Burma Travel Guide

Admin | February 12, 2012 | Comments Off

Burma Travel Guide

Burma Travel Guide

Texas is just too vast in size to be subjected to one stereotype. The greenery, the swamp, the heat, the blues, the sea and the mixture of Western, Southern and Cajun/ Creole traditions characterize this landscape. This antithesis of urban and rural life offers variety and cultural uniqueness for any individual traveling through this portion of the Lone Star State.

Geography

Water is a part of daily life in Southeast Texas, where extensive networks of rivers, creeks and bayous make their way into the Gulf of Mexico. Houston, also known by locals as the Bayou City, is where one can ride their boat from the downtown area out into the ocean, due to its extensive waterway network. Most of the land is extremely flat, seldom reaching above 50 ft., and some swamps canvass areas near the Sabine River along the Texas/ Louisiana border. Farther north and away from the coast, the landscape is characterized by dense pine tree forests, often used by the timber industry.

Southeast Texas is most often divided into the following three geographical sub-regions:

  • The Golden Triangle: This is the eastern-most area of the region in which the cities of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange form a triangle. The "golden" in the title refers to the wealth produced by the thriving oil industry that dominates the three cities and all int between.
  • The Big Thicket: The Big Thicket is an area of dense forest north of Beaumont and is the beginning of the Piney Woods. This area is made up of many small towns and has almost no urbanization whatsoever.
  • Galveston Bay: The western portion of Southeast Texas is Galveston Bay where a large estuary feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. This is the most heavily urbanized area with Houston, Galveston, and many smaller cities lying along or near the bay shores. The Port of Houston, one of the largest ports in the world, connects to the gulf through Galveston Bay.

Culture

The cultural landscape within the region varies. If traveling through the Houston metropolitan area, one will encounter a mixture of cultures as well as several ethnic enclaves. The Houston is often noted as one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the country with Mexican, European, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Nigerian, Mediterranean cultures contributing their influences.