Texas State is situated within the South Central United States just north of the Mexican border. "Texas" comes from a Caddo word which means "allies" or "friends." To the west lies New Mexico, towards the east lies Oklahoma, to the east lies Louisiana and to the north, Arkansas. The population of the state of Texas is 25.1 million. The total land area of Texas State is 268,820 square miles, making it the largest state in the contiguous US. The city of Houston is the largest city within Texas State, and San Antonio City is the second largest.
The state of Texas is known as the Lone Star State. The nickname is a reminder of the state's historic struggle for freedom as an independent republic. The Texas State Flag and the Texas State Seal still bear the "Lone Star".
Texas State has a rather diverse landscape over its large land area, with piney woods, coastal swamps, rugged hills and flat plains that extend from the desert and mountainous terrain of the Big Bend. The majority of the residents reside within the cities built upon former grasslands, forests and coastline. The state has developed so quickly that signs of rapid development, like urban sprawl, are afflicting its cities.
The Texas economy is also diverse, though the majority of the states economy is driven by the petroleum trade due to the large presence of oil. Haliburton, Exxon-Mobil, Valero, Marathon Oil and several major petroleum companies are based in the state of Texas. The state of Texas has known petroleum deposits of around 5 billion barrels (25 percent of the country's known reserves). Roughly 4.6 million barrels of oil each day can be processed by the refineries in Texas. Houston's Baytown Refinery is the largest within the the nation. Texas State likewise produces one-quarter of the natural gas supply of the United States.
The state has more farmland in acres compared to whatever other US state, leading all other states in livestock production such as cattle, sheep and goat. The state's most valuable farm product is cattle. Cotton production also defines Texas State. Moreover, cereal crops and produce are grown here. The industry of commercial fishing is fairly strong. Texas has many mineral resources and related businesses produce crushed stone, cement, lime, salt, gravel and sand.
Several high tech industries have developed within the state of Texas, particularly within the Austin area (called "Silicon Hills") and the north Dallas area ("Silicon Prairie"). The headquarters of numerous high technology companies are situated in Texas State: Dell, Inc., Texas Instruments, AT&T, Perot Systems and the biggest campus of Hewlett-Packard.
The state leads the way in alternative energy sources, like for instance wind power. Roscoe, Texas, is the location of the planet's biggest wind farm. The state of Texas has the potential to become the biggest producer of solar power within the US. The state's agriculture and forestry businesses have enormous potential for the production of biomass for biofuels.