:Trans-Pecos

The Trans-Pecos region consists of nine counties: Brewster, Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, and Terrell. Brewster County, the largest, has a land area of {{convert|6193|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}. The land area of Brewster County is about 10% larger than the state of Connecticut, yet it has a population density of only 1.4 persons per square mile compared to the 723 persons per square mile who reside in Connecticut. Terrell County, which borders both the Pecos River and the Rio Grande, is the least-populated county in the Trans-Pecos region. According to the United States Census of 2000, Terrell County had a total population of 984 residents occupying a land area of {{convert|2358|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, resulting in a population density less than 0.5 persons per square mile.

The Trans-Pecos is a region of extremes, and at the opposite extreme from sparsely populated Terrell County is El Paso County, which is the smallest but most populated of the nine counties. El Paso County has a land area of only {{convert|1015|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, yet it has a population of 800,647 individuals, resulting in a population density of 789 persons per square mile, a value that exceeds that of Connecticut. El Paso County makes up 93.5 percent of the region's total population.

Overall, the total population of the Trans-Pecos amounts to 856,187 residents occupying an area of {{convert|31479|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}, resulting in a population density around 27 persons per square mile (10 persons per km²), less than a third of the population density of the state as a whole. If the Trans-Pecos were to become a state, it would rank 45th in population (more than Delaware, less than Montana), 40th in total area (larger than South Carolina, smaller than Maine), and 42nd in population density (higher than Nevada, lower than Kansas).

File:EL PASO TEXAS 2020.jpg

The region as a whole has voted for the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in every election since 1988, including Joe Biden, who received 65.7 percent of the vote in 2020. This is in large part because of El Paso County, which also has been solidly Democratic since Ronald Reagan won the county in 1984. However, Presidio is the most consistently Democratic county in the Trans-Pecos, being like South Texas the longest-established Democratic stronghold in the nation.Sullivan, Robert David; [http://www.americamagazine.org/content/unconventional-wisdom/how-red-and-blue-map-evolved-over-past-century ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’]; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016

Jeff Davis is the most Republican county in the region, last being won for the Democratic Party by Jimmy Carter in 1976, although even George W. Bush’s 66.79 percent of the vote in 2000David Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; [http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/statesub.php?year=2000&fips=48243&off=0&elect=0&f=0 Jeff Davis County], 2000 stands modest compared to the 90 percent or more Republican vote common in Panhandle counties since the turn of the millennium. Hudspeth, Pecos and Terrell Counties, last won for the Democrats by Bill Clinton in 1996, have become comparably Republican to Jeff Davis in the past couple of elections. The remaining three counties, especially Brewster County, have been “swing” counties since the 1970s, although Hillary Clinton consolidated Democratic majorities in Culberson and Reeves counties in 2016.

The city of El Paso and its environs form Texas's 16th congressional district, currently represented by Congressman Veronica Escobar (D-El Paso). The remainder of the region is located entirely within Texas's 23rd congressional district, currently represented by Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-San Antonio).

In the Texas Senate, El Paso County forms a single district, Senate District 29, represented by José R. Rodríguez (D-El Paso), while the remainder of the region is included in Senate District 19, represented by Pete Flores (R-Pleasanton). In the Texas House of Representatives, El Paso County is divided between House Districts 75–79, while the remainder of the region is included in House District 74.

Interstates 10 and 20 are the largest freeways in the Trans-Pecos region. Major federal highways include US Highway 90 and US Highway 67, which are partially cosigned; Highway 90 continues from Alpine east to Del Rio, while Highway 67 runs south from Marfa to the Mexico–United States border at Presidio/Ojinaga, after which it continues as Mexican Federal Highway 16. State Highway 17 begins in Pecos and traverses Balmorhea State Park before joining Route 67 in Marfa, while State Highway 118 begins shortly after the junction of Interstates 10 and 20 near Kent and continues south to Study Butte at the entrance of Big Bend National Park.

The Trans-Pecos region contains three American Viticultural Areas: the Escondido Valley AVA, the Texas Davis Mountains AVA, and a portion of the Mesilla Valley AVA, most of which is in New Mexico.

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• List of geographical regions in Texas
• Balmorhea State Park
• Chalk Mountains
• Davis Mountains
• Franklin Mountains State Park
• Guadalupe Mountains
• McKittrick Canyon
• Beach Mountains
• Big Bend National Park
• Big Bend Ranch State Park

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{{reflist}}

• {{cite web |url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/fieldguides/transpecos.html |title=Trans-Pecos Geology Resources |website=Walter Geology Library |publisher=University of Texas at Austin |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610101737/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/fieldguides/transpecos.html |archive-date=2010-06-10 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/trans-p/index.html |title=Trans Pecos Mountains & Basins |website=Texas Beyond History |publisher=University of Texas at Austin}}
• {{cite web |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ryt02 |title=Trans-Pecos |last=Schmidt |first=Robert H. |website=TSHA Handbook of Texas Online |publisher=Texas State Historical Association}}
• {{url|https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/lubbock-tx/cropping-systems-research-laboratory/wind-erosion-and-water-conservation-research/docs/llano/|Public domain images of the Llano Estacado and West Texas}}

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Category:Regions of Texas