South Texas


South Texas is a geographic and cultural region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and includes—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is more than 5 million according to the 2024 census estimates. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.
Greater Houston and Beaumont–Port Arthur are occasionally tied to the region, both for physically being on the southern end of the state and for businesses that use "South Texas" in its name.. However, the two are more commonly associated with East Texas or Southeast Texas.

Geography

There is no defined northern boundary, although it is believed to be at the city of San Antonio and from an east to west line extending from the Rio Grande near Maverick County to the Gulf of Mexico, but turning southeast at or near Lavaca County, and continuing towards the Gulf of Mexico to separate it from East Texas and Southeast Texas. The Rio Grande serves as the western and southern boundaries and separates Texas from Mexico. The eastern portion of South Texas is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico. South Texas consists of 41 counties. Its terrain is flat, lying on the coastal plain. South Texas is so vast, that there are even subregions. The very southern tip of South Texas, called the Rio Grande Valley, has fertile soils and is known for its citrus production. The eastern portion of South Texas is often referred to as the Coastal Bend; here, coastal salt marshes, estuaries, and wetlands are scattered all around. The western and central parts are known as the South Texas Plains or the Brush Country. Mesquite trees and crop fields dominate the Brush Country.

Counties

  • Aransas
  • Atascosa
  • Bee
  • Bexar
  • Brooks
  • Calhoun
  • Cameron
  • DeWitt
  • Dimmit
  • Duval
  • Frio
  • Goliad
  • Gonzales
  • Guadalupe
  • Hidalgo
  • Jackson
  • Jim Hogg
  • Jim Wells
  • Karnes
  • Kenedy
  • Kinney
  • Kleberg
  • La Salle
  • Lavaca
  • Live Oak
  • Matagorda
  • Maverick
  • McMullen
  • Medina
  • Nueces
  • Refugio
  • San Patricio
  • Starr
  • Uvalde
  • Victoria
  • Webb
  • Wharton
  • Willacy
  • Wilson
  • Zapata
  • Zavala
  • The fastest growing county in South Texas is Guadalupe, growing by 31.3% from 2010 to 2020.
  • The slowest growing county in South Texas is Refugio, shrinking by 8.7% from 2010 to 2020.

    Cities

Region Rank City 2020 Census 2010 Census % change County
1San Antonio1,434,6251,327,407Bexar
2Corpus Christi317,863305,215Nueces
3Laredo263,640236,091Webb
4Brownsville186,738175,023Cameron
5McAllen142,210129,877Hidalgo
6Edinburg100,24377,100Hidalgo
7Mission85,77877,058Hidalgo
8Pharr79,71570,400Hidalgo
9Harlingen71,82964,849Cameron
10Victoria65,53462,592Victoria
11Schertz42,00231,465Guadalupe
12Weslaco40,16035,670Hidalgo
13San Juan35,29433,856Hidalgo
14Seguin29,43325,175Guadalupe
15Eagle Pass28,13026,248Maverick
16Converse27,46618,198Bexar
17Kingsville25,40226,213Kleberg
18San Benito24,86124,250Cameron
19Universal City19,72018,530Bexar
20Alamo19,49318,353Hidalgo

Some people consider Houston to be in South Texas for several reasons: numerous businesses in the Houston region contain 'South Texas' in their titles. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas includes the Houston division. However, Houston is most accurately classified as being within Southeast Texas, a subregion of East Texas.

