Natural Resources of TexasWhen you think of natural resources, the first things that probably come to mind are fossil fuels. If you bring the state of Texas into the equation, you think of big oil wells. Texas tea, black gold, swamp juice, whatever you want to call it, oil plays an important role in people's perceptions of Texas' natural resources. But there are a lot more natural resources in Texas than you think. The natural soils provide good conditions for agriculture and ranching, we have excellent rock deposits for various industrial uses, and we have a number of different mineral deposits scattered throughout the state. It's time we take a look at some of the many natural resources Texas has to offer. The first, of course, must be the most important. Of the state's 254 counties, 232 produce some amount of oil. How did the oil industry start in Texas? In fact, people knew about the oil deposits in Texas long before they could find a good use for them. Indians knew about seeps in the ground where oil oozed long before Europeans made their way to the Americas. At first, these Europeans didn't know what to do with it either. Hernando de Soto's crew used this product to caulk their boats to make them watertight. Texas' first oil well was drilled in Nacogdoches County in 1866, and other small wells followed. Texas' first big oil well was drilled in Corsicana in 1894, and the BIG one, Spindletop, blew big on January 10, 1901. But demand for oil was slow to catch up with production. After Spindletop, the country began to seriously move towards an oil-based economy. Oil has played a major role in economic, geographic and social evolution...... middle of paper ...... it comes from the Balcones Escarpment. The larger crushed rocks from this area are used as a base layer for roads and buildings, to protect them from shifting soils. Highly pure limestone is processed into lime, which is then used in a wide variety of agricultural, industrial and construction activities. Other crushed rocks for building materials include basalt, used for railroad tracks, and marble, used for luxury terrazzo floors. Texas is also a major producer of sand, gravel and our famous clay. Gypsum, an evaporite that accumulated when shallow inland seas formed. cut off from the oceans and evaporated, is found in large quantities in the central and north-central regions of the state. Calcined gypsum, heated in a furnace, is transformed into plasterboard and plaster. Common gypsum is used, among other things, in Portland cement and as a fuel additive..