Aviva Trivia

Did you know that the Capitol Building located in Austin, Texas is the biggest one in the United States?   Made from Texas pink granite, the dome of this building stands even taller than the one in the nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C.  Actually it stands a whole seven feet taller.

Texas is the largest state in the continental United States.  You could fit 220 Rhode Islands into the state, or all of the New England States and Ohio, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.  Alaska is the only state larger than Texas.

The oldest remaining public building in downtown Austin still remains.  It is known as the Governor’s mansion, built in 1856.

Texas stretches about 800 miles in each direction, totaling over 268,000 square miles in all.   Texas coastlines stretch along the Gulf of Mexico and totals 624 miles.

There is more land farmed in Texas than in any other state.  Texas is the home of the biggest single ranch in the United States today.  There are more farms in Texas than any other state.  Texan’s are known for growing cotton, rice and wheat.  Texas leads the country in beef cattle.  They are also leaders in producing sorghum.

Texas has more wild flowers than any other state in the United States.  The Bluebonnet is recognized as the state flower for Texas.

Texas has adopted the Pecan tree as the state tree and you might likely find a mockingbird sitting on one of the branches.  The mockingbird is known as the Texas state bird.

There are four national forests in Texas(Angelina, Davy Crockett, Sabine and Sam Houston).  Two national parks call Texas home(Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains).  Texas also has one national monument, (Alibates Flint Quarries), and one national preserve (The Big Thicket). 

The Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Eastern Texas is the largest body of water completely within the boundaries of Texas.

The tallest point in Texas can be found at the Guadalupe Peak.  It is  8,751 feet tall.

Texas has three existing Indian reservations.  The first is located between Livingston and Woodville in Eastern Texas, known as the Alabama-Coushatta Reservation.  The second is a Tigua Indian reservation called Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and it is near El Paso.  The third remaining reserve is in Maverick County, known as the Kickapoo Reservation.  However, of the approximately 65,000 Indians that live in Texas, most live in areas that are not on a reservation.  Texas ranks sixth among the states for Indian populations.

Texas has 254 counties with only one named for a woman (Angeline).  The largest county with 6,204 square miles is Brewster and the smallest county is Rockwell with only 147 square miles.

Texas has over 700 local history museums.

Over 2000 sites in Texas are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  These include historic courthouses, frontier forts, Spanish missions, and individual homes.  The Alamo is a Spanish mission and was established in San Antonio in 1718.  It was the first mission established in Texas.  This is where Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and many others died fighting Mexico to free Texas.

These are just a few of the interesting things you will find in your quest for knowledge of this great state.