Rivers

Lakes and reservoirs

  • Choke Canyon Reservoir
  • Lake Corpus Christi
  • Falcon Lake
  • Lake Amistad
  • Lake Findley
  • Mitchell Lake
  • Lake Casa Blanca
  • Brauning Lake
  • Calaveras Lake

    Bays

  • Corpus Christi Bay
  • San Antonio Bay
  • Baffin Bay
  • Nueces Bay
  • Oso Bay
  • Copano Bay
  • Aransas Bay
  • Matagorda Bay
  • Lavaca Bay
  • Redfish Bay
  • Mission Bay

    Estuaries and waterways

  • Rincon Bayou - a bayou in the Nueces River Delta, just north of the mouth of the Nueces River, for Location, see Nueces Bay
  • Elm Bayou - a bayou on the Victoria-Refugio County line
  • Gulf Intracoastal Waterway - a navigable route along the Gulf of Mexico without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea
  • Resacas of the Rio Grande Valley - many oxbow lakes found scattered throughout the lower Rio Grande Valley
  • Laguna Madre - a long, hypersaline bay that creates a barrier between Padre Island and mainland Texas

    Islands

  • Padre Island
  • *North Padre Island
  • *South Padre Island
  • Mustang Island
  • Matagorda Island
  • Ward Island
  • San José Island

    Climate

The climate of South Texas is varied. The area along the Mexican border is generally semi-arid, while the area from the coast inland to just west of San Antonio has a humid subtropical climate. South Texas weather is affected by the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains to the west, the Gulf of Mexico to the east, and the Chihuahuan Desert to the west/northwest. Moisture from the Pacific is cut off by the Mexican Sierra Madre Occidental and Oriental mountain ranges. Along the coast the climate is best exemplified in the summers when humidity is extremely high though at times arid, depending upon whether tropical moisture from the Gulf and sometimes from the Pacific is flowing in or if the region is cut off from any moisture by high pressure systems, causing long droughts, which occur every few years. Temperatures reach freezing only a few times in the winter and snowfall is rare, usually three inches or less. Summers in this zone are hot and humid, with daily averages above. In addition, areas in Texas that are slightly inland from the Gulf of Mexico, such as San Antonio that border the semi-arid climate zone, generally see a peak of precipitation in the spring, and a deep, drought-like nadir in midsummer. The region itself sees a short wet season from March to May and another one from late August to October, and a dry season elsewhere in the year. Night-time temperatures are around in summer. The region of South Texas includes the semi-arid ranch country and the wetter Rio Grande Valley. Considered to be the southernmost tip of the American Great Plains region, the inland region has rainfall similar to that of the Northern Plains. The coastal areas are warm most of the year due to currents of the Gulf of Mexico, but can get cold in winter if a strong front comes in, occasionally causing snow at sea level. Rain in the coastal region is more abundant than in the inland region, and subtropical forests line the Rio Grande. Inland, where it is drier, ranches dominate the landscape, characterized by thick, spiny brush and grasslands. The winters in the inland region are cooler and drier, as Arctic air can make it into the region, but snow is rare due to the lack of humidity. Summers are for the most part hot and dry, but at times can be humid if winds come off the warmer Gulf of Mexico. Tornadoes can occur in this region, but less frequently than in other parts of the state.
Hurricanes are the most dangerous weather systems to affect South Texas. Hurricane season is between June and November. However, the Texas coast gets affected usually between August and September, when systems sporadically organize in the southern Gulf around the Bay of Campeche or western Caribbean and the latter months forming off the coast of Africa.
Droughts- Although South Texas summers generally see rainfall in summer months, some years the lack of rain is persistent and leads to water shortages; lake levels drop significantly and lead to municipal water restrictions. In the summer of 2011, numerous records were set. On August 28, 2011, most of South Texas had temperatures reaching 110 °F, breaking many cities' record highs. Furthermore, 95% of the state faced an extreme or exceptional drought, according to the office of the Texas state climatologist. These drought conditions led to a string of dangerous wildfires across the state, and the enforcement of burn bans in 250 of the 254 counties in Texas.
Tornadoes do occur in this part of the state, but not as frequently as other parts. They approach, usually from the northwest to southeast, as a line of severe thunderstorms, mostly in the summer months and by cold fronts in fall.
Snow rarely falls south of San Antonio or on the coast except in rare circumstances. Of note is the 2004 Christmas Eve snowstorm, when 6 inches of snow fell as far south as McAllen.

Wildlife