West Texas
West Texas | |
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2020 ) | |
• Total | 2,300,264 |
West Texas is a loosely defined
.No consensus exists on the boundary between
West Texas is often subdivided according to distinct physiographic features. The portion of West Texas that lies west of the
Climate
West Texas receives much less rainfall than the rest of Texas and has an arid or semiarid climate, requiring most of its scant agriculture to depend heavily on irrigation.[5] Northern portions of the area are irrigated with water from underground sources, such as the Ogallala Aquifer. Irrigation withdrawal, and water taken out farther north for the needs of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, have reduced the Rio Grande to a stream in some places, even dry at times.
Parts of West Texas have rugged terrain, including many small mountain ranges, while most parts of the state are closer to sea level. The northern parts of West Texas (notably the Panhandle) and the higher elevations of the mountain ranges of the Trans-Pecos region are prone to occasional heavy snowfall during winter, whereas snow is less common in other areas of West Texas.
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Caprock Canyons
Counties
The counties included in any Texas region vary depending on the organization compiling the list. Texas Counties.net acknowledges the variations while including 70 counties in its definition of West Texas. Within these broad boundaries, encompassing some of the
The counties included are Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Brewster, Brown, Callahan, Castro, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Comanche, Concho, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Eastland, Ector, El Paso, Fisher, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Glasscock, Hale, Haskell, Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Irion, Jeff Davis, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamb, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Midland, Mitchell, Motley, Nolan, Parmer, Potter, Pecos, Presidio, Randall, Reagan, Reeves, Runnels, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Upton, Ward, Winkler, and Yoakum.
Major cities
Region rank | City | 2020 Census [7] | State ranked | County |
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1 | El Paso
|
678,815 | 6 | El Paso County |
2 | Lubbock
|
257,141 | 10 | Lubbock County
|
3 | Midland | 132,524 | 26 | Midland County |
4 | Odessa | 114,428 | 35 | Ector County |
5 | Socorro | 34,306 | 92 | El Paso County |
6 | Big Spring | 26,144 | 117 | Howard County |
7 | Horizon City | 22,489 | 132 | El Paso County |
8 | Plainview | 20,187 | 145 | Hale County |
Smaller West Texas cities and towns include Alpine, Andrews, Anthony, Brownfield, Canutillo, Canyon, Coyanosa, Crane, Dalhart, Fort Davis, Fabens, Fort Bliss, San Elizario, Fort Stockton, Hale Center, Hereford, Iraan, Kermit, Lamesa, Levelland, Littlefield, Marathon, Marfa, McCamey, Mertzon, Monahans, Muleshoe, Ozona, Pampa, Pecos, Horizon City, Post, Rankin, Seminole, Slaton, Snyder, Sweetwater, and Van Horn.
Economy
Major industries include
As of 2018, the West Texan economy was in a prosperous economic period, which has been described as the "West Texas oil boom".[8][9]
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Pumpjacks, like this one south of Midland, are a common sight in West Texas oil fields.
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Irrigated agriculture in West Texas
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The Brazos Wind Farm near Fluvanna is one of many wind farms in West Texas.
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Fort Bliss is the number one employer in the El Paso region
Sports
While there are no major league teams in the West Texas region, sports fans are faithful to their local high school and college teams. NCAA Division I college teams include the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the UTEP Miners. NCAA Division II teams include the West Texas A&M Buffaloes, the Texas–Permian Basin Falcons, and the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals and Lady Chaps.
El Paso hosts the
Politics
Except for the Trans-Pecos region, West Texas has become well known as a stronghold for conservative politics. Some of the most heavily Republican counties in the United States are in the region. Former U.S. President George W. Bush spent most of his childhood in West Texas.
The Panhandle and several counties in the Midland-Odessa area were some of the first parts of Texas to abandon the state's "
West of the Pecos in popular culture
West Texas.
"West of the Pecos" has become a metaphor for the universe of Westerns. "Fastest draw west of the Pecos" and similar superlatives are a cliche, and the title character of Chisum observed "There’s no law west of Dodge, and no God west of the Pecos”.
Cormac McCarthy's novel No Country for Old Men and its subsequent film adaptation take place in West Texas, and much of the movie was filmed there.
See also
- List of geographical regions in Texas
- Llano Estacado
- Beach Mountains
- Chalk Mountains
- Chamizal National Memorial
- Davis Mountains
- Franklin Mountains State Park
- Palo Duro Canyon
- Hueco Tanks State Historic Site
- Guadalupe Mountains
- McKittrick Canyon
- Big Bend National Park
- Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
- Mount Blanco
- Wind power in Texas
- Farm to Market Road 669
- West Texas Intermediate
- Wyler Aerial Tramway
References
- ^ Cochran, M., Lumpkin, J. and Heflin, R. 1999. West Texas: a portrait of its people and their raw and wondrous land. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 176 pp.
- ^ Webb, W.P. 1935. The Texas Rangers: a century of frontier defense. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 583 pp.
- ^ Greene, A.C. 1998. Sketches from the five states of Texas. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 176 pp.
- ^ Hill, R.T. 1887. The topography and geology of the Cross Timbers and surrounding regions in Northern Texas. The American Journal of Science, 3rd Series, 33:291–303.
- ^ Bubenik, Travis (2018-04-15). "Texas Could Look Increasingly Like West Texas, Climate Study Says". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
- ^ "The Regions of Texas". Texas Counties.net. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
- ^ "Total Population, Housing Unit, and Group Quarter Data by Area in Texas". Texas Demographic Center. United States Census Bureau. April 26, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Clifford, Krauss (March 28, 2018). "$9.5 Billion Purchase by Concho Is Latest Sign of West Texas Oil Boom". The New York Times. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ Saphir, Ann (May 1, 2018). "Boom in West Texas oil patch lifts wages, prices". Reuters. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- New York Times, April 24, 2014
We Wanna Know: Where Does West Texas Begin?
Notes
- ^ West Texas counties voting Republican at every election since 1952 comprise Ector County, Gray County, Hansford County, Hutchinson County, Lipscomb County, Midland County, Ochiltree County, Randall County, and Roberts County.
- ^ West Texas Plains "Bible Belt" counties voting for Mondale in 1984 were Cottle County (which was in fact one of 130 counties nationwide to vote for George McGovern in 1972), Dickens County, Fisher County, Stonewall County and Swisher County.