Indian village. From Merryville the highway heads north by northeast to the community of Junction, Louisiana, Junction is where LA111 and US190 intersect and is the site of a roadside marker and the joining of two Indian trails. US190 runs concurrently with US171 to Ragley, where US190 parts with US171 heading east, from Ragley, the two-lane highway heads nearly due east almost parallel to Interstate 10 until Opelousas
3.
Hydropower
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Hydropower or water power is power derived from the energy of falling water or fast running water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes. A trompe, which compressed air from falling water, is sometimes used to power other machinery at a distance. In the late 19th century, hydropower became a source for generating electricity, cragside in Northumberland was the first house powered by hydroelectricity in 1878 and the first commercial hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879. In 1881, street lamps in the city of Niagara Falls were powered by hydropower, since the early 20th century, the term has been used almost exclusively in conjunction with the modern development of hydroelectric power. In China and the rest of the Far East, hydraulically operated pot wheel pumps raised water into crop or irrigation canals, the power of a wave of water released from a tank was used for extraction of metal ores in a method known as hushing. The method was first used at the Dolaucothi Gold Mines in Wales from 75 AD onwards, hushing was also widely used in Britain in the Medieval and later periods to extract lead and tin ores. It later evolved into hydraulic mining when used during the California Gold Rush and these include an endless belt with jugs attached, a cow-powered shadoof, and a reciprocating device with hinged valves. In 1753, French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor published Architecture Hydraulique which described vertical-, the growing demand for the Industrial Revolution would drive development as well. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, water was the source of power for new inventions such as Richard Arkwrights water frame. In the 1830s, at the peak in US canal-building, hydropower provided the energy to transport barge traffic up. Technological advances had moved the water wheel into an enclosed turbine or water motor. Francis, while working as engineer of Lowells Locks and Canals company. He applied scientific principles and testing methods to the problem of turbine design and his mathematical and graphical calculation methods allowed confident design of high efficiency turbines to exactly match a sites specific flow conditions. The Francis reaction turbine is still in use today. Hydraulic power networks used pipes to carrying pressurized water and transmit power from the source to end users. The power source was normally a head of water, which could also be assisted by a pump and these were extensive in Victorian cities in the United Kingdom. A hydraulic power network was developed in Geneva, Switzerland. The world-famous Jet dEau was originally designed as the relief valve for the network
4.
Beaumont, Texas
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Beaumont is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas in the United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Beaumont was founded as a town in 1835 by Northerners, the early European-American settlement had an economy based on the development of lumber, farming, and port industries. Rice became an important commodity crop in Texas, and is now cultivated in 23 counties, a big change occurred in 1901 with the Spindletop gusher, which demonstrated the potential of the huge oil field. With Spindletop, several companies developed in Beaumont, and some continue. The area rapidly developed as one of the major petro-chemical refining areas in the country, along with Port Arthur and Orange, Beaumont forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the Texas Gulf Coast. Beaumont is home of Lamar University, a national Carnegie Doctoral Research university with 14,966 students, including undergraduates and post graduates. Over the years, several corporations have been based in this city, gSUs Edison Plaza headquarters is still the tallest building in Beaumont. In 1824 Noah and Nancy Tevis settled on the west bank of the Neches River, soon after that, a small community grew up around the farm, which was named Tevis Bluff or Neches River Settlement. They began planning a town to be out on this land. Their partnership, J. P. Pulsifer and Company, controlled the first 50 acres upon which the town was founded and this town was named Beaumont, after Jefferson Beaumont, the brother-in-law of Henry Millard. They added more property for a total of 200 acres, Beaumont became a town on 16 December 1838. Beaumonts first mayor was Alexander Calder, from the towns founding in 1835, business activities included real estate, transportation, and retail sales. Later, other businesses were formed, especially in construction and operation, new building construction, lumber sales. The Port of Beaumont became a regional shipping center. Beaumont was a center for cattle raisers and farmers in its early years. With an active riverport by the 1880s, it became an important lumber and it exported rice as a commodity crop. The Beaumont Rice Mill, founded in 1892 by Joseph Eloi Broussard, was the first commercially successful rice mill in Texas, in addition, Broussard founded a company to operate an irrigation system to support rice culture. This helped stimulate the expansion of cultivation from 1500 acres in 1892 to 400,000 acres in 23 counties by his death in 1956
5.
