Texas Trivia

Texas is the largest of the contiguous states with 267,277 square miles (692,244 square kilometers).
Texas has more than 4,959 square miles (12,843 square kilometers)of fresh water- more than any state except Alaska.
Texas’ four national forests and the Big Thicket National Preserve offer more than 730,000 acres (295,240 hectares) of woodland recreation.
Texas has more than 624 miles (1,000 kilometers) of coastline to explore.
There are 191,000 miles (307,384 kilometers) of streams and rivers in Texas.
The Texas Capitol in Austin is the largest in terms of gross square footage of all state capitols, and is second in total size only to the National Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The 1888 Texas Capitol surpasses the National Capitol in height, rising almost 15 feet above its Washington counterpart.
The Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport covers 29.8 square miles (72 square kilometers), making it larger than Manhattan, New York.
At 634 square miles (1,642 square kilometers), the City of Houston could contain the cities of New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and Miami.

Texas is home to the two largest wind farms in the world- Roscoe Wind Farm and Horse Hollow Wind Farm.
Texas has the second largest urban population in the country only preceded by California.
Six Texas cities have populations greater than 500,000.
Texas is home to three of the top ten largest cities in the United States- Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio.
Texas is the second most populous state in the nation, estimated at more than 25 million residents.
Texas is home to six of the 50 busiest airports in the country by passengers boarded.
The Texas Medical Center in Houston is the world’s largest medical center.
Enchanted Rock is the second largest batholith in the nation, with an exposed surface area of 130 square miles (336 square kilometers).
The King Ranch in Kingsville is the largest ranch in Texas and is slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island.
The world’s third largest single structure telescope is atop Mount Fowlkes in the Davis Mountains.
The largest concentration of bats in the world is found in Bracken Cave near San Antonio, home to some 20 million Mexican Free- tailed Bats.
The largest urban bat colony in North America can be found in Austin under the Congress Avenue bridge.
Texas is the fifth largest wine producer in the United States.

The world’s first computer chip was produced by Texas Instruments in Dallas in 1958.
More than 636 species of birds can be found in Texas, making the state a #1 birding destination in the United States.
Texas is ranked third for states with the most golf courses in the United States.
Though often associated with Southwestern deserts, only 10% of the land in Texas is desert.
The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge harbors more endangered species than any other in the country.
Originally named Waterloo, present day Austin is the state capital.
Six nations have ruled Texas: Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States, and the United States.
The tallest peak in Texas is the Guadalupe Peak in the Guadalupe Mountains rising 8,749 feet (2,766 meters).
More than 5,000 flowering plants are native to Texas.
Caddo Lake in East Texas is the state’s largest natural lake.
The tallest Texan stands a whopping 52 feet tall- it’s ‘Big Tex’, the friendly cowboy who welcomes visitors to the State Fair of Texas.
First word transmitted by a human from the moon: “Houston”
Texas is the #1 biodiesel producer in the nation.