Those notorious deserts. How Texas became notorious for its nearly nonexistent deserts (Houston: vs, suburban)

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by ragnarkar

Still, I'm surprised how many people buy into the stereotype that Texas is a big desert. I had a friend visit me in Dallas a month ago and she commented about the surprising abundance of trees there. And on a vacation to Georgia, when I tell people I'm visiting from Texas, they often say something along the lines of you don't see as many trees back home as here, right?

And even if it were true, a lot of people conflate the wetness of a climate with the presence of trees, when there are many other abiotic factors that come to play. The salt marshes down in Louisiana don't have much trees either, yet is every bit soggy and wet.

[Danbo1957]

Texas has plenty of desert, west of the Pecos River for sure. If you want to see sand dunes head out to Monahans.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

And even if it were true, a lot of people conflate the wetness of a climate with the presence of trees, when there are many other abiotic factors that come to play. The salt marshes down in Louisiana don't have much trees either, yet is every bit soggy and wet.

Just a couple miles inland, though, from the coast in Louisiana, you'll see the thickest bald cypress and pine forests imaginable, just as you would expect from the rainiest state in the country.

Here's something to blow your mind: Dubai is humid. Yep. They receive dew points at least as high as Houston, New Orleans, or Florida; often 80+ dew points with triple digit heat. And...they're in a desert. Less than 5 inches of rain a year, but still plenty of humidity, probably due to the freakishly warm Persian Gulf currents nearby.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by Danbo1957

Texas has plenty of desert, west of the Pecos River for sure. If you want to see sand dunes head out to Monahans.

No one's doubting that the Trans-Pecos is desert, but the big question is, why does everyone picture all of Texas as being like the Trans-Pecos? Most people here in California think Houston is desert. Imagine their surprise when I tell them Houston is Texas with Florida weather!

[ragnarkar]

Originally Posted by MrJester

Just a couple miles inland, though, from the coast in Louisiana, you'll see the thickest bald cypress and pine forests imaginable, just as you would expect from the rainiest state in the country.

Here's something to blow your mind: Dubai is humid. Yep. They receive dew points at least as high as Houston, New Orleans, or Florida; often 80+ dew points with triple digit heat. And...they're in a desert. Less than 5 inches of rain a year, but still plenty of humidity, probably due to the freakishly warm Persian Gulf currents nearby.

Yep, this is the worst possible climate. High humidity is fine if it comes with periodical rains.

Similar deal around Blythe, CA and Yuma, AZ.. frequent 80+ dewpoints despite being in the desert but at least those high dewpoints are often followed by rainfall.

[earthisle]

Texas has a lot of desert and semi arid area so it's not that inaccurate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geogra...%C3%B6ppen.svg

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by MrJester

No one's doubting that the Trans-Pecos is desert, but the big question is, why does everyone picture all of Texas as being like the Trans-Pecos? Most people here in California think Houston is desert. Imagine their surprise when I tell them Houston is Texas with Florida weather!

Most people have a terrible sense of geography, I don't think that's unique to people's opinions on Texas.

Most people forget that most of NY isn't NYC.

Most people forget there is more to California than SoCal.

Most people forget that Arizona has parts that have highs in the 70s and lots of snow.

The Majority of people I meet here in Texas think Idaho is in the midwest. "Potatoes" and assume it looks like Iowa instead of Montana.

Most people forget a huge part of Montana looks like the Dakotas.

I don't think it's a unique thing.

The most Iconic Texas films: Giant, Hell or High Water, Second Hand Lions etc are set in West Texas. Once you have a setting in mind for "Texas" why try to change it? It's a director's job to tell a story, not educate people on the geography of a place. You don't see any movies set in California that are set outside their own stereotypes.

If Houston specifically wanted to show everyone how green it was the best thing it could do would be to have more movies and TV shows set there that showcase how it actually looks, like Breaking Bad did with New Mexico.

Finally, alot of Texas is either semi arid or desert so it is true of a lot of the geographical area of Texas if not the big cities are all humid/semitropical

I for one was the most surprised how humid Dallas is when I moved here, though I expected that from Houston, being on the gulf and all that.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by earthisle

Texas has a lot of desert and semi arid area so it's not that inaccurate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geogra...%C3%B6ppen.svg

Except that a much larger area of Texas is humid subtropical. Even Oregon and Washington have a larger percentage of deserts/semi-arid areas in their states.

[Treasurevalley92]

Originally Posted by ScrappyJoe

Except that a much larger area of Texas is humid subtropical. Even Oregon and Washington have a larger percentage of deserts/semi-arid areas in their states.

Sure, but no one thinks of Oregon or Washington as high desert states, they think of whats west of the Cascades.

[kemahkami]

Originally Posted by Treasurevalley92

Sure, but no one thinks of Oregon or Washington as high desert states, they think of whats west of the Cascades.

Duh, that's the point!