West Texas

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West Texas is a region in Texas that has more in common geographically with the Southwestern United States than it does with the rest of the state. The area is known for its natural beauty and has many small mountain ranges. This part of Texas is in the Northern Chihuahua Desert, and the high mountain areas have a climate that many find pleasant: cold nights but warm afternoons in winter, hot days but cool nights in the summer.

1 Population
2 Climate
3 Politics
4 Industry
5 Major cities and metropolitan areas
6 Smaller cities
7 See also
8 Gallery

[edit] Population

Texas population density (2000 census)

West Texas has a much lower population density than the rest of the state. It was once 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 other parts of 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. There is a very large Hispanic population, especially near the Rio Grande. Many Mexicans fled Ojinaga and walked to Stonewall during the Mexican revolution in the early days of the 20th century. Many Mexican-Americans still have close family ties in Mexico.

West Texas, with its sparsely populated and relatively unpolluted land and its wide vast openness, has also become a destination for people looking to get away from urban life, and although it appears to be only lightly populated, there are many people who own vacation homes there. However, the population is not expected to mushroom in the near future, as it is such a remote area. The main towns of Pecos, Marfa, Alpine, Marathon, Fort Davis, Valentine, Presidio and Van Horn are all approximately 2-3 hours from the nearest commercial airports in El Paso and Midland-Odessa.

[edit] Climate

West Texas features dry plains

West Texas receives much less rainfall than the rest of Texas and has an arid or semi-arid climate, requiring most of its scant agriculture to be heavily dependent on irrigation. This irrigation, and water taken out farther North for the needs of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico, has reduced both the Pecos River and the once mighty Rio Grande to a stream in some places, even dry at times. Much of West Texas has rugged terrain including many 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.

[edit] Politics

Due to their smaller numbers, many West Texans feel politically isolated from the rest of the state. There is a diverse mix in political philosophies found in West Texas. The area is known for its conservative politics — some of the most heavily Republican counties in the United States are located in the region, where United States President George W. Bush spent his early youth. At the same time there is a large number of Texas Democrats. However, many of these Democrats also vote for Republicans and support conservative issues such as Proposition Two, the anti-gay marriage initiative that Texas voters overwhelmingly supported.

[edit] Industry

Major industries include livestock, petroleum and natural gas production, textiles such as cotton, grain farming and because of its proximity to the Mexican border, the maquiladora industry. West Texas is now becoming known for is numerous wind turbine generators producing pollution free electricity.