West Texas

West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas. It generally includes the dry and semiarid lands west of a line between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. People often talk about East Texas and West Texas, but there are no official boundaries, and different people might describe them differently.

Historian and geographer Walter Prescott Webb suggested that the 98th meridian might separate East and West Texas. Writer A.C. Greene thought West Texas starts west of the Brazos River. Because Texas is part of both the South and the American Southwest, the dry and desert-like climates of West Texas clearly match the Southwest.

West Texas can be divided into different areas based on its natural features. The part west of the Pecos River is called "Far West Texas" or the "Trans-Pecos", a term from 1887 by geologist Robert T. Hill. The Trans-Pecos is in the Chihuahuan Desert and is the driest part of Texas. Another area is the Llano Estacado, a huge flat plain that reaches into Eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle. East of the Llano Estacado is the "redbed country" of the Rolling Plains, and south of it lies the Edwards Plateau. These areas serve as transitions between eastern and western Texas.

Climate

West Texas gets less rain than other parts of Texas, so it has a dry climate. Because of this, farmers need to use special methods to help plants grow, often using water from deep underground sources like the Ogallala Aquifer.

The land in West Texas can be very rough with small mountains, but many areas are flat. In the colder months, some higher places in West Texas can get snow, though this does not happen often in other areas.

Counties

West Texas includes 70 counties. These counties are Andrews, Bailey, Borden, Brewster, Brown, Callahan, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Comanche, Concho, Crane, Crockett, Crosby, Culberson, Dawson, Dickens, Eastland, Ector, El Paso, Fisher, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Glasscock, Hale, Haskell, Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Irion, Jeff Davis, Jones, Kent, Kimble, King, Knox, Lamb, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, McCulloch, Menard, Midland, Mitchell, Motley, Nolan, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Runnels, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Taylor, Terrell, Terry, Throckmorton, Tom Green, Upton, Ward, Winkler, and Yoakum.

Major cities

Smaller West Texas cities and towns include Alpine, Andrews, Anthony, Brownfield, Canutillo, Coyanosa, Crane, Fabens, Fort Davis, Fort Stockton, Hale Center, Horizon City, Iraan, Kermit, Lamesa, Levelland, Littlefield, Marathon, Marfa, McCamey, Mertzon, Monahans, Ozona, Pecos, Post, Rankin, Ransom Canyon, San Elizario, Seminole, Slaton, Snyder, Sweetwater, and Van Horn.

Economy

West Texas has many important jobs and industries. People there raise animals, grow cotton and grain, and make things like clothes. The area also has lots of oil and natural gas, which helps power many places. Because of big military bases like Fort Bliss, jobs in making tools for the military are very important too.

Recently, West Texas has become well-known for its many wind turbines. These tall machines help make clean energy, which is good for the environment. In 2018, the economy in West Texas was doing very well, growing fast because of the oil and gas industry.

Sports

West Texas does not have any major league sports teams, but people there love to support their local high school and college teams. Some college teams in the area include the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the UTEP Miners, and the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

El Paso is home to the El Paso Chihuahuas, a baseball team, and the El Paso Locomotive FC, a soccer team. The Midland RockHounds and Amarillo Sod Poodles also play baseball in the region. There is also a junior hockey team called the Odessa Jackalopes.

Health

See also: 2025 Southwest United States measles outbreak

In January 2025, an outbreak of measles started in West Texas and then spread to New Mexico in February. The main reason for the outbreak was that fewer babies were getting their vaccinations.

Politics

West Texas is known for its strong support of conservative politics. Many of the most Republican counties in the United States are found here. Former U.S. President George W. Bush spent much of his childhood in this area. The region includes a large part of the Permian Basin, which is the biggest oil field in the United States. This may help explain why many people here support the Republican Party instead of the Democratic Party.

Some counties in the Midland-Odessa area were among the first in Texas to stop supporting the Democratic Party. By 2016, these areas had shifted strongly toward the Republican Party, partly because of disagreements with the Democratic Party's social policies.

West of the Pecos in popular culture

Further information: West of the Pecos

"West of the Pecos" is often used to describe stories about the American West. Phrases like "fastest draw west of the Pecos" are common in these tales. The movie and book No Country for Old Men both take place in West Texas, and much of the filming happened there.