Interesting Facts about Texas

1. From where does the State name "Texas" come? The name Texas comes from Tejas, an Indian word meaning friendly.

2. What is the State motto? Friendship

3. What is the State nickname? The Lone Star State

4. What is the State bird? The Mockingbird

5. What is the State tree? The Pecan tree

6. What is the State flower? Bluebonnet

7. What is the State gem? Topaz

8. What is the State stone? Petrified Palmwood

9. What is the State food dish? Chili

10. What is the State song? "Texas, Our Texas"

11. What is the State fish? The Guadalupe Bass

12. What is the State grass? Sideoats Grama

13. What is the State shell? The Lightning Whelk

14. What is the State small animal? The armadillo

15. What is the State large animal? The longhorn

16. What is the State insect? The Monarch butterfly

17. How many flags have flown over Texas exercising actual domain over or staking major claims to the State? Can you name them? The proverbial "six flags" that have flow over Texas are those of Spain, France, Mexico, The Republic of Texas, The Confederacy, and The United States.

18. Where is the State capital located? Austin

19. Out of what material was the Texas state capital building in Austin constructed? Texas pink granite.

20. What distinction does the Texas state capital building hold over all other states? It is the largest, containing some 8.5 acres of floor space and nearly 500 rooms.

21. Who is the present governor of Texas? George W. Bush, Jr.

22. For approximately how many straight-line miles does the State of Texas extend, North to South? 800 miles; 801 to be exact.

23. Which is the largest county in Texas? Hint, hint: It encompasses 6,233 square miles, an area larger than the State of Connecticut. The largest county is Brewster county in West Texas

24. What four states border Texas? Louisiana on the East, Arkansas on the Northeast, Oklahoma on the North, and New Mexico on the West.

25. What waterway forms the longest segment of the State's boundary? The Rio Grande forms the longest segment of the boundary.

26. What is the largest city in Texas by population? Houston

27. The Rio Grande is the longest river in the State. What river is the second longest? \The Red river

28. Of all the states in the United States, Texas ranks second in volume of inland water. Which state ranks first? Alaska

29. What is the highest dam in Texas? Mansfield Dam on Lake Travis is the highest at 266 feet.

30. Texas farms and ranches cover about what percent of the State's land area? Farms and ranches cover about 132 million acres, nearly 80 percent of the State's land area.

31. How many Indian reservations can be found in Texas? Two. The Alabama-Coushatta Indian reservation between Livingston and Woodville in East Texas, and the Tigua Indian reservation in El Paso. The Kickapoo Indians occupy a 125-acre site near Eagle Pass that has not been designated as a reservation.