Fordjour Isaac DDS

. The outlying areas of Houston the airports and the city's suburbs and enclaves are outside the Loop Another ring road Beltway 8 (also known simply as the "Beltway" or as the "Sam Houston Tollway") encircles the city another 5 miles (8 km) farther out Parts of Beltway 8 are toll roads but for most of the route motorists can drive in the adjacent "feeder" or service roads at no charge.[citation needed] Farm to Market Road 1960 (FM 1960) forms a semicircle in northern Houston and is another dividing line the third ring road State Highway 99 (also known as the Grand Parkway) is under construction.[citation needed] Long stated that most of the wealthier Houston suburbs are west and north of the central city while to the southeast the Clear Lake/NASA "[represents] another burgeoning concentration of largely aerospace-related prosperity".

Historically the East Texas economy has been led by lumber cotton cattle and oil Prior to the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field cotton lumber and cattle were the predominant source of economic gains and stability Needs of local farmers contributed greatly to the establishment of local towns and trading posts As with many parts of the nation the chosen paths of railroads often determined the continuation of many towns At the beginning of the 20th century the oil fields were discovered and oil became accessible which changed the future of the region. . . 12.2 Cities Due to its size and geologic features such as the Balcones Fault Texas contains diverse landscapes common to both the U.S Southern and Southwestern regions. Although Texas is popularly associated with the U.S southwestern deserts less than 10% of Texas's land area is desert. Most of the population centers are in areas of former prairies grasslands forests and the coastline Traveling from east to west one can observe terrain that ranges from coastal swamps and piney woods to rolling plains and rugged hills and finally the desert and mountains of the Big Bend.