Texas Almost a country in itself, Texas offers sandy white beaches, heavy rains, and the temperate waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the south, bleak, barren scrublands in the west, breathtaking sunsets in the Panhandle, rolling hills and myriad lakes in the central region, and lush, towering pines in the east. Mountains, deserts, plains, forests, rolling hills, wetlands, coastal dunes, lakes, and rivers all mingle to form the Lone Star State. The nation's richest state in mineral resources, Texas is known for its oil and natural gas production, nor is it far behind in agriculture, second only to California.