Natural Texas

Texas is in the Western hemisphere. This statement best answers which key question of geography?

• What is the place like?

• Where is the place?

• How is the place similar to and different from other places?

• How does geography relate to the past, present, and future of the place?

What did the people of Galveston do to prevent another tragedy like the one in 1900?

• They built a seawall to protect the city against future hurricanes.

• They cut the surrounding forests to prevent forest fires.

• They created landfills along the coastline to prevent erosion.

• They passed a law requiring every house to have a tornado shelter

On which of Texas’s geographic features has drought caused particular stress?

• aquifers

• mountains

• escarpments

• plateaus

Heading west, toward the interior, the land rises gently until you reach an escarpment, or a long cliff called the Balcones (bal·KOH·neez) Escarpment. It was formed millions of years ago by a massive earthquake, and it runs along a fault line. The Balcones Escarpment cuts across a large area of Texas from north to south. The Edwards Plateau is an uplifted and elevated region, north and slightly west of the Balcones Escarpment. It was formed when the area was covered by ocean millions of years ago. The western portion of the plateau is mainly flat while the eastern portion, known as the Hill Country, has been greatly eroded. —Texas History

Based on the excerpt, which statement regarding the geography of Texas is true?

• The geography of Texas has never changed.

• The landforms of Texas are uniform across the state.

• The geography of Texas has changed greatly over millions of years.

• Earthquakes have been common in Texas in the last century

Why do the Davis Mountains receive almost double the annual rainfall of the nearby Chihuahua Desert?

• Variations in climate affect elevation.

• Temperatures tend to increase as elevation increases

• The Davis Mountains are hundreds of miles south of the Chihuahua Desert

• Elevation affects rainfall.

Most of the highest mountains in Texas are found in which part of the state?

• north

• south

• east

• west

What is the approximate population of Texas?

• 6 million

• 26 million

• 46 million

• 66 million

More than 10,000 miles (16,000 km) of railroad tracks cross Texas. This statement best relates to which key question of geography?

• How are people in that place linked with other people and other places?

• Where is the place?

• How is the place similar to and different from other places?

• How does geography relate to the past, present, and future of the place?

What do Texans do with some of the land that is not suitable for growing crops?

• They use it as wildlife preserves.

• They burn off the scrub grasses to restore the farmland.

• They use it to raise livestock

• They turn it into aquifers to help irrigate farmland.

Which of the following statements is true regarding aquifers in Texas?

• Aquifers have been positively affected by the interactions between humans and the environment.

• Too little water is pumped out of Texas’s aquifers.

• More water has been taken out of the aquifers than is ecologically wise.

• It is fortunate that aquifers are underground, so they are unaffected by drought.