El Paso stands on the Rio Grande (Río Bravo del Norte), across the border from Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The image to the right shows Downtown El Paso and Juárez, with the Juárez Mountains in the background. The two cities form a combined International Area with Juarez being the significantly larger of the two. Together they have a combined population of 2 million, with Juárez accounting for 2/3 of the population. Given the proximity of the Las Cruces metropolitan area and its population of 201,603, the El Paso-Las Cruces combined population is 943,665 and with Ciudad Juarez, an international combined population of 2,993,313.

El Paso is home to the University of Texas at El Paso (founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy, and later named Texas Western College and Texas Western University) and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso. Fort Bliss, one of the largest military complexes of the United States Army, lies to the east and northeast of the city, with training areas extending north into New Mexico, up to the White Sands Missile Range and neighboring Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo.

Named after Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez, Galveston’s first European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816. The Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its successful revolution from Spain. The city served as the main port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution and later served as the capital of the Republic of Texas.

Much of Galveston’s modern economy is centered in the tourism, health care, shipping and financial industries. The 84-acre (340,000 sq m) University of Texas Medical Branch campus with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students is a major economic force of the city. Galveston is home to six historic districts containing one of the largest and historically significant collections of nineteenth-century buildings with over 60 structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Dallas, with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of 6,300,006 as of July 2008. The Dallas/Ft. Worth area is the fourth largest and number one fastest-growing (by population) metropolitan area in the United States.

Founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city in February, 1856, the city’s economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, and transportation; only New York City and Houston are home to more Fortune 500 headquarters in the city limits. and a major city in the Located in North TexasAmerican South/Southwest, Dallas is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city’s prominence despite this comes from its historical importance as a center for the industries, its position along numerous railroad lines, a strong industrial and financial sector, and its status as a major oil and cottoninland port (due largely to the presence of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, one of the largest and busiest in the world).

San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States. Located in the American Southwest and the northern part of South Texas, San Antonio is the epicenter of Tejano culture and Texas tourism. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing large city in the nation from 2000-2006 and the fifth-fastest-growing from 2007 to 2008. Its metropolitan area has a population of 2,031,445 based on the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, making it the 28th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S and third in Texas (behind Dallas/ Fort Worth and Houston). The city is the seat of Bexar County with a population of 1,351,305 as of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate.

The city was named for the Portuguese St. Anthony, whose feast day is on June 13, when a Spanish expedition stopped in the area in 1691. Famous for Spanish missions, the Alamo, the River Walk, the Tower of the Americas, and host to Seaworld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme parks, the city is visited by approximately 26 million tourists per year according to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau. The city is home to the four-time NBA champion San Antonio Spurs and the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest in the country.

Texas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States. The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning “friends” or “allies”. Located in the South Central United States, Texas is bordered by Mexico to the south, New Mexico to the west, Oklahoma to the north, Arkansas to the northeast, and Louisiana to the east. Texas has an area of 268,820 square miles (696,200 square km), and a growing population of 24.6 million residents. Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, while Dallas–Fort Worth and Houston are the 4th and 6th largest United States metropolitan areas. Other major cities include San Antonio, El Paso, and Austin—the state capital. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State to signify Texas as an independent republic and as a reminder of the state’s struggle for independence from Mexico. The “Lone Star” can be found on the Texas State Flag and on the Texas State Seal today.

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles (1,600 square km). Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area—the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population over 5.7 million.

Houston’s economy has a broad industrial base in the energy, manufacturing, aeronautics, transportation, and health care sectors and is a leading center for building oilfield equipment; only New York City is home to more Fortune 500 headquarters in the city limits. The Port of Houston ranks first in the United States in international waterborne tonnage handled and second in total cargo tonnage handled. The city has a population from various ethnic and religious backgrounds and a large and growing international community. It is home to many cultural institutions and exhibits—attracting more than 7 million visitors a year to the Houston Museum District. Houston has an active visual and performing arts scene in the Theater District and is one of few U.S. cities that offer year-round resident companies in all major performing arts.