West Texas
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The dry plains of West Texas, have often been divided up into tracks of land divided by barbed wire fences. The restriction of the "Wide Open Spaces," in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, led to a sense of loss expressed by songs such as Don't Fence Me In |
West Texas is a region in
Texas which has more in common geographically with the
Southwestern United States than it does with
East Texas and
North Texas.
West Texas has a much lower
population density than the rest of the state and was mostly inhabited by nomadic
Native American tribes such as the
Apache,
Comanche, and
Kiowa until after the
Civil War. It does not have as many ties to the
Southern United States as does East Texas, although many of the people who currently populate West Texas are also migrants from other parts of Texas and other Southern states or their descendants.
West Texas receives much less
rainfall than the rest of Texas and has an
arid or
semi-arid climate, requiring most of its
agriculture to be dependent on
irrigation. Much of West Texas has rugged terrain including several small mountain ranges while there are none in other parts of the state. West Texas contains part of the
Chihuahuan desert and also the Southern
Great Plains, known as the
Llano Estacado. Due to their smaller numbers, many West Texans feel politically isolated from the rest of the state. The area is known for its
conservative politics. United States President
George W. Bush spent much of his life in this region. Major industries include
livestock production,
petroleum and
natural gas production,
cotton and
grain farming.
See also:
Delaware Basin''
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WestTexasPopulationDensity2000.JPG |
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ABILENE_TEXAS_WIKEPEDIA.JPG |
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Abilene*
Amarillo*
El Paso*
Lubbock*
Midland*
Odessa*
San Angelo*
Llano Estacado*
South Plains
