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WEST TEXAS

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
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 the rest of the state.

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.

The Chihuahuan desert covers much of southern West Texas, west of the Pecos River
The Chihuahuan desert covers much of southern West Texas, west of the Pecos River

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. 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 right-wing 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. Major industries include livestock, petroleum and natural gas production, cotton and grain farming.

See also: Delaware Basin


Map showing differences in population density from West to East Texas

Image:WestTexasPopulationDensity2000.JPG Image:ABILENE_TEXAS_WIKEPEDIA.JPG

Major cities and metropolitan areas

See also

Flag of Texas State of Texas
Capital Austin
Regions Arklatex | Big Bend | Brazos Valley | Central Texas | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex | Deep East Texas | East Texas | Edwards Plateau | Galveston Bay | Golden Triangle | Greater Houston | North Texas | Northeast Texas | Permian Basin | Piney Woods | Rio Grande Valley | Texas Hill Country | Texas Panhandle | Llano Estacado | Southeast Texas | South Texas | West Texas
Metropolitan areas Abilene | Amarillo | Austin–Round Rock | Beaumont–Port Arthur | Brownsville–Harlingen | Bryan–College Station | Corpus Christi | Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington | El Paso | Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown | Killeen–Temple | Laredo | Longview–Marshall | Lubbock | McAllen–Edinburg–Mission | Midland–Odessa | San Angelo | San Antonio | Sherman–Denison | Texarkana | Tyler | Victoria | Waco | Wichita Falls
Topics History | Republic of Texas | Counties | Geography | Government | Politics | Economy | Texans