2. What is Houston?
• Houston is a large metropolis in Texas, extending to Galveston Bay. It’s
closely linked with the Space Center Houston, the coastal visitor center at
NASA’s astronaut training and flight control complex. The city’s relatively
compact Downtown includes the Theater District, home to the renowned
Houston Grand Opera, and the Historic District, with 19th-century
architecture and upscale restaurants.
3. • Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the fourth-most populous
city in the United States, located in Southeast Texas near the Gulf of Mexico.
With a census-estimated 2014 population of 2.239 million within an area of
667 square miles (1,730 km2), it also is the largest city in the Southern United
States, as well as the seat of Harris County. It is the principal city of
Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, which is the fifth-most populated
metropolitan area in the United States of America.
4. History
• In August 1836, two real estate entrepreneurs from New York—Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby
Allen—purchased 6,642 acres (26.88 km2) of land along Buffalo Bayou with the intent of founding a city.
The Allen brothers decided to name the city after Sam Houston, the popular general at the Battle of San
Jacinto, who was elected President of Texas in September 1836. The great majority of slaves in Texas came
with their owners from the older slave states. Sizable numbers, however, came through the domestic slave
trade. New Orleans was the center of this trade in the Deep South, but slave dealers were in Houston.
Thousands of enslaved African Americans lived near the city before the Civil War. Many of them near the
city worked on sugar and cotton plantations, while most of those in the city limits had domestic and artisan
jobs. Houston was granted incorporation on June 5, 1837, with James S. Holman becoming its first mayor. In
the same year, Houston became the county seat of Harrisburg County (now Harris County) and the
temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. In 1840, the community established a chamber of commerce in
part to promote shipping and waterborne business at the newly created port on Buffalo Bayou.
5. Geography
• Houston is located 165 miles (266 km) east of Austin, 112 miles (180 km) west of the Louisiana border, and
250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 656.3 square miles (1,700 km2); this comprises 634.0 square miles (1,642 km2) of land and 22.3 square
miles (58 km2) covered by water. The Piney Woods are north of Houston. Most of Houston is located on
the gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and forest. Much of the city was
built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie which resembles the Deep South, and are all still visible in
surrounding areas. The flatness of the local terrain, when combined with urban sprawl, has made flooding a
recurring problem for the city. Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level, and the highest point
in far northwest Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation. The city once relied on groundwater for its
needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston, Lake
Conroe, and Lake Livingston. The city owns surface water rights for 1.20 billion gallons of water a day in
addition to 150 million gallons a day of groundwater.
6. Geology
• Underpinning Houston's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and
poorly cemented sands up to several miles deep. The region's geology developed
from river deposits formed from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These
sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic
marine matter, that over time, transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath the
layers of sediment is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers
were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt
dragged surrounding sediments into salt dome formations, often trapping oil and
gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands. The thick, rich, sometimes
black, surface soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban outskirts where the city
continues to grow.
7. Climate
• Houston's climate is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa in the Köppen
climate classification system), typical of the lower South. While not located
in "Tornado Alley", like much of the rest of Texas, spring supercell
thunderstorms sometimes bring tornadoes to the area. Prevailing winds are
from the south and southeast during most of the year, which bring heat and
moisture from the nearby Gulf of Mexico.
8. Cityscape
• Houston was incorporated in 1837 under the ward system of representation.
The ward designation is the progenitor of the 11 current-day geographically
oriented Houston City Council districts. Locations in Houston are generally
classified as either being inside or outside the Interstate 610 Loop. The inside
encompasses the central business district and many residential
neighborhoods that antedate World War II. More recently, high-density
residential areas have been developed within the loop. The city's outlying
areas, suburbs, and enclaves are located outside of the loop. Beltway 8
encircles the city another 5 miles (8.0 km) farther out.
9. Architecture
• Houston has the fourth-tallest skyline in North America (after New York
City, Chicago, and Toronto) and 12th-tallest in the world, as of
2014.[72][73][74] A seven-mile (11 km) system of tunnels and skywalks links
downtown buildings containing shops and restaurants, enabling pedestrians
to avoid summer heat and rain while walking between buildings.
