                                                 Zadorozhny A. 11A.
                           The thesis.

      Stretching 1,244  km  (773 mi) from east to west and 1,289 km
(801 mi) from north to south,  Texas, the Lone Star State, occupies
almost 7.5 percent of the total U.S.  land area.
      Early European explorers in the area were the Spaniards Alon-
so Alvarez  de Pineda,  Alvar Nunez CABEZA DE VACA ,  and Francisco
CORONADO .
      The sale (1803) of Louisiana to the United  States  increased
interest in Texas from the east.
      Colonization was so successful, however, that by 1836 the po-
pulation of Texas was 50,000.
      War broke out between the American settlers and  the  Mexican
government in 1835
      A provisional government was set up on Mar.  2, 1836.
      In February and March 1836 one of the most heroic battles  in
history occurred at the Alamo.
      On Mar.  2,  1836,  David Burnet was named provisional presi-
dent.
      On Dec.  29, 1845, the U.S. Congress accepted the Texas state
constitution, and Texas became the 28th state, with legal slavery.
      The MEXICAN WAR between the United States and Mexico followed
within a few months of Texas' entry into the union.
      The modern economic development of Texas started  in  January
1901  with the eruption of an oil well drilled at Spindletop,  near
Beaumont.
      Texas has  two  sources  of water:  aquifers and streams with
their reservoirs.
      Texas has  relatively few natural lakes but hundreds of arti-
ficial ones.
      Texas is the temporary home every  year  for  many  migratory
birds.
      Minerals represent a very significant part of the state's na-
tural wealth.
      The Texas  Panhandle  is one of the world's great natural-gas
reservoirs.
      Although surpassed in population only by California, Texas is
still considerably less crowded than the nation as a whole.
      Texas has 254 counties.
      Texas has several hundred public libraries--the largest being
those in Dallas and Houston.
      The first newspaper in Texas,  the Gaceta de Texas (Texas Ga-
zette),  was published in 1813 at Nacogdoches.
      Texas is among the nation's most important producers of mine-
rals.
      Texas attracts millions of  out-of-state  visitors  annually.
      The present Texas constitution was adopted on Feb.  15, 1876,
but has been amended many times.
      The cowboy of the American West,  a dashing figure in popular
novels  and films,  was in reality a poorly paid laborer engaged in
difficult and usually monotonous work.
      When the 20th century began,  about 3 million people lived in
Texas.
      Agriculture dominated the economy.
      USA had two presedent from Texas :  Lyndon B. JOHNSON and Ge-
orge BUSH.



