Texas, the Lone Star State, often evokes images of vast landscapes and larger-than-life proportions. As the second-largest state in the United States, only trailing Alaska, Texas’s sheer size is a point of pride and a subject of frequent discussion. Recently, a map circulating on social media amplified this notion, boldly comparing the size of Texas to several countries in Europe. But how accurate is this viral depiction? Does Texas truly dwarf significant portions of the European continent?
The social media post, originating from the Facebook page “My America,” presented a striking visual: the outline of Texas superimposed over a map of Europe. This graphic suggested that Texas sprawled across considerable sections of five Western European nations. Accompanying the image was a caption hinting at a world-view altering perspective, claiming, “After Seeing These 15 Maps You’ll Never Look At The World The Same.” This post quickly garnered traction, amassing over 17,000 reactions, sparking curiosity and perhaps reinforcing preconceived notions about the scale of Texas.
Image courtesy of Facebook page My America
To ascertain the veracity of this viral claim, experts weighed in. Hayley Drennon, a senior research assistant at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, affirmed the fundamental point: “Texas really is THAT big.” However, Drennon clarified that the widely shared map slightly exaggerated the Texan borders. Therefore, while the map effectively conveyed the impressive size of Texas, it earned a rating of “Mostly True” for its moderate distortion. The core message remained valid: Texas is indeed vast, even when juxtaposed against European countries.
To delve deeper into the specifics, Drennon recreated a similar map using authoritative geographic data. She utilized the Texas State Boundary shapefile from the Texas Department of Transportation (TDT) and ESRI’s ArcPro Software, a geographic information system employed by researchers and institutions for mapping purposes. This process allowed for a more precise comparison. Drennon’s map, presented below, offers a more accurate representation of Texas overlaid on Europe.
Comparing the viral Facebook map with Drennon’s more precise version reveals the subtle exaggerations. For instance, in the Facebook image, El Paso County, situated in West Texas, appears to extend close to the border between Spain and France. In contrast, Drennon’s map places El Paso County further north. Similarly, the southernmost reaches of Cameron County are depicted near Rome, Italy, in the Facebook post, whereas the more accurate map positions them also in a more northerly location.
This discrepancy in size highlights the complexities of map projections. Drennon explained that the variation likely stems from the projection method used to represent the three-dimensional globe on a two-dimensional surface. Different projections introduce different types of distortions. She likened it to wrapping a spherical object, where various wrapping techniques can result in different appearances and draping of the wrapping paper. The Facebook map appears to have been generated using The True Size website, a tool designed to demonstrate the distortions inherent in common map projections like the Mercator projection.
The Mercator projection, while widely used, is known to exaggerate the size of landmasses at higher latitudes, such as Europe, North America, and Russia, while understating the size of regions near the equator. This distortion is visually striking when comparing Greenland and Africa on a Mercator map; Greenland appears deceptively large, roughly the size of Africa, when in reality, Africa is approximately 14.5 times larger than Greenland. Tools like The True Size aim to rectify these misperceptions and provide a more accurate sense of geographical scale.
Quantifying the size of Texas further emphasizes its impressive dimensions. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Texas boasts a land area of 261,193.9 square miles and a water area of 7,330.9 square miles, totaling 268,524.8 square miles. To put this into a European perspective, Texas is larger than many European countries. For example, Texas is significantly bigger than France (approximately 211,209 square miles) and nearly the size of Spain (approximately 195,364 square miles). When considering Western Europe, Texas comfortably encompasses countries like Germany (approximately 137,847 square miles) and the United Kingdom (approximately 93,628 square miles) combined, with considerable room to spare.
In conclusion, while the viral map comparing Texas to Europe employed a slight exaggeration, it effectively illustrated a fundamental truth: Texas is indeed geographically enormous. Its landmass rivals, and in many cases surpasses, that of entire European nations. The comparison underscores the importance of understanding map projections and the distortions they can introduce, but also serves as a powerful visual reminder of the sheer scale of the Lone Star State. Texas’s vastness is not just a matter of state pride, but a geographical reality that reshapes our perception of global sizes and distances.
Sources
An Introduction to ArcGIS Online—ArcGIS Online Help | Documentation. https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/get-started/what-is-agol.htm. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
‘Compare Countries With This Simple Tool’. The True Size, https://www.thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTQ3MTM5NTk.MTI2NTMyMjU*MjEwNzQ2NjM(MTUyMjExNDc~!US-TX*ODcyMDI1NQ.MjIyNjA0NzQ(MTQ3)NA. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
‘—‘. The True Size, https://www.thetruesize.com/#/aboutModal. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Explore Census Data. https://data.census.gov/profile/Texas?g=040XX00US48. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Map of Four Regions – North, South, East, West. Texas Department of Transportation, https://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/fin/sib/regions-map.pdf. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
Texas State Boundary Detailed. https://gis-txdot.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/texas-state-boundary-detailed/explore?location=30.807276,-98.916283,5.61. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
