“Texas Test”

I’m lucky, I was born in Texas and have lived all my life here.  I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

I was taught very early in my life to appreciate Texas.  With a Texas Highway Patrolman for a father, my family moved a few times to very distinct parts of the state while I was growing up.  Born in the Panhandle (Borger), moving to Central Texas (Centerville), then to East Texas (Tyler), I got to experience some very distinct areas of the state.  Having relatives in North Texas added another whole scene to my experience of knowing Texas.  Then later spending time in College Station and then moving to the Houston area, I grew familiar with two additional areas.  Other travels throughout the state, for work and for pleasure, have enabled me to enjoy so much of this great state I call home.

I remember once telling Angela and her friend Stephanie, when they were about 12 years old, how fortunate they were, growing up to be true Texas Women.  They probably didn’t understand at that age exactly what I was talking about, but I bet they do now!  Both my daughters have lived in other parts of the country now, and I’m quite sure they have felt the positive effects of being “Texas girls”.

My father drove the highways of this state for a living.  He passed on to me the appreciation he has for Texas geography, for locales, for understanding the local lay of the land.  I believe there was I time when he could tell you where every county in the state was located, and the county seats.  He knows, or at least used to know, just about every highway in the whole eastern half of the state.  As a result, I found myself learning the roads, the towns, and counties once I gained the privilege of driving around Texas.  There are 254 counties in Texas, and I think I could probably come close to telling you where almost all of them are located.

Let’s take a Texas Test!

I’ll give you 20 questions below.  Do your best to answer them, without using any reference books, maps or Google.  I’ll give the answers here at this blog in the next few days.

1.  Two of the top 10 largest U.S. metropolitan areas are located in the state of Texas.  Name them, along with their national ranking.  #1 – New York, #2 – Los Angeles, #3 – Chicago, #4 – Dallas-Fort Worth, #5 – Houston, #6 – Philadelphia, #7 – Washington, D.C., #8 – Miami, #9 – Atlanta, 310 – Boston
2. Name the top 5 states in the U.S. as far as population, in order.  As of 2012:  #1 – California, #2 – Texas, #3 – New York, #4 – Florida, #5 – Illinois
3. What is the population of Texas, according to 2012 census data:
   1. 12,875,000
   2. 9,454,000
   3. 26,059,000  (correct, as of 2012)
   4. 31,256,000
4.  Name the official State Dog Breed.  The Blue Lacy
5. What is the official State Shoe?  The Cowboy Boot
6. What is Old Baldy?  Where is it?  Old Baldy is a limestone mountain that overlooks popular Garner State Park near Concan, in Uvalde County
7. What is Texas’ longest river?  The Rio Grande, which is also the second-longest river entirely within or bordering the United States.  
8. Which county is located at the geographic center of the state?  McCulloch County (county seat – Brady)
9. Where was the Texas Declaration of Independence signed?  It was signed at Independence Hall on March 2, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos
10. Whose statue sits on top of the dome of the state capitol in Austin?  The Goddess of Liberty (holding the Lone Star)
11. What is the highest point in Texas?  Which county is it located in?  Guadalupe Peak, at an elevation of 8,749 feet, is located in Culberson County near the New Mexico state line
12. Where is the lowest point in Texas?  sea level, anywhere along the Gulf Coast
13. What is the official State Reptile of Texas?  The Texas horned lizard (phyrnosoma cornutum), or as we used to call them…”horny toads”
14. What is the longest river within Texas?  The Colorado River, with a total length of 865 miles
15. How far is the drive from Beaumont to El Paso?  810 miles, according to the official state highway map
16. How far is the drive from Amarillo to Brownsville?  765 miles
17. Texas is one of only two states that has a flag that formerly served as the flag of an independent nation.  What is the other one?  Hawaii
18. There are two branches that appear on the front of the State Seal of Texas.  One is an Olive branch.  What is the other one?  The Live Oak
19. What is the smallest county in Texas, by area?  Rockwall County, at only 148.70 sq. miles
20. What is the oldest city in Texas?  Nacogdoches

How’d you do?