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The geography of Texas is diverse and large. Occupying about 7% of the total water and land area of the U.S., [1] it is the second largest state after Alaska, and is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which end in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico.
Despite its harsh desert environment, Big Bend has more than 1,200 species of plants (including 60 cactus species [23]), over 600 species of vertebrates, and about 3,600 insect species. The variety of life is largely due to the diverse ecology and changes in elevation between the dry, hot desert, the cool mountains, and the fertile river valley.
Texas has been the leading state in petroleum production since discovery of the Spindletop oil field in 1901. [11] As of October 2017, the State of Texas (if treated as its own nation) is the 7th largest oil producing nation in the world, with production totaling approximately 3.78 million barrels (600 thousand cubic meters ) per day of oil ...
The average annual temperature in the desert varies from about 13 to 22 °C (55 to 72 °F), depending on elevation and latitude. The mean annual precipitation for the Chihuahuan Desert is 235 mm (9.3 in) with a range of approximately 150–400 mm (6–16 in), although it receives more precipitation than most other warm desert ecoregions. [3]
The Chisos Mountains, also known as the Chisos, are a mountain range located in the Big Bend area of the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, United States. [1] The mountain system covers 40 square miles (104 square km) and is contained entirely within the boundaries of Big Bend National Park, making it the only mountain range in the United States fully contained within a national park.
The Sierra Madre Oriental range to the west separates the Tamaulipan mezquital from the drier Chihuahuan Desert.The Tamaulipan matorral is a transitional ecoregion between the mezquital and the Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests to the west and the Veracruz moist forests to the south.
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Although glaciers never extended as far south as Texas, it was during these cold periods that enough water was frozen in polar regions to lower sea levels and the Big Thicket area was dry land well above sea level. Conversely, during the warmer interludes, enough ice melted to increase sea levels and submerge Southeast Texas in the sea.