The City of Houston Texas

Image of Houston Texas

Houston (/ ˈhjuːstən/ (About this soundlisten) HEW-stən) is the most populated city in the U.S. state of Texas, 4th most populous city in the United States, most populated city in the Southern United States, as well as the sixth most populated in North America, with an estimated 2018 population of 2,325,502. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston city area, which is the 5th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second most populated in Texas after the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, with a population of 6,997,384 in 2018.

Houston is the eighth most extensive city in the United States (including combined city-counties). Mostly in Harris County, small portions of the city extend into Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, surrounding other primary communities of Greater Houston such as Sugar Land and The Woodlands.

The city of Houston was founded by land financiers on August 30, 1836, at the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and White Oak Bayou (a point now called Allen’s Landing)  and incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city is called after former General Sam Houston, who was president of the Republic of Texas and had actually won Texas’ self-reliance from Mexico at the Battle of San Jacinto 25 miles (40 km) east of Allen’s Landing.  After briefly serving as the capital of the Texas Republic in the late 1830s, Houston grew progressively into a regional trading center for the remainder of the 19th century. Houston government employment.

Houston Data

Coordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″WCoordinates: 29°45′46″N 95°22′59″W
Country  United States
State  Texas
Counties Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery
Incorporated June 5, 1837
Named for Sam Houston
Government

 • Type Mayor–council
 • Body Houston City Council
 • Mayor Sylvester Turner (D)
Area

 • City 637.4 sq mi (1,650.86 km2)
 • Land 599.59 sq mi (1,552.93 km2)
 • Metro

1,062 sq mi (2,750 km2)
Elevation

80 ft (32 m)
Population

 (2010)
 • City 2,099,451
 • Estimate

(2017)
2,325,502
 • Rank US: 4th
 • Density 3,502/sq mi (1,354/km2)
 • Urban

4,944,332 (7th U.S.)
 • Metro

6,997,384 (5th U.S.)
 • Demonym

Houstonian
Time zone UTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
770xx, 772xx (P.O. Boxes)
Area codes 713, 281, 832, 346
FIPS code 48-35000
GNIS feature ID 1380948
Major airports George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
Interstates I-10 (TX).svg I-45 (TX).svg I-69 (TX).svg I-610 (TX).svg
U.S. routes US 59.svg US 90.svg US 290.svg
Rapid transit HoustonMetroRedLine.svg HoustonMetroPurpleLine.svg HoustonMetroGreenLine.svg
Website www.houstontx.gov

 

Geography

Houston is located 165 miles (266 km) east of Austin, 88 miles (142 km) west of the Louisiana border, and 250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas. The city has a total area of 637.4 square miles (1,651 km2); this consists of over 599.59 square miles (1,552.9 km2) of land and 22.3 square miles (58 km2) covered by water. The majority of Houston is located on the gulf coastal plain, and its plant life is classified as Western Gulf coastal grasslands while additional north, it transitions into a subtropical jungle, the Big Thicket. Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, or swamps, and are all still visible in surrounding areas. Flat surface and extensive greenfield advancement have combined to get worse flooding.  Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above water level, and the acme in far northwest Houston has to do with 150 feet (46 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.

Houston has four significant bayous passing through the city that accept water from the comprehensive drainage system. The ship channel continues past Galveston and then into the Gulf of Mexico.

Geology

Houston is a flat marshy area where a substantial drain system has been built. The adjoining grassy field land drains pipes into the city, which is prone to flooding.  Underpinning Houston’s land surface area are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and badly cemented sands as much as several miles deep. The area’s geology developed from river deposits formed from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays transferred on decomposing organic marine matter, that with time, transformed into oil and gas. Beneath the layers of sediment is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed in time and forced upward. As it pressed up, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into salt dome formations, frequently trapping oil and gas that leaked from the surrounding porous sands. The thick, rich, often black, surface area soil is suitable for rice farming in suburban borders where the city continues to grow.

No substantial traditionally recorded earthquakes have actually taken place in Houston, however scientists do not discount the possibility of such quakes having happened in the much deeper past, nor taking place in the future. Land in some locations southeast of Houston is sinking due to the fact that water has actually been pumped out of the ground for numerous years. It might be associated with slip along the faults; however, the slippage is sluggish and not thought about an earthquake, where fixed faults should slip unexpectedly enough to create seismic waves.

Economy

Houston is acknowledged worldwide for its energy market– particularly for oil and gas– in addition to for biomedical research and aeronautics. Renewable resource sources– wind and solar– are likewise growing financial bases in the city.  The Houston Ship Channel is likewise a large part of Houston’s financial base. Because of these strengths, Houston is designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network and global management consulting company A.T. Kearney. The Houston area is the leading U.S. market for exports, surpassing New York City in 2013, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. In 2012, the Houston– The Woodlands– Sugar Land area recorded $110.3 billion in merchandise exports. Petroleum items, chemicals, and oil and gas extraction equipment accounted for approximately two-thirds of the metropolitan area’s exports in 2015. The top three locations for exports were Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.

The Houston area is a leading center for developing oilfield devices. Unlike a lot of locations, high oil and gas costs are beneficial for Houston’s economy, as numerous of its residents are used in the energy industry. Houston is the start or end point of many oil, gas, and products pipelines.

The Houston– The Woodlands– Sugar Land city area’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 was $478 billion, making it the sixth-largest of any cosmopolitan area in the United States and bigger than Iran’s, Colombia’s, or the United Arab Emirates’ GDP. Just 27 countries other than the United States have a gross domestic product exceeding Houston’s regional gross area product (GAP). In 2010, mining (which consists practically completely of expedition and production of oil and gas in Houston) accounted for 26.3% of Houston’s GAP up dramatically in reaction to high energy rates and a reduced worldwide surplus of oil production capacity, followed by engineering services, health services, and manufacturing. Houston Animal Control.

Houston, TX Zip Codes

77002 77003 77004 77005 77006 77007 77008 77009 77010 77011 77012 77013 77014 77015 77016 77017 77018 77019 77020 77021 77022 77023 77024 77025 77026 77027 77028 77029 77030 77031 77032 77033 77034 77035 77036 77037 77038 77039 77040 77041 77042 77043 77044 77045 77046 77047 77048 77049 77050 77051 77053 77054 77055 77056 77057 77058 77059 77060 77061 77062 77063 77064 77065 77066 77067 77068 77069 77070 77071 77072 77073 77074 77075 77076 77077 77078 77079 77080 77081 77082 77083 77084 77085 77086 77087 77088 77089 77090 77091 77092 77093 77094 77095 77096 77098 77099 77201