events
Texas is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas to the south and southwest. Texas has a coastline on the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast. Covering 268,596 square miles (695,660 km2) and with over 31 million residents as of 2024, it is the second-largest state by area and population. Texas is nicknamed the Lone Star State for its former status as an independent country, the Republic of Texas.
A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems have failed. Modern wells have blowout preventers intended to prevent such an occurrence. An accidental spark during a blowout can lead to a catastrophic oil or gas fire.
Spindletop is an oil field located in the southern portion of Beaumont, Texas, in the United States. The Spindletop dome was derived from the Louann Salt evaporite layer of the Jurassic geologic period. On January 10, 1901, a well at Spindletop struck oil. The Spindletop gusher blew for 9 days at a rate estimated at 100,000 barrels (16,000 m3) of oil per day. Gulf Oil and Texaco, now part of Chevron Corporation, were formed to develop production at Spindletop. The Spindletop discovery led the United States into the oil age. Prior to Spindletop, oil was primarily used for lighting and as a lubricant. Because of the quantity of oil discovered, burning petroleum as a fuel for mass consumption suddenly became economically feasible.
Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about 85 miles (137 km) east of Houston. With a population of 115,282 at the 2020 census, Beaumont is the largest municipality by population near the Louisiana border. Its metropolitan area was the 10th largest in Texas in 2020, and 130th in the United States.
January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 355 days remain until the end of the year.