West Texas is a region in Texas that has more in common geographically with the Southwestern United States than it does with the rest of the state. Known for its natural beauty, there are many small mountain ranges. This part of Texas is in the Northern Chihuahua Desert, and the high mountain areas have an ideal climate, cold nights but warm afternoons in winter, and hot days but cool nights in the summer. West Texas has a much lower population density than the rest of the state. It was once mostly inhabited by nomadic Native American tribes such as the Apache, Comanche, and Kiowa until after the Civil War. It does not have as many ties to the Southern United States as does East Texas, although many of the people who currently populate West Texas are also migrants from other parts of Texas and other Southern states or their descendants. There is a very large Hispanic population, especially near the Rio Grande. [Less...]