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40-641: The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission (SETRPC) is a voluntary association of cities, counties and special districts in Southeast Texas . It provides support to its members in several areas including grant and budget administration, aging assistance, community development, disaster recovery, emergency communications, children at risk, Homeland Security initiatives, public safety liaison services, substance abuse prevention coordination, transportation, and environmental services. Based in Beaumont ,

80-651: A part of East Texas , the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan statistical areas with a combined population of 7,662,325 according to the 2020 U.S. census . Southeast Texas includes part of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and most of the Texas portion of the Intracoastal Waterway . The area is also crossed by numerous rivers and streams,

120-566: Is also the second principal location for collegiate sports. Participants enjoy activities from running in Memorial Park to sailing on Galveston Bay and Clear Lake. A number of other sports are also available, including nearly a dozen fencing clubs, ranging from recreational clubs to elite competitive organizations. There are a variety of highways stretching between the Greater Houston and Beaumont metropolitan areas, connecting

160-531: Is closer to Acadiana in Louisiana or the Gulf Coast of Mississippi , than it is to West Texas ; among some of its population, Cajun and Creole identity has been preserved and can be seen during cultural celebrations such as Mardi Gras . Much of contemporary Southeast Texas has its roots in traditions that go back generations; the region is consistent with much of northern and eastern Texas in that it

200-680: Is part of the Bible Belt —an area in which many inhabitants have strongly traditional Protestant Christian beliefs. Additionally, the Catholic Church in the United States has remained a prominent religious influence since Spanish colonization and missionary work. Among its largest cities in East Texas outside Houston, many still follow a rural Southern way of life, especially in dialect, mannerisms, and cuisine . In

240-599: Is planned by the Tarrant Regional Water District, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Streams & Valleys Inc., and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop an area north of "downtown" as "uptown" along the Trinity River. This plan promotes a large mixed-use development adjacent to the central city area of Fort Worth, with a goal to prevent urban sprawl by promoting the growth of a healthy, vibrant urban core. The Trinity River Vision lays

280-499: Is under construction and is helping to fulfill their mission, as directed by Congress in cooperation with the city of Dallas. It is helping to lower flood risk, and provide ecosystem restoration and recreation to the citizens of Dallas. The Trinity River Corridor Project is intended to transform the Trinity River flood zone in downtown Dallas into the nation's largest urban park, featuring three signature bridges designed by acclaimed architect Santiago Calatrava . A similar project

320-598: The Gulf of Mexico . The bay covers approximately 600 square miles (1,500 km ), and is 30 miles (50 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide. Galveston Bay is on average 7–9   feet (2-3   m) deep. The bay has three inlets to the Gulf of Mexico: Bolivar Roads (the exit of the Houston Ship Channel ) between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula , San Luis Pass to the west, and Rollover Pass to

360-483: The Houston Street Viaduct ) was opened with festivities that drew 58,000 spectators. At that time, the bridge was the longest concrete structure in the world. Following from the 1908 flooding, levees were first constructed in 1932. They were heightened in 1960 to the 30 ft that has been maintained to the early 21st century. Current plans to improve the existing levees are part of what is known as

400-417: The "Lightning Capital of Texas" , as its density of lightning strikes is higher than it is in other parts of the state. This area of unusually high lightning activity stretches from Houston eastward into Southwest Louisiana. Much of this can be explained by the natural occurrence of thunderstorms in the region, which form almost daily during the wet season. However, the unusual clustering of lightning around

440-499: The 21st century include Hurricane Rita in 2005; Hurricane Ike , which passed over much of Houston and surrounding areas in 2008; and Hurricane Harvey , which inundated Southeast Texas in 2017. Weaker storms strike the area routinely. Some, like Tropical Storm Allison and Tropical Storm Claudette , have caused considerable damage. "NowData - NOAA Online Weather Data" . National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration . Retrieved August 27, 2021 . The culture of Southeast Texas

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480-763: The Big Thicket: to the north lies the old cattle route or Beef Trail, that ran from Tyler County to Louisiana; to the south is the Spanish Trail or the Atascosito Road, that parallels modern Highway   90 and Interstate   10 from Liberty to Orange. Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texas upper coast. The bay is fed by the Trinity River and the San Jacinto River , numerous local bayous, and incoming tides from

520-629: The Elm Fork merge as they enter the city of Dallas . The East Fork Trinity River (on old maps the Bois d'Arc River) begins near McKinney, Texas , and flows through Lavon Lake and then Lake Ray Hubbard before joining the Trinity River just southeast of Dallas. The Trinity flows southeast from Dallas across a fertile floodplain and the pine forests of eastern Texas. The Trinity crosses Texas State Highway 31 in Henderson County , near where

