Geography and climate Houston is located 165 miles (266 km) east of Austin 88 miles (142 km) west of the Louisiana border and 250 miles (400 km) south of Dallas the city has a total area of 637.4 square miles (1,651 km2); this comprises over 599.59 square miles (1,552.9 km2) of land and 22.3 square miles (58 km2) covered by water. Most of Houston is located on the gulf coastal plain and its vegetation is classified as Western Gulf coastal grasslands while further north it transitions into a subtropical jungle the Big Thicket Much of the city was built on forested land marshes swamp and are all still visible in surrounding areas.[citation needed] Flat terrain and extensive greenfield development have combined to worsen flooding. Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level and the highest point in far northwest Houston is about 150 feet (46 m) in elevation the city once relied on groundwater for its needs but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston Lake Conroe and Lake Livingston the city owns surface water rights for 1.20 billion gallons of water a day in addition to 150 million gallons a day of groundwater, At least five million Chinese civilians from northern China and Manchukuo were enslaved between 1935 and 1941 by the East Asia Development Board or Koain for work in mines and war industries After 1942 the number reached 10 million in Java between 4 and 10 million romusha (Japanese: "manual labourers") were forced to work by the Japanese military About 270,000 of these Javanese labourers were sent to other Japanese-held areas in South East Asia and only 52,000 were repatriated to Java. .
JFK assassination Main article: Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II, The chief administrative officer of a Texas County as set up in the Texas Constitution is the County Judge who sits as the chair of the county's Commissioners' Court (the equivalent of a Board of Supervisors in some other states) Since 2007 this position in Harris County is held by Judge Ed Emmett the county is split into 4 geographical divisions called Precincts Each precinct elects a Commissioner to sit as a representative of their precinct on the commissioners court and also for the oversight of county functions in their area, 11.3 Ports Houston Texas Business Directory Houston has had a troubled past with pollution of many types This is due to the fact that Houston has been the home for the oil and gas industry since its inception in the early 1900s when there was little environmental regulation Harris County where the bulk of the city has been historically located is home to 15 Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites more than any other area in Texas the list contains numerous companies streets and waterways that have been considered hazardous to humans in various ways. . . .
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