Portal:Texas

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The Texas Portal

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Texas (Spanish: Texas or Tejas [ˈtexas]) is the second most populous and second largest state by area of the 50 states in the United States of America. Geographically located in the south central part of the country, Texas shares borders with the other U.S. states of Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas to the southwest, along with the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast.

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while San Antonio is the second largest in the state and seventh largest in the United States. Dallas–Fort Worth and Greater Houston are the fourth and fifth largest United States metropolitan statistical areas, respectively. Other major cities include Austin (the state capital) and El Paso. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as a former independent republic, and as a reminder of the state's struggle for independence from Mexico. The "Lone Star" can be found on the Texan state flag and on the Texan state seal. The origin of the state name, Texas, is from the word, "Tejas", which means 'friends' in the Caddo language.

Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault, Texas contains diverse landscapes that resemble both the American South and Southwest. Although popularly associated with the Southwestern deserts, less than 10 percent of Texas' land area is desert. Most of the population centers are located in areas of former prairies, grasslands, forests, and the coastline. Traveling from east to west, one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods, to rolling plains and rugged hills, and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.

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Known as the Rio Grande in the United States and as the Río Bravo (or, more formally, the Río Bravo del Norte) in Mexico, the river, 3,034 km (1,885 mi) long, rises in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, flows through the San Luis Valley, then south into New Mexico through Albuquerque and Las Cruces to El Paso, Texas, on the U.S.–Mexico border. A major tributary, Rio Conchos,enters at Presidio, below El Paso and supplies most of the water in the 2,019 km (1,254 mi) Texas border segment.

The river has, since 1845, marked the boundary between Mexico and the United States from the twin cities of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, to the Gulf of Mexico. As such, it was across this river that Texan slaves fled when seeking their freedom, aided by Mexico's liberal colonization policies and abolitionist stance.

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William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962 in Dayton, Ohio), nicknamed "The Rocket", is one of the preeminent Major League baseball pitchers of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and is widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He has won seven Cy Young Awards -- two more than any other pitcher. He throws and bats right-handed, and currently plays for the New York Yankees.

He is currently second on the all-time strikeout list behind Nolan Ryan. After a brief retirement following the 2003 season, he signed with the Houston Astros where he played from 2004 - 2006. After the 2007 season had already begun he decided against retirement and returned to the Yankees pitching his first game on June 9.

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Amarillo is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 173,627 (though a July 1, 2005 estimate placed the city's population at 183,021). The Amarillo metropolitan area, however, has an estimated population of 236,113 in four counties.

The city once self-proclaimed as the "Helium Capital of the World" for having one of the country's most productive helium fields. The city is also known as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and most recently "Rotor City, USA" for its V-22 Osprey hybrid aircraft assembly plant.

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Flag of Texas.svg You are invited to participate in WikiProject Texas, a WikiProject dedicated to developing and improving articles about Texas.

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Eagle Point, Caprock Canyons State Park

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Statistics: Population

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