Please note: The term eastern Texas is not a synonym for this region, and that as a proper noun east is capitalized in East Texas.

Red counties show the core of East Texas; pink and red counties may or may not be included in East Texas, and thus their inclusion varies from source to source.

East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State.

According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone County and then southeastward to Galveston Bay", though some separate the Gulf Coast area into a separate region. The Handbook of Texas (ISBN 0-87611-151-7 is a comprehensive Encyclopedia of Texas geography history and historical persons published by the Texas For other uses see Red River. The Red River is one of several rivers with that name. Lamar County is a County located in the US state of Texas. In 2000 its population was 48499 Limestone County is a County located in the US state of Texas. This area includes all or parts of 49 counties, totaling almost 40,000 square miles (100,000 km²) and a population of almost 6 million. Another popular, somewhat simpler, definition defines East Texas as the region between Interstate 45 linking Dallas and Houston and the Louisiana Border. Interstate 45 (I-45 is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U

Most of the region consists of the Piney Woods ecoregion, and East Texas can sometimes be reduced to include only the Piney Woods. The Piney Woods is a Terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering 54400 mi² (140900 km²) of East Texas An ecoregion ( ecological region) sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area smaller than a "realm" or " Houston has distanced itself from East Texas over the past fifty years; however Houston has been considered part of East Texas for most of the city's history. At the fringes, towards central Texas, the forests expand outward toward sparser trees and eventually into open plains.

Geography

Caddo Lake

Climate is the unifying factor in the region's geography—all of East Texas has the humid subtropical climate typical of the Southeast. Humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa or Cwa) is a climate zone characterized by hot humid summers and chilly to mild winters East Texas receives more rainfall, 35 to 60[1] inches (890 to 1520 mm), than the rest of Texas. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. In Houston the average January temperature is 50. 4 °F (10. 2 °C) and the average July temperature is 82. 6 °F (28. 1 °C), however Houston has slightly warmer winters than most of East Texas due to its proximity to the coast.

All of East Texas also lies within the Gulf Coastal Plain, but with less uniformity than the climate with rolling hills in the north and flat coastal plains in the south. The Gulf Coastal Plain extends from the Florida Parishes of Louisiana over most of Mississippi, some of western Tennessee and Kentucky A coastal plain is an area of flat low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features Local vegetation also varies from north to south with the lower third consisting of the temperate grassland extending from South Texas to South Louisiana. Temperate grasslands Savannas and shrublands is a Biome whose predominant vegetation consists of Grasses and/or Shrubs The Climate South Texas is a region of the US state of Texas that lies roughly south of or beginning at San Antonio. The Port of South Louisiana is the largest volume shipping Port in the Western Hemisphere and 9th largest in the world The upper two-thirds of the region dominated by temperate forest known as the Piney Woods, which extends over 23,500 square miles (61,000 km²). The Piney Woods is a Terrestrial ecoregion in the Southern United States covering 54400 mi² (140900 km²) of East Texas The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. The Piney Woods are part of a much larger region of pine-hardwood forest that extends into Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. This article is about the tree For other uses of the term "pine" see Pine (disambiguation. The term hardwood is used to describe Wood from broad-leaved angiosperm Trees mostly Deciduous, but not necessarily in the case of tropical The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. The Piney Woods thins out as it nears the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world

A Landsat 7 satellite image showing Houston and its surroundings

The Sabine River and Trinity River are the major rivers in East Texas, but the Brazos River and Red River also flow through the region. Landsat 7, launched on April 15, 1999, is the latest satellite of the Landsat program. The Sabine River (səˈbiːn is a River, 555 miles (893 km long in the U The Trinity River is a 710-mile long river that flows entirely within the U The Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers (translated as "The River of the Arms of God" is the 11th longest river in the For other uses see Red River. The Red River is one of several rivers with that name. The Brazos cuts through the southwest portion of the region while the Red River forms its northern border with Oklahoma and a portion of Arkansas. Oklahoma ( is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. Arkansas ( is a state located in the southern region of the United States. In East Texas and the rest of the South, small rivers and creeks collect into swamps called "Bayous" and merge with the surrounding forest. A bayou (pronounced oʊ or uː is a small slow-moving Stream or creek or a lake or pool ( bayou lake) that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream Bald cypress and Spanish moss are the dominant plants in bayous. Taxodium distichum ( Baldcypress, Bald Cypress, or Swamp Cypress) is a species of conifer native to the southeastern United Spanish moss ( Tillandsia usneoides) closely resembles its namesake ( Usnea, or beard lichen The most famous of these bayous are Cypress Bayou and Buffalo Bayou. Cypress Bayou is the name applied to a series of Wetlands at the western edge of Caddo Lake, in and around Jefferson Texas, making up part of the largest Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County Texas, USA. Cypress Bayou surrounds the Big, Little, and Black Cypress rivers around Jefferson. Jefferson is a city in Marion County, Texas, United States. The population was 2024 at the 2000 census They flow east into Caddo Lake and the adjoing wetlands cover the rim and islands of the lake. Caddo Lake (Lac Caddo is a 25400 acre (103 km² Lake and wetland located on the border between Texas and Louisiana, in northern Harrison County Most of Buffalo Bayou was cleared to create the Houston Ship Channel, the remaining portions of Buffalo Bayou are in Downtown Houston. The Houston Ship Channel in Houston Texas is part of the Port of Houston —one of the United States 's busiest Sea ports The channel Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County Texas, USA. Downtown Houston is the largest Business district of Houston, Texas, United States.