Livingston, Texas
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Livingston is a city in and the county seat of Polk County, Texas, United States. With a population of 5,335 at the 2010 census and it is located approximately seventy-five miles north of Houston and was originally settled in 1835 as Springfield. Its name was changed to Livingston and became the county seat of Polk County in 1846, the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation is just to the east of Livingston. The 2000 census reported a resident population of 480 persons within the reservation, Livingston is located at 30°42′34″N 94°56′4″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 8.4 square miles. However, the town of Livingston is about 10 mi east of Lake Livingston, elevation,148 ft The zip code 77399 is used exclusively by a mail service called Escapees for those who are signed up with the service. As of the census of 2000,5,433 people,2,048 households, the population density was 649.9 inhabitants per square mile. There were 2,358 housing units at a density of 282.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 70. 38% White,18. 50% African American,0. 64% Native American,0. 83% Asian,8. 08% from other races, about 13. 90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. About 30. 9% of all households were made up of individuals, the average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.13. In the town, the population was distributed as 27. 7% under the age of 18,9. 1% from 18 to 24,26. 5% from 25 to 44,19. 7% from 45 to 64, the median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,424, males had a median income of $30,318 versus $21,774 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,214, about 18. 2% of families and 22. 3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27. 7% of those under age 18 and 17. 4% of those age 65 or over. In the 2010 Census, Livingston lost 1.8 percent of its population.2010 Census for Livingston, the Livingston Municipal Airport, operated by the City of Livingston, is located in West Livingston. Nearby West Livingston has the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Allan B, polunsky Unit, the location of the State of Texas death row since 1999. A few miles outside of Livingston is the IAH Polk County Secure Adult Detention Center, Livingston uses a manager-council system of government. The current mayor is Clarke Evans, the most common employers in Livingston are lumber operations and the Allan B
6.
Pollution
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Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants. Pollution is often classed as point source or nonpoint source pollution, Air pollution has always accompanied civilizations. Pollution started from prehistoric times when man created the first fires, metal forging appears to be a key turning point in the creation of significant air pollution levels outside the home. The burning of coal and wood, and the presence of horses in concentrated areas made the cities the cesspools of pollution. The Industrial Revolution brought an infusion of untreated chemicals and wastes into local streams that served as the water supply, king Edward I of England banned the burning of sea-coal by proclamation in London in 1272, after its smoke became a problem. But the fuel was so common in England that this earliest of names for it was acquired because it could be carted away from some shores by the wheelbarrow and it was the industrial revolution that gave birth to environmental pollution as we know it today. London also recorded one of the extreme cases of water quality problems with the Great Stink on the Thames of 1858. Pollution issues escalated as population growth far exceeded view ability of neighborhoods to handle their waste problem, reformers began to demand sewer systems, and clean water. In 1870, the conditions in Berlin were among the worst in Europe. There were no toilets in the streets or squares. Visitors, especially women, often became desperate when nature called, in the public buildings the sanitary facilities were unbelievably primitive. As a metropolis, Berlin did not emerge from a state of barbarism into civilization until after 1870. Chicago and Cincinnati were the first two American cities to enact laws ensuring cleaner air in 1881, as historian Martin Melosi notes, The generation that first saw automobiles replacing the horses saw cars as miracles of cleanliness. By the 1940s, however, automobile-caused smog was an issue in Los Angeles. Other cities followed around the country early in the 20th century. Extreme smog events were experienced by the cities of Los Angeles and Donora, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s, Air pollution would continue to be a problem in England, especially later during the industrial revolution, and extending into the recent past with the Great Smog of 1952. Awareness of atmospheric pollution spread widely after World War II, with fears triggered by reports of fallout from atomic warfare. Then a non-nuclear event, The Great Smog of 1952 in London and this prompted some of the first major modern environmental legislation, The Clean Air Act of 1956
7.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
8.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
