什麼是德克薩斯

美國中南部一州。面積691,030平方公里，就面積和人口來説都是美國的第二大州。首府奧斯汀。全州以平原和丘陵為主，依次為墨西哥灣畔肥沃的沿海平原，中部大平原的草場，一直到西北突出部乾旱的高原。早在37,000年前，德克薩斯西部就有印第安人先驅的足跡。其中一些部落以後形成了卡多人的鬆散聯盟。當西班牙人在1528年到來時，印第安人，包括阿帕契人居住於此。1685年法國人最早嘗試在此定居，聲稱此地為路易斯安那的一部分。美國通過1803年的路易斯安那購地案從法國手中得到此地，但1819年又出讓給了西班牙。1821年墨西哥獨立使這裏成為墨西哥的一部分。1836年德克薩斯人宣佈從墨西哥獨立，成立德克薩斯共和國。歷經十年掙扎的共和國最終在1845年成為美國的第28個州。1848年的墨西哥戰爭後，其與墨西哥之間的邊界才算正式畫定。在美國南北戰爭中，它於1861年退出聯邦，然後於1870年重新被接納加入。南北戰爭後，鐵路的建設以及海運的增加加快了經濟成長，1901年石油的發現更是給該州帶來了根本變化。至今德克薩斯的石油和天然氣生產以及提煉石油的能力依然在美國全國領先，電子、航天以及其他高科技的製造業也越益佔有重要地位。棉花生產、肉牛和綿羊的飼養量居全國首位。人口約19,439,000（1997）。

Texas

State (pop., 1997 est.: 19,439,000), southwestern U.S. Occupying 266,807 sq mi (691,030 sq km), it is the second-largest state in both area and population. Its capital is Austin. Plains and hills make up the terrain, which ranges from the fertile prairie of the Coastal Plains on the Gulf of Mexico through the central Great Plains grasslands to the arid High Plains of the Panhandle. The forerunners of West Texas Indians inhabited the area as much as 37,000 years ago. Some of the tribes later formed the Caddo confederacy. Indians, including Apaches, lived in the region when the Spanish arrived in 1528. The first settlement was attempted in 1685 by the French, who claimed the region as part of Louisiana. In 1803 the U.S. acquired the French claim in the Louisiana Purchase, but relinquished it to Spain by treaty in 1819. It became part of Mexico at Mexican independence in 1821. In 1836 Texans declared independence from Mexico as the Republic of Texas (see Stephen Austin, Sam Houston). After a 10-year struggle to remain independent, Texas became the 28th U.S. state in 1845. Its boundary with Mexico was fixed after the Mexican War (1848). In the American Civil War, it seceded from the Union (1861) and was readmitted in 1870. After the war, railroad building and increased shipping helped expand the economy, and the discovery of oil in 1901 transformed it. While Texas still leads all other states in oil and natural-gas production and in petroleum-refining capacity, its manufacture of electronics, aerospace components, and other high-technology items is increasingly important. It is also the U.S.'s leading cotton, beef-cattle and sheep producer.