560-577: The Golden Triangle is 60 inches (1,500 mm). Rainfall totals in other parts of Southeast Texas are lower, but still in excess of 40   inches (1,000 mm) per year. During Tropical Storm Claudette in 1979, the city of Alvin recorded an official 24-hour rainfall total of 42   inches (1,067 mm)—the highest one-day rainfall total ever measured in the United States . Nederland received 66 inches during Harvey. Houston has been called

600-481: The Golden Triangle. Some residents of the Golden Triangle do not consider the Greater Houston area to be part of Southeast Texas and place the western boundary of the region approximately at the Trinity River , which is roughly 30 miles from downtown Houston. This area holds the annual South Texas State Fair in Beaumont. The Big Thicket is an area of dense forest located in the area just north and northwest of

640-568: The Louisiana border. The "triangle" is formed by Beaumont , Port Arthur , and Orange , which are the largest cities in the area. "Golden" refers to the wealth that came from the Spindletop oil strike near Beaumont in 1901. In an attempt to distance the area from the petrochemical industry , some area interests attempted to rename the Golden Triangle as the "Triplex." This name change did not catch on, and local residents still refer to it as

680-573: The South East Texas Regional Planning Commission is a member of the Texas Association of Regional Councils . This Texas -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas , bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being

720-658: The cities, agriculture , tourism and small business have always been major factors in the economy. The University of Houston System is the largest and most prominent university system based in Southeast Texas, although Texas Southern University , Prairie View A&M University , the University of Saint Thomas , Houston Christian University , and others are also notable subjects to the region's undergraduate and postgraduate systems. Rice University in Houston

760-529: The city of Fort Worth . The Clear Fork Trinity River begins north of Weatherford, Texas , and flows southeastward through Lake Weatherford and Benbrook Lake reservoirs. It flows northeastward, where it joins the West Fork near downtown Fort Worth and continues as the West Fork. The Elm Fork Trinity River flows south from near Gainesville through Ray Roberts Lake and east of the city of Denton , eventually through Lewisville Lake . The West Fork and

800-552: The city of Beaumont. There are many small towns in this area, including Woodville and Kountze . The Big Thicket National Preserve protects part of the old thicket, highlighting the area's biological resources. The 97,000 acre (390 km ) preserve boasts a varied ecology of piney woods, swamps, and coastal prairies . It includes extremely diverse range of plant species including orchids, cactus, cypress, and pine in close proximity to each other. Approximately 65,000 people visit this area each year. Two historically important routes cross

840-569: The city's citizenry wanted to find a way to control the unpredictable Trinity River and to build a bridge linking Oak Cliff and Dallas. The immediate reaction was clamor to build an indestructible, all-weather crossing over the Trinity. This had already been tried following the 1890 flood; the result was the "Long Wooden Bridge" that connected Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff and Cadiz in Dallas, but

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880-498: The coast is at High Island , where a salt dome raises the elevation to around 40   feet (12   m) above sea level. Away from the coast, the terrain begins to exhibit the rolling hills of Northeast and Central Texas . Toward Central Texas, the mixed pine and hardwood forests give way to the East Central Texas forests of post oak and grasslands. The Golden Triangle is an area of extreme Southeast Texas near

920-552: The communities to the remainder of the Gulf Coast region of the United States , and the Texas Triangle . Among other modes of transportation, the largest airports operating in Southeast Texas are all stationed in the city of Houston. First Freeway Section width: mainlanes (HOV) Traffic Count, 2001 (AADT) Traffic Count, 2009 (AADT) Traffic Count, 2012 (AADT) Trinity River (Texas) The Trinity River

960-402: The developed areas of Houston, the Golden Triangle, and Lake Charles, Louisiana have led many researchers to believe that some combination of urban heat islands and air pollution are responsible for increasing the number of lightning strikes beyond even the already-high natural levels. Southeast Texas is vulnerable to hurricanes . Major hurricanes that have severely affected the area in

1000-453: The east. The Houston Ship Channel, connecting the Port of Houston to the Gulf, passes through Galveston Bay. Houston is the largest city on the bay, while smaller ones include Galveston, Pasadena , Baytown , and Texas City . The bay provides nursery and spawning grounds for large amounts of marine life and is important for both commercial and recreational fishing . Compared to the rest of

1040-411: The first county seat, Buffalo, was established. Roughly 65 miles (105 km) north of the mouth on Galveston Bay, an earthen dam was built in 1968 to form Lake Livingston . The river empties into Trinity Bay , an arm of Galveston Bay that is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico . Its river mouth is near the town of Anahuac , southeast of Houston . Plans from the 1890s for a shipping channel along

1080-465: The groundwork to enable Fort Worth 's central business district to double in size over the next forty years. Major flooding occurred on the Trinity River in the years 1844, 1866, 1871, and 1890, but a major event in the spring of 1908 set in motion the harnessing of the river. On 26 May 1908, the Trinity River reached a depth of 52.6 feet (16.03 m) and a width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Five people died, 4,000 were left homeless, and property damage

