| Geography |
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| According to the United States Census Bureau,
the city has a total area of 1,558.4 km² (601.7 mi²).
1,500.7 km² (579.4 mi²) of it is land and 57.7 km²
(22.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.70% water. |
| Houston has four major bayous passing through
the city. The Buffalo Bayou, which runs into downtown, the Brays
Bayou, which runs along the Texas Medical Center, White Oak
Bayou runs through the Heights and near northwest area and the
Sims Bayou in the south of Houston merge in downtown Houston
into the Houston Ship Channel. The Ship Channel goes past Galveston,
Texas into the Gulf of Mexico. |
| Most of Houston is very flat and is about fifty
feet above sea level in elevation; the Houston Heights area
has the highest elevation in the city. The city once relied
on groundwater for its water needs. Land subsidence forced the
city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston. |
| Hurricanes have slammed into the Texas Gulf Coast
on numerous occasions; several have passed through Houston,
causing death and destruction. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900
led to Galveston losing its status as the major port city and
economic power in Southeast Texas; development of the Ship Channel
and its port refineries shifted the honor to Houston. The last
hurricane of consequence to hit Houston was Hurricane Alicia
in 1983, but Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 caused billions
of dollars in damages. |
| Flooding has proved to be an increasingly serious
problem in Houston. Houston's worst contemporary flood was Tropical
Storm Allison which passed through the city in June, 2001. Many
neighborhoods have changed since the storm; older houses in
some afflicted neighborhoods have been torn down and replaced
with larger houses with larger foundations. |
| Like many areas of Texas, Houston suffers from
the Red Imported Fire Ant. |
A simulated-color satellite image of Houston, Texas, taken on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite |
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