South Texas

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San Antonio is the largest city in South Texas.
Corpus Christi is the second largest city in South Texas.
The San Agustin Cathedral in Laredo was built during the Spanish Texas period.
Padre Island is a popular beach destination.

South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of, or beginning at, San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

There is no defined northern boundary, although it is believed to be at the city of San Antonio and from an east to west line extending from the Rio Grande near Maverick County to the Gulf of Mexico, but turning southeast at or near Lavaca County, and continuing towards the Gulf of Mexico to separate it from East Texas and Southeast Texas. The Rio Grande serves as the western and southern boundaries and separates Texas from Mexico. The eastern portion of South Texas is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico.

[edit] Most populous cities

City 2000 Census Population[1] County
San Antonio 1,144,646 Bexar County
Corpus Christi 277,454 Nueces County
Laredo 176,576 Webb County
Brownsville 139,722 Cameron County
McAllen 106,414 Hidalgo County
Victoria 60,603 Victoria County
Harlingen 57,564 Cameron County
Edinburg 48,465 Hidalgo County
Pharr 46,660 Hidalgo County
Mission 45,408 Hidalgo County
Weslaco 26,935 Hidalgo County
San Juan 26,229 Hidalgo County
Kingsville 25,575 Kleberg County
San Benito 23,444 Cameron County
Eagle Pass 22,413 Maverick County
Alice 19,010 Jim Wells County

Some people consider Houston to be in South Texas for several reasons. Numerous businesses in the Houston region contain 'South Texas' in their titles.[2] The South Texas College of Law is located in downtown Houston. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas includes the Houston division. And like South Texas, the city has a large Hispanic population. However, Houston is most accurately classified as being within Southeast Texas, a subregion of East Texas.

[edit] Counties

South Texas is depicted in Red and the northernmost counties in a lighter shade of red.
  • note:Counties listed after Calhoun County are those depicted in light red in the counties picture to the right
  • note 2:Bolded counties are those with at least 200,000 in population

[edit] Multicultural influences

South Texas is well-known for a strong Hispanic, primarily Mexican American and Tejano (the Spanish term for Texan) influence, due to its proximity to Mexico. However, a large percentage of Tejanos [Tejas was a province of Spain] and Mexicans living in South Texas are descended from the Spanish/Sephardic Jewish-Converso settlers of New Mexico [Onate Expedition, 1598]. These families have resided in North America for hundreds of years. This migration occurred and has been ongoing since the late 1500s in New Mexico and the early 1700s in South Texas. The long-disputed U.S. annexation of South Texas and the land grabbing of the Spanish Land Grants is a sore point among those descended from the Spanish colonial settlers. After the Mexican American War, Mexicans/Tejanos were persona non grata in Texas and at times were killed or driven from their ancestral lands. (Library of Congress, Microfiche 7906177, also google a related article "Our Secret Heritage"). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in the 1840s, failed to secure land belonging to the Hispanic settlers. The disputed area is between the Nueces River south of San Antonio and Corpus Christi, and the King Ranch and the Rio Grande River. Not recognized by Mexico nor the United States, The Republic of the Rio Grande was established in 1838. It's capital was Laredo, Texas until 1847.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Air Travel

[edit] Major Highways

[edit] Interstate Highways

[edit] United States Routes

[edit] Texas State Highways

[edit] International Bridges

Laredo

Eagle Pass

Brownsville

Los Indios

Falcon Hights

Hidalgo

Pharr

Progreso

Rio Grande City

Roma

[edit] Tourism

San Antonio

Corpus Christi

Laredo

Rio Grande Valley

Other

San Antonio river walk

South Padre Island

Mirador de la Flor

SeaWorld San Antonio

The Alamo

Corpus Christi

San Agustin Cathedral in Laredo's San Agustin de Laredo Historic District

Republic of the Rio Grande Capitol building is located in Laredo

[edit] Education

[edit] Colleges

[edit] Universities

[edit] Public universities

[edit] Private universities

[edit] Sports

The only major professional sports teams in South Texas are the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA and the San Antonio Silver Stars in the WNBA.

Team Sport League Venue
San Antonio Spurs Basketball NBA AT&T Center
San Antonio Silver Stars WNBA
Rio Grande Valley Vipers NBA D-League Dodge Arena
Corpus Christi Sharks Arena Football AF2 American Bank Center
Rio Grande Valley Dorados Dodge Arena
Corpus Christi Hammerheads IFL Central Pavilion Arena
Corpus Christi Hooks Baseball Texas League Whataburger Field
San Antonio Missions Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium
Laredo Broncos United Baseball League Veterans Field
Coastal Bend Thunder Fairgrounds Field
San Antonio Rampage Ice hockey American Hockey League AT&T Center
Corpus Christi IceRays Central Hockey League American Bank Center
Laredo Bucks Laredo Entertainment Center
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Dodge Arena
Laredo Heat Soccer PDL TAMIU Soccer Complex
Rio Grande Valley Bravos FC Valley View High School Stadium

[edit] Area codes

[edit] See also

v • d • e

 
State of Texas
Austin (capital)
Topics
Regions
Metropolitan
areas
Counties
v • d • e
Sports teams based in South Texas
Baseball Flag of San Antonio

Flag of Corpus Christi

Flag of Laredo
Basketball
Football
Hockey
Soccer
College athletics
(NCAA Division I)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Census Fact Finder
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Aransas County Airport WebsiteAransas Co Airport Call Sign: RKP(U.S), KRKP(International)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Texas"