Texas - The Lone Star State Trivia Quiz

Answer: By area Texas is the second largest state of the United States of America

Texas is second only to Alaska in size - largest to smallest - of the fifty states of the United States of America. The boundaries as we know them (in the early 21st century) for Texas were established in 1850 - roughly five years after Texas was admitted as a state.

Its area of over 268,000 square miles would place it in the top 50 largest countries of the world if it were an independent nation.

Answer: Largest state capitol building

In terms of square footage it is the largest state capitol building in the U.S.A. - as of 2016. The building has an area of 360,000 square feet (above ground) - more than any other state building. By comparison, the capitol building of the U.S.A. (in Washington, D.C.) covers a ground area of 175,170 square feet. Renovations to the capitol building in Austin that were completed in 1993 added an underground extension of more than 665,000 square feet. Maybe everything really is bigger in Texas!

Answer: Rio Grande

It is the Rio Grande - or, Big River, as is the translation from the Spanish language. Other native American people shared the same descriptive name ("Big River") for the Rio Grande in their respective languages. Although there are discrepancies is how the length of the Rio Grande is determined, it is still among the top five longest river systems in North America. Those monikers may be somewhat misleading, though, because the Rio Grande is not a very deep river.

It is not considered a major navigable river and offers few opportunities for practical transportation.

Answer: The Alamo

Do you remember facts about the mission, the battle, the legend? "Remember the Alamo" became the battle cry that inspired Texans to fight and win their freedom from Mexico. Among those who died at the Alamo - during that battle of 1836 - were William B. Travis, James (Jim) Bowie, Davey Crockett and Gregorio Esparza.

The Alamo is owned by the people of the state of Texas and admission to its grounds and buildings have traditionally been free of charge. As of 2011, The Alamo is a part of the GLO (General Land Office) in Texas.

The GLO is given the task of preserving and operating The Alamo as a not-for-profit organization and historical site.

Answer: Houston

It is Houston - the most populous city in Texas and fourth most populous in the U.S.A. - both comparisons from a census taken in 2016. The list of "Did you know?" facts about Houston is long. A few of my favorites are: The first word spoken from the moon, July 20, 1969, was "Houston".

The first domed stadium in the U.S. was the Astrodome in Houston. The Heisman trophy is named for (collage) sports pioneer John William Heisman who coached football at Rice University in Houston.

Answer: Mexican Free-tail bats

Bracken Cave and the just over 1500 (undeveloped) surrounding acres is owned by Bat Conservation International, an conservation organization based in Austin, Texas. It is impossible to get an exact count of the number of bats that roost in and around Bracken Cave but most experts agree there are about twenty million bats there during the peak time. Baby bats (called pups) are born in Bracken Cave each spring to pregnant females who have migrated from Mexico.

The bats are beneficial to surrounding farmers by catching/eating insects that would be harmful to nearby crops, particularly the cotton crop.

Answer: Galveston

Much info about the Hurricane of 1900 could only have been estimated but its devastation was certain. The estimate for loss of human life at over 8,000 was most likely low; some estimates believe as many as 12,000 people were killed as a result of that hurricane.

Much of the damage and loss of life was blamed on the naïve and/or unprepared stance of those people. Other accounts say for that storm there was simply no warning and no defense. Very sad, too, because before the hurricane Galveston had been remarkably affluent, even referred to as "New York of the South".

Answer: The Red River

There are several rivers that use the name "The Red River"; thus, the one as described and shown is often referred to as The Red River of the South. It is (approx.) 1,360 miles long and passes through parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. It has the second-largest river in the state of Texas.

Answer: Spain

The nations represented by the Six Flags Over Texas emblem were Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the United States and the Confederate States of America. Early in the 21st century there were twenty properties owned and operated as "Six Flags". During the year of 2017 this flag configuration at the park in Arlington, Texas was changed to represent six American flags. Due to financial woes, changes in ownership and property reconstructions/relocations Six Flags Over Texas is no longer a part of the original corporation which became Six Flags Entertainment Corp. in the year 2010.

Answer: False

Although a few other state flags have only one star, this "lone star" image is an icon that has come to represent Texas. It is responsible for the state's nickname - The Lone Star State - and has been incorporated into the state's seal and its bicentennial commemorative quarter produced by the U.S. Mint. From the website https://statesymbolsusa.org: ... "the term "Lone Star" has been adopted by countless enterprises, from a brand of beer to car dealerships, restaurants, hotels, and barbecue establishments, along with nearly every other sort of business" ...

The Lone Star Flag was adopted as the state flag by the Republic of Texas in 1839 and was later re-adopted by the state of Texas in 1933.