1120-611: The largest three being the Sabine River , the Neches River , and the Trinity River . In Southeast Texas and the rest of the Southern United States , small rivers and creeks collect into swamps called " bayous " and merge with the surrounding forest. The only large bodies of water in Southeast Texas are Galveston Bay and Sabine Lake , but the large reservoirs of the remainder of East Texas are just to

1160-427: The length of the Trinity River were scrapped because it would have required extensive dredging to make the river navigable, although several overpasses were built with very high clearances in anticipation of the shipping channel. Locks were actually built 13 miles downstream of Dallas in the early 1900s. Original federal plans called for building 36 locks and dams from Trinity Bay near Houston to Dallas. The first built

1200-401: The middle of the current and began breaking up, first into large sections and then into smaller pieces, rushing madly along to some uncertain destination. [Approximately half a dozen of the workmen fell into the torrent at this point; exaggerated reports of their drowning swept the city.] Dallas was without power for three days, all telephone and telegraph service was down, and rail service

1240-479: The north. The eastern portion of Southeast Texas is geographically and culturally attached to Southwest Louisiana, though western, southern and northern areas maintain their own distinct Texan cultural identities . Near the coast, the land is low and extremely flat, and often marshy . The Piney Woods extend into the northern parts of Southeast Texas, reaching as far south as the rice paddies and marshlands that lie between Houston and Beaumont. The highest point on

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1280-658: The resulting unstable bridge was easily washed away by the 1908 flood. George B. Dealey , publisher of the Dallas Morning News , proposed a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) concrete bridge based on the design of a bridge crossing the Missouri River in Kansas City . Ultimately, a US$ 650,000 (US$ 20.5 million in today's terms) bond election was approved and in 1912, the Oak Cliff Viaduct (now

1320-778: The river, Riviere des canoës ("River of Canoes"). In 1690 Spanish explorer Alonso de León named it, "La Santísima Trinidad" ("the Most Holy Trinity"). The Trinity River has four branches: the West Fork, the Clear Fork, the Elm Fork, and the East Fork. The West Fork Trinity River has its headwaters in Archer County . From there it flows southeast, through the man-made reservoirs Lake Bridgeport and Eagle Mountain Lake , and eastward through Lake Worth and

1360-483: The state, Southeast Texas' climate is warmer in winter and cooler in summer. On average, the region receives more rain than other parts of the state, and it experiences a wet season and dry season like the tropics . This can increase the humidity level in the region. The relatively mild and wet climate is largely due to the influence of the Gulf of Mexico. The Southeast Texas region can be comparable to that of Southern Louisiana in climate. Average annual rainfall in

1400-437: The urban areas of Southeast Texas, energy , healthcare , manufacturing and technology are prominent industries. Houston is the largest city and economic center of Southeast Texas, and it holds the third most Fortune 500 headquarters by concentration in the U.S. as of 2021. Major corporations in the region include APA Corporation , Chevron Corporation , HostGator , Jason's Deli , JPMorgan Chase , and Sysco . Outside of

1440-589: Was Lock and Dam No. 1 in the city of Dallas at McCommas Bluff, directly west of Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Lock construction came to a standstill in the wake of World War I, however. Only Lock and Dam Nos. 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 20 and 25 were built. There are currently no plans for addressing these old locks located in various spots along the Trinity River. However, the Corps is working nearby on the Dallas Floodway Extension Project. The DFE Project

1480-489: Was canceled. The only way to reach Oak Cliff was by boat. West Dallas was hit harder than any other part of the city—the Dallas Times Herald said "indescribable suffering" plagued the area. Much to the horror of residents, thousands of livestock drowned in the flood and some became lodged in the tops of trees. The stench of their decay hung over the city as the water subsided. After the disastrous flood,

1520-466: Was estimated at $ 2.5 million. Now the wreckage of a shed or outhouse would move by, followed by a drowned swine or other livestock . The construction forces of the Texas & Pacific worked feverishly to safeguard the long trestle carrying their tracks across the stream. Suddenly, this whole structure turned on its side down-stream, broke loose from the rest of the track at one end and swung out into

1560-733: Was previously identified as the stream that the Caddo called Arkikosa in Central Texas and Daycoa nearer the coast. However, in 2022, language preservationists from the Caddo Nation determined their ancestral language lacked the letter “R” sound. Arkikosa was likely a corruption or misspelling of the word Akokisa. In the vernacular of another tribe, the Atakapa who settled in the Gulf Coast woodlands, Akokisa means “river people.” French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle , in 1687, named

1600-578: Was ranked 15th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report as of 2022. In areas closer to Beaumont, Lamar University within the Texas State University System is the center of higher education. Within Southeast Texas, the city of Houston and its metropolitan area has a rich sporting culture and area residents are active in many spectator and participant sports. Spectators attend events including teams from four major professional sports teams and collegiate sports ; Beaumont

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