Texas is home to more than 28 million inhabitants (according to 2017 estimate) and, its capital is in Austin. Texas is adjoined by Mexico and also other states in America including Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. The state of Texas lies in an area of 268,820 square miles (Hansen, 1969). Its highest point is Guadalupe peak, standing at an altitude of 8,749 feet above sea level. Because of its massive size, the topography of Texas is highly varied with ten climatic areas and eleven diverse ecological zones. The geography of Texas varies from mountains to forested country to prairies and coastal plains. Texas has fifteen important rivers and numerous streams, but has no major natural lakes. Ten percent of Texas is considered desert while the state also has coastal swamps, plains, woods, and hills. The type of rock found in an area has a direct effect on the topography, and Texas is not an exception.
The state of Texas is richly endowed with a great variety of rocks and minerals. Minerals and rocks make up the crust of the earth, and Texas has a wide variety of rocks and minerals. A mineral can be defined as a chemical element that occurs naturally whereas a rock is an aggregate or combination of one or more minerals. The three main groups of rocks are all found in Texas. These three groups of rocks are described below.
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Igneous rocks – are formed from the slow cooling of magma underground forming plutonic rocks such as granite whereas lava that cools on the surface results in volcanic rock such as basalt.
Metamorphic rocks – are generated from existing pieces of once-living organisms or other rocks. A rock that is subjected to heat and pressure can recrystallize and form a metamorphic rock.
Sedimentary rocks – are formed when mineral or organic particles are deposited on water bodies.
The state of Texas is a significant producer of minerals, found in its rocks. The minerals can be categorized as fuel/petroleum minerals and non-fuel/non-petroleum minerals. The use of minerals in Texas started in the prehistoric age with the use of clay for pottery making. With time and advances made in technology, Texas is today an essential producer of non-fuel mineral resources which are extracted for their economic importance. Non-petroleum minerals are used in the construction and chemical industries. Other non-petroleum minerals are gemstones which are primarily used as ornaments and jewelry. Preliminary data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in the year 2000, estimated the total value on non-fuel mineral production in the state of Texas at 2.05 billion U.S Dollars. Although petroleum minerals overshadow non-petroleum minerals in Texas, many of the non-petroleum minerals are still very important to the economy. The leading non-petroleum minerals in Texas are Portland cement, crushed stone, gravel, and construction sand. Together with salt, lime, and industrial sand, they account for more than 95% of the non-petroleum mineral value for Texas. Other non-petroleum minerals of great value are coal, fluorspar, gypsum, helium, limestone, and uranium (Fisher, 1965). Precious gemstones are also found in Texas. Blue Topaz, which is a rare mineral, is found in Texas, and it is the official gemstone of the State of Texas. Other precious gems found in Texas include Pearls, quartz, onyx, and feldspar.
Texas is a leading producer of oil in the United States together with the state of Oklahoma and California. The first Texas oil boom came in the summer of 1894 when the Corsicana oilfield was accidentally discovered by a contractor who was drilling for water to cater for the growing population. This is considered the first commercial oil discovery in Texas and is also referred to as the “gusher age.” This period brought about economic prosperity to the population and transformed the State from a sleepy agricultural center into a petroleum and industrial center. The Texas oil boom also brought about unprecedented economic growth in the early 20 th Century with the discovery of a large petroleum reserve near Beaumont, Texas. This oil find was massive, and it ushered in a period of rapid development and industrialization. It also attracted many people to take up jobs in the manufacturing sector and also service industries. The state of Texas was previously mostly rural with no large cities, but the oil boom gave rise to cities among them Houston which has the highest concentrations of refineries and associated petrochemical industries.
Oil remains one of the most significant natural resources for the State of Texas, and it is estimated that oil reserves form one-third of the total oil reserves in the United States of America. One of the largest oil fields in the United States, the Permian Basin, is found in the State of Texas and Texas is also the center of the country’s shale industry. Texas continues to produce more oil this year, and the projections are that the volume will continue to grow in the coming years. Technological advancements such as fracking and horizontal drilling continue to impact the extraction of oil and natural gas in Texas significantly (Briggle, 2015). Total production of oil in Texas alone this year has hit the four million barrels per day and is expected to reach over five million barrels by the year 2023. This has helped the United States of America to be dependent on its oil instead of depending on oil from OPEC countries (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Oil continues to be a vital product in modern society, powering industries and supplying energy to heat homes and powering the transportation sector. The oil from Texas will continue to play a vital role in moving the wheels of industry in the modern world for a long time to come.
References
Briggle, A. (2015). A field philosopher’s guide to fracking: How one Texas town stood up to big oil and gas . New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company.
Fisher, W. L. (1965). Rock and mineral resources of East Texas .
Hansen, H. (1969). Texas: A guide to the Lone Star State . New York: Hastings House.