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The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the states parks, the agency maintains its headquarters at 4200 Smith School Road in Austin. In 1895, the Texas Legislature created the Fish and Oyster Commission to regulate fishing, the legislature added the Game Department to the commission in 1907. The Legislature created the State Parks Board as an entity in 1923. In 1963, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was formed through merger of the State Parks Board, in 1983, the Texas legislature passed the Wildlife Conservation Act, giving the department the authority for managing fish and wildlife resources in all Texas counties. The department operates 95 state parks and historic sites,51 wildlife management areas, eight fish hatcheries, on January 1,2008, TPWD transferred management of several historic sites to the Texas Historical Commission. The agency employs more than 3,500 permanent employees, and 300 interns every summer, intern programs vary but are typically 12 weeks long and go from May until August. Game wardens and Park Police Officers undergo a 30-week course at TPWDs Texas Game Warden Training Center in rural Hamilton County, legal State Parks - includes Park Police Officers Wildlife TPWD publishes Texas Parks and Wildlife, a monthly magazine available both in print and online editions. The magazine features articles and full-color photos on topics such as birding, boating, camping, fishing, hunting, state parks, travel, wildlife, Texas Parks and Wildlife has been in publication since 1942. Texas Parks & Wildlife is a weekly, half-hour television series aired on Texas PBS stations, viewers can stream episodes on the PBS website and on the TPWD YouTube channel. Originally titled Made in Texas, the series production in 1985 as a magazine style show. For several years, the focused on one topic each week. In 1991, the name of the changed to Texas Parks & Wildlife. Beginning in June 2016 TPWD Game Wardens were featured in a new reality series on Animal Planet. Passport to Texas is a series broadcast on radio stations throughout Texas, as well as available as downloadable podcasts. The series includes 90 second radio spots on topics, including wildlife, state parks, founded in 1991, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation is the nonprofit funding partner of TPWD. List of Texas state parks Texas State Railroad Texas Parks & Wildlife Department website Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation website Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine Passport to Texas website
9.
Jasper, Texas
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Jasper is a city and the county seat of Jasper County, Texas, in the United States. The population was 8,247 at the 2000 census and 7,590 at the 2010 census, Jasper is situated in the Deep East Texas subregion, about 130 miles northeast of Houston. Jasper holds an annual Butterfly Festival the first Saturday in October to celebrate the migration of the monarch butterflies, the area, which was then part of Mexican Texas, was settled around 1824 by John Bevil. Thirty families occupied the settlement as early as 1830, when it was known as Snow River or Bevils Settlement after John R. Bevil, a hero of the American Revolution. In 1835, the town was renamed after William Jasper, a war hero from the American Revolution, Jasper was one of the 23 original counties when the Republic of Texas was created in 1836. Jasper became the county seat in 1844, becoming part of the United States with the Texas annexation in 1845, during the Civil War, the town housed a Confederate quartermaster depot and served as a major center for Confederate communication, transportation, and supply. Jasper was a Confederate Army headquarters for a nine-county area, following the war, Union troops led by General George Custer occupied Jasper, camping in the town square. The only known soldier of the American Revolution to be buried in Texas was Jasper resident Stephen Williams, the population declined to 360 in 1870, reflecting the hardships of the Civil War, but by 1885 had risen to 1,000. In 1896, Jasper had a population of 1,200, with the arrival of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway early in the 20th century, Jasper grew into a center for the manufacture of timber products. Lumber from two sawmills, with a capacity of 125,000 board feet, goods from basket and stave factories, logs, ties, poles. Jasper served as headquarters for the Lower Neches Valley Authoritys construction program, including Dam B at Town Bluff, local farmers raised broiler chickens and beef, and in the 1950s turned to dairying. Jasper also became the headquarters of the Morgan and Lindsey chain of variety stores, which at one time operated 85 outlets in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. In June 1998, the murder of James Byrd, Jr. catapulted Jasper into national news and led to the creation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, three men, William King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and Shawn Berry, were tried and convicted of capital murder. King and Brewer received the penalty, while Berry, who was the only suspect who cooperated during the investigation and implicated King. Brewer has been put to death, while King still awaits lethal injection, in 2000, Jasper had 8,247 residents and around 250 businesses. Jasper was also one of the locations for the recovery of the Space Shuttle Columbia wreckage in February 2003. Jasper was greatly affected by Hurricane Rita on September 25,2005, the town was also left without power or potable water for about three and a half weeks. In 2012, Jasper returned to attention during a bitterly fought political feud over the hiring and firing of Jasper’s first black police chief
10.
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
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.