Interesting facts about San Antonio

san antonio

San Antonio officially the City of San Antonio, is a city in Texas, United States.

The city is located approximately 121 kilometers (75 miles) to the southwest of its neighboring city, Austin, the state capital.

As of April 2019, the population of San Antonio is about 1.5 million people. It is is the 7th most populous city in the United States and the second-most populous city in Texas (after Huston).

The city covers a total area of 1,205 square kilometers (465 square miles).

San Antonio lies at a mean elevation of 198 meters (650 feet) above sea level.

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The city’s gently rolling terrain is dotted with oak trees, forested land, mesquite, and cacti.

Spanish explorers first visited the site, then a camp of the Payaya Indians, in 1691.

The “Villa de Bejar” was founded by Spanish explorers on May 5th, 1718, by then Governor Martin Alarcon, at the headwaters of the San Pedro Creek.

The city became the first chartered civil settlement in present-day Texas in 1731.

By 1837, when it became a county seat of the Republic of Texas, it had been renamed San Antonio.

san antonio history

The area was still part of the Spanish Empire, and later of the Mexican Republic.

Today it is the state’s oldest municipality.

Home to some of Texas’ most famous historic sites, San Antonio is a wonderful city for sightseeing.

The San Antonio Riverwalk is the most visited tourist attraction in all of Texas. The river channel was originally developed as a means of flood control to protect the city. Today, guests can sample the best of food, shopping, art, museums, and lodging at the dozens of businesses that line the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) walkway along the San Antonio River.

san antonio riverwalk

The Alamo is one of the most important historic sites in the United States. Part of a mission station established in 1718, it was built by Franciscans in 1744 and by 1836, had been converted into a fort. It became famous during the Texan War of Independence after a small force barricaded themselves in against an overwhelmingly superior Mexican army some 3,000 strong. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.

alamo

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is a National Historical Park and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site preserving four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio. These outposts were established by Catholic religious orders to spread Christianity among the local natives. These missions formed part of a colonization system that stretched across the Spanish Southwest in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.

san antonio missions national historical park

SeaWorld San Antonio is a 100-hectare (250-acre) marine mammal park, oceanarium, and animal theme park, in the Westover Hills District of San Antonio, Texas on the city’s west side. It is the largest of the three parks in the SeaWorld chain owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, and the world’s largest marine-life theme park.

seaworld san antonio

The San Antonio Zoo is an Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited zoo in Midtown San Antonio. It is located in the city’s Brackenridge Park. The 35-acre (14 ha) zoo has a collection of over 3,500 animals representing 750 species. The zoo’s annual attendance exceeds 1,000,000.

san antonio zoo

Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly Fiesta Texas, is a theme park located in La Cantera, San Antonio. The park was built by Gaylord Entertainment Company, and opened on March 14, 1992 as the first business in the district of San Antonio. Spanning 80 hectares (200 acres), the park was originally built to become a destination performance arts park with its focus on the musical culture of the state of Texas.

six flags fiesta texas

The city is home to the San Antonio Spurs, and hosts the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, one of the largest such events in the US.

San Antonio is home to the first museum of modern art in Texas, the McNay Art Museum.

According to the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city is visited by about 32 million tourists a year.

The city’s primary source of drinking water is the Edwards Aquifer.

San Antonio has a transitional humid subtropical climate, featuring very hot, long, and humid summers and mild to cool winters.

The city has about 219 kilometers (136 miles) of bike lanes, routes or off-road paths.