Southeast Texas
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Regional definitions vary from source to source. The counties shown in dark red are usually included, while all or portions of the striped counties may or may not be considered part of Southeast Texas. |
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 around the
Houstonâ€"Sugar Landâ€"Baytown and
Beaumontâ€"Port Arthur metropolitan areas. Parts of Southeast Texas overlap with
Central Texas, and the region borders
Acadiana and the
Sabine River.
The subregion's culture is similar to that of
Northeast Texas, but has more of a
Cajun influence. Many of the largest cities in
East Texas, outside of Houston, still follow a rural
Southern way of life, especially in dialect, mannerisms, religion, and
cuisine.
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 also crossed by numerous rivers and streams, the largest being the
Sabine River, the
Neches River, and the
Trinity River. The only large bodies of water in Southeast Texas are
Galveston Bay and
Sabine Lake, but the large
reservoirs of
East Texas are just to the north.
Near the coast, the land is low and extremely flat, and often
marshy. The
Piney Woods extend into the northern parts of Southeast Texas, reaching as far south as the
rice paddies and marshlands that lie between Houston and Beaumont. The highest point on the coast is at
High Island, where a
salt dome raises the elevation to around 40 feet (12 meters).
Away from the coast, the terrain begins exhibiting the rolling hills of East and
Central Texas. Toward Central Texas, the mixed pine and hardwood forests give way to forests of
post oak and grasslands.
Golden Triangle
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 that came from the
Spindletop oil strike near Beaumont in
1901.
In an attempt to distance the area from the petrochemical industry, some area interests attempted to rename the Golden Triangle the "Triplex." This name change did not catch on, and area residents still refer to it as the Golden Triangle.
Residents of the Golden Triangle do not refer to the
Greater Houston area as being part of Southeast Texas and place the western boundary of the region roughly at the
Trinity River.
The area holds the annual
South Texas State Fair in Beaumont.
Big Thicket
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 area's biological resources. The 97,000 acre (390 km²) preserve boasts a varied ecology of southwestern desert, piney woods, swamps, and
coastal prairies. 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
Galveston Bay is a large
estuary located along
Texas's upper coast. The bay is fed by the
Trinity River and the
San Jacinto River, numerous local bayous and incoming tides from the
Gulf of Mexico. The bay covers approximately 600 square miles (1,500 km²), and is 30 miles (50 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide. Galveston Bay is on average 7-9 feet (3 m) deep. The bay has three inlets at the Gulf of Mexico: Bolivar Roads (the exit of the Houston Ship Channel) between
Galveston Island and the
Bolivar Peninsula, San Luis Pass to the West, and Rollover Pass to the East.
The
Houston Ship Channel, connecting the
Port of Houston to the Gulf, passes through Galveston Bay. Houston is the largest city on the bay, while smaller ones include Galveston, Pasadena, Baytown, and
Texas City. The bay provides nursery and spawning grounds for large amounts of marine life, and is important for both commercial and recreational
fishing.
Compared to the rest of the state, Southeast Texas's climate is warmer in the
winter and cooler in the
summer. On average, the region is the wettest part of the state. The relatively mild and wet climate is largely due to the influence of the
Gulf of Mexico. Average annual rainfall in the Golden Triangle is 60 inches (1500 mm). Rainfall totals in other parts of Southeast Texas are lower, but still in excess of 40 inches (1000 mm) per year. During
Tropical Storm Claudette in
1979, the city of
Alvin recorded an official 24-hour rainfall total of 42 inches (1067 mm) — the highest one-day rainfall total ever measured in the
United States.
Houston has been called the
"Lightning Capital of Texas," as it has a higher density of
lightning strikes than the rest of the state. This area of unusually high lightning activity stretches from Houston eastward into Southwest Louisiana. Much of this can be explained by the natural occurrence of thunderstorms in the region, which form almost daily during the summer months. However, the unusual clustering of lightning around the developed areas of Houston, the Golden Triangle, and
Lake Charles, Louisiana have led many researchers to believe that some combination of
urban heat islands and
air pollution are responsible for increasing the number of lightning strikes beyond their already high natural levels.
Southeast Texas is vulnerable to
hurricanes, and has been struck and affected by major
hurricanes like
Hurricane Rita in
2005 and
Hurricane Alicia which passed over Houston in
1983. Weaker storms strike the area routinely, and some, like
Tropical Storm Allison and
Tropical Storm Claudette, have caused considerable damage.
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Partnership of Southeast Texas
