Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the fourth most populous city in the US. Houston’s nickname is Space City because of its significance in space exploration. It is also called “Bayou City”, “H-Town”, and “Clutch City”.
See the fact file below for more information on the Houston or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Houston worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
Geography and Climate
- Size: 627 square miles
- Population: Approximately 2.3 million
- Houston is located on the south side of Piney Woods, a coniferous forest in East Texas.
- Houston is situated 165 miles east of Austin, 250 miles south of Dallas, and 112 miles west of the Louisiana border.
- The highest point in far northwest Houston is 125 feet.
- Houston has four main bayous which are named Buffalo Bayou, White Oak Bayou, Brays Bayou, and Sims Bayou.
- Houston is located 43 feet above sea level.
- The climate of Houston is humid subtropical.
- The city experiences hot, long, and humid summers and mild winters.
- Houston is the third most humid city in the US.
History
- Augustus Chapman and John Kirby, also known as The Allen Brothers, founded Houston, Texas in 1837.
- The Allen brothers examined city sites on Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay.
- The Allen brothers ran their first endorsement for Houston in the Telegraph and Texas Register and named the town after President Sam Houston.
- Sam Houston led the fight for Texas’s independence from Mexico.
- The city’s population grew from a dozen people living in the town at the start of 1837 to around 1,500 by the time the Texas Congress gathered in Houston for the first time that May.
- Houston was incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837.
- James S. Holman was Houston’s first mayor.
- In 1837, Houston was made the county seat of Harrisburg County which is now called Harris County, Texas.
- Houston was the capital of Texas from 1837 to 1839.
- By 1860, Houston became a commercial and railroad center for the export of cotton.
- In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt gave his approval for a one-million dollar improvement funding for the Houston Ship Channel.
- Houston was also home to a number of business tycoons, including Shamrock hotel founder and wildcatter Glenn McCarthy, during the Texas oil boom.
- By 1930, Houston became Texas’ most populous city.
- Houston’s growth was prompted by the increased production of the enlarged shipbuilding industry during World War II.
- Houston’s present-day underground pedestrian tunnel system began as a single underground tunnel built by businessman Will Horwitz in 1935.
- Today, that tunnel system connects 95 city blocks.
- The Astrodome in Houston opened its doors to the public in 1965. It was dubbed the “Eighth Wonder of the World” and is the first indoor domed sports stadium in the world.
- In 1997, Lee P. Brown was voted as the city’s first African-American mayor in Houston.
- In August 2005, Houston became a refuge to more than 150,000 people from New Orleans who retreated from Hurricane Katrina, which earned the city its nickname “The Big Heart”.
- In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey destroyed properties amounting to $125 billion US dollars in the Houston area, making the hurricane one of the most severe natural disasters in the history of the United States.
Space City
- Houston has been called “Space City” since 1967 because it is where you can find NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
- Houston is one of the country’s busiest port cities.
- Houston owns the fifth tallest skyline in North America.
- Houston has a reasonably low cost of living, a strong job market, is near to Latin America, and is a center for refugee relocation.
Other Facts
- To better control floods, the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs in Houston were developed. They provide a combined 26,000 acres of open land for water overflow and storage.
- The 75 floor JP Morgan Chase Tower is 1,002 feet tall and is considered the tallest building in Houston and the whole of Texas.
- There are 19 museums in Houston’s Museum District and over 8 million tourists visit a year.
- One famous museum in Houston is the “Art Car Museum” also known as “Garage Mahal” which merges popular art with car culture.
- Other popular museums are the Bayou Bend, the National Museum of Funeral History, and the Museum of Fine Arts.
- Around 145 languages are used by the residents of Houston, which makes Houston the city with the third largest number of languages spoken, just behind Los Angeles and New York.
- Greater Houston is one of the youngest modern regions in the US.
- Houston has one of the best culinary settings in the country, with more than 11,000 restaurants and diverse cuisines.
- The Texas Medical Center is the world’s largest medical center and is found in Houston. The medical facility holds 54 medicine-related establishments.
- The first traditional Hindu Mandir (a Hindu temple) in the US was constructed in Houston.
- The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, which started as the Houston Fat Stock Show in 1935, now welcomes 2.5 million attendees yearly, making it one of the largest rodeos in the world.
- In 1970, the Houston Galleria, popularly known as The Galleria, opened as the largest mall in Texas.
Houston Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Houston across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Houston worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Houston is the most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the fourth most populous city in the US. Houston’s nickname is Space City because of its significance in space exploration. It is also called “Bayou City”, “H-Town”, and “Clutch City”.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Houston Facts
- Send Me Your Location
- Scroll Through Time
- Notable People
- Fix the Timeline
- Nickname Origins
- All About Space
- Fact or False
- So Many Museums!
- Houston Pride
- Poem from the South
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as Houston Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, November 26, 2018
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.