| The coastline of south
Texas , which state
residents half-jokingly
refer to as the "Third
Coast," curves from Port
Arthur on the Louisiana
border (a shipping and
petrochemical town and the
birthplace of Janis Joplin)
on the much-tourist-ed Gulf
Coast , down past the urban
monster of Houston, to the
Rio Grande, the border with
Mexico. Giant, cosmopolitan
Houston dominates
everything; its great wealth
has led to a thriving arts
scene, but ultimately it
overpowers, rather than
relates to, the rest of the
region. Geographically and
culturally, this area has
two distinct faces. To the
east are the seaside resorts
of the prairie, rolling away
from the hills and forests
of east Texas. Much of the
coast is feeling the strain
of rapid property
development, but there are
still unspoiled stretches
along the Padre Island
National Seashore . |