Outside of the Greater Houston area the average population density is around 18–45 per mi² (7–12 per km²), with the population density near the Big Thicket dropping below 18 people per mi². Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county Metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of East Texas's population is centered around Greater Houston and Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange in Southeast Texas, Lufkin/Nacogdoches in Deep East Texas, and Tyler, Longview/Marshall, and Texarkana in Northeast Texas. Beaumont is a city in and the County seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont&ndash Port Arthur Metropolitan Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont &ndashPort Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area of the U Orange is a city in Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 18643 Southeast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The population was 32709 at the 2000 census making Lufkin the 76th largest city in Texas Nacogdoches (ˌnækəˈdoʊtʃɪs is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U Tyler is a city in and the County seat of Smith County, Texas in the United States. Longview is a city in Gregg and Harrison Counties in the US state of Texas. Marshall is a city of the northeastern region of the US state of Texas. Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other Northeast Texas is a region in the northeast corner of the US At its western edge, East Texas overlaps with Central and North Texas; so cities like Bryan/College Station, Corsicana, and Greenville may be included in liberal definitions of East Texas. Central Texas (a part of which is Texas Hill Country) is a region (and a physiographic section as it pertains to geography in the U This is an article about a region of Texas For the university in Denton see University of North Texas. Bryan is a city in Brazos County, Texas, United States. As of the 2000 census the city had a total population of 65660 College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in Central Texas. Corsicana is a City in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It its located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Greenville is the County seat of Hunt County, Texas, in the United States. Only eight miles from the Texas border, Shreveport, Louisiana, is considered the economic and cultural center for the Ark-La-Tex, the area where Arkansas, Louisiana, and East Texas meet. Shreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest Metropolitan area in the U

Duke Energy Field Services near Palestine, Texas on U.S. Highway 79. Palestine (ˈpælɛstiːn PAL-es-teen is a city in Anderson County, Texas, in the United States. US Route 79 is a north-south United States highway. The route is actually a northeast-southwest diagonal with both east-west segments and north-south segments equally mixed The company operates facilities including refineries and oil wells throughout the region.

Culture

East Texas is often considered the westernmost extension of the Deep South. The Deep South is a descriptive category of cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. The Museum of East Texas was opened in Lufkin in 1976 under the name the Lufkin Historical and Creative Arts Center. Lufkin is a city in Angelina County, Texas, United States. The population was 32709 at the 2000 census making Lufkin the 76th largest city in Texas Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[1]

Deep East Texas

Deep East Texas is a subregion of East Texas. According to the Deep East Texas Council of Governments the region consists of the following twelve counties: Angelina, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity, and Tyler. Counties served Angelina Houston Jasper Nacogdoches Angelina County is a County located in the US state of Texas. Houston County is a County located in the US state of Texas. As of 2000 the population was 23185 Jasper County is a County located in the US state of Texas. In 2000 its population was 35604 Nacogdoches County (pronounced) is a County located in the US Newton County is the easternmost County in the US state of Texas. Polk County is a County located in the US state of Texas. As of 2000 the population was 41133 Sabine County is a County located in the US state of Texas. It was organized on December 14, 1837 and named for the Sabine San Augustine County is a County located in the US state of Texas. San Jacinto County is a County located in the US state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. Shelby County is a County located in the US state of Texas. In 2000 its population was 25224 Trinity County is a County located in the US state of Texas. As of 2000, the population is 13779 Tyler County is a County located in the US state of Texas. In 2000 its population was 20871 Many structures in these counties were heavily damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Rita. Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense Tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico

The "Deep" comes from the similarity to East Texas (it is similar in culture and geography, being highly forested), but with a location "deeper" (i. e. , further southeast) than the rest of East Texas.

"Deep" also comes from cultural and social characteristics of the area and is considered synonymous to "The Big Thicket" an allusion to the dense growth of underbrush in the "piney woods. " It was the earliest area of Texas to be settled by Anglo-Americans (and one of the last to submit to law enforcement--by the governments of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, state of Texas or the United States. ) Renegade clans controlled local governments, especially in Shelby County, well into the first quarter of the 20th century. The area contains two of the oldest towns in Texas; Nacogdoches, the oldest town in Texas, dating from 18th century, and San Augustine, the oldest "Anglo" settlement in Texas, dating from the 1820s. For the most part, prior to the Texas War of Independence, settlement was prohibited by the Spanish and later Mexican governments, but neither government was able to exert governmental control or law enforcement in the area. As a consequence the "Big Thicket" became a refuge for criminals fleeing the United States and hiding out in a "no man's land" in the almost impenetrable pine thickets.

References

Books

• Gone to Texas: Genealogical Abstracts from The Telegraph and Texas Register 1835-1841, compiled by Kevin Ladd
• The EAST TEXAS SUNDAY DRIVE Book, by Bob Bowman ISBN 1-878096-00-1
• Wild Flowers of the Big Thicket, East Texas, and Western Louisiana, by Geyata Ajilvsgi ISBN 0-89096-065-8
• Two centuries in East Texas: A history of San Augustine County and surrounding territory from 1685 (Hardcover)by George Louis Crocket (Author)ASIN: B00089CVW8
• "Poet o' the Pines", by Milton Watts - site

External links

• East Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
• East Texas Historical Association
• Sights of Interest in East Texas
• 1840 Map of East Texas From Texas Tides

See also

• List of geographical regions in Texas
• List of Texas regions