Top Regions of The Lone Star State

10. Piney Woods Region

Beaumont, Nacogdoches, and Tyler

9. Forts Region

Abilene and San Angelo

8. Pecos Region

Midland, Odessa, and Del Rio

Amistad National Recreation Area (NPS)

7. Brazos Region

Waco

- - Waco Mammoth National Monument
  - Waco Suspension Bridge National Historic Landmark and the “Branding the Brazos” Sculpture along the Brazos River and the Waco Riverwalk
  - Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum at Fort Fisher Park
  - Dr. Pepper Museum
  - Downtown Austin Avenue – Waco Hippodrome Theatre, Waco Downtown Farmers Market, McLennan County Courthouse, and Waco City Hall

6. Panhandle-Plains Region

Palo Duro Canyon State Park and the TEXAS Outdoor Musical

Texas’ portion of old Route 66

- - U-Drop Inn in Shamrock
  - Leaning Tower and Largest Cross in Groom
  - Big Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo
  - Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo
  - Midpoint Café in Adrian

Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument

5. Tropical Region

Corpus Christi: Padre Island National Seashore

Brownsville: Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park

Laredo: Rio Grande Republic Museum

Saint Mary's Church in High Hill — Saint Mary’s Church in High Hill, Schulenburg, Texas

4. Independence-Gulf Coast Region

Houston

- - Houston Space Center
  - Battleship Texas State Historic Site
  - San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site
  - Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
  - Bats of Waugh Drive Bridge and Buffalo Bayou Park

Galveston

- - Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier
  - First Navy of the Republic of Texas and 1877 Tall Ship Elissa
  - Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum
  - Galveston-Port Bolivar Ferry
  - Galveston Seawall

Painted Churches of Texas

- - Saint Mary’s Church in High Hill and Saints Cyril and Methodius Church (Schulenburg)
  - Saint Mary’s Church in Praha (Flatonia)
  - Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ammannsville (La Grange)

Reunion Tower

3. Metroplex Region

Dallas-Fort Worth

- - Reunion Tower and skyline
  - Stockyards National Historic District
  - Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and the Grassy Knoll with the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza
  - Sundance Square
  - Dallas Cattle Drive Sculptures at Pioneer Plaza

2. Mountain Region

Big Bend National Park (World Heritage Tentative List)

- - Big Bend Ranch State Park
  - Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River
  - Marfa (nearby)

Guadalupe Mountains National Park

- - Guadalupe Peak
  - El Capitan
  - Salt Basin Dunes

El Paso

- - Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site
  - Castner Range – located north of El Paso, it is currently Castner Range Fort Bliss Military Reservation – assigned to be partially opened to the public and it’s a proposed national monument (castnerrangenationalmonument.org)
  - Franklin Mountains State Park

1. Hill Region

San Antonio

- - The Alamo and the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park – a World Heritage Site
  - San Antonio Riverwalk
  - San Fernando Cathedral
  - Spanish Governor’s Palace
  - Historic Market Square (El Mercado)

Austin – “Live Music Capital of the World”

- - Bats of Congress Bridge
  - 6th Street live music
  - “Keep Austin Weird” small businesses
  - South by Southwest (SxSW)
  - Austin City Limits

Texas Hill Country

- - Bandera – “The Cowboy Capital of the World” dude ranches and rodeos
  - Kingsland and Willow City Loop bluebonnets
  - Jacobs Well
  - Hamilton Pool
  - Texas Longhorn Herd

State Info

A) State Nicknames

- - The Lone Star State
  - The Friendship State

B) State Symbols

- - Flower: Bluebonnets (Lupinus spp., especially Texas bluebonnet, L. texensis)
  - Tree: Pecan (Carya illinoinensis)
  - Bird: Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
  - Mammal (small): Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus)
  - Mammal (large): Texas Longhorn (Bos taurus)
  - Mammal (flying): Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)

C) Major Metros

1. 1. Dallas-Fort Worth (largest metro)
  2. Houston (largest city)
  3. San Antonio
  4. Austin (state capital)
  5. El Paso