LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Houston: City
built 254 days ago
Houston is a power-shopper’s paradise. From the high-end choices at the famed Galleria to discount discoveries on Harwin Drive, there are plenty of places to pick up anything and everything on your list. Houston is a land of malls. In fact, every pocket of the city is home to a mall where shoppers will find anchor stores such as Macy’s and Dillard’s as well as other smaller, national retailers. Read more »
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Houston is a big city and, like any other big city, has crime. Use common sense. Violent crime ... has increased somewhat after the arrival of evacuees of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.
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Winters in Houston are fairly temperate. The average high in January, the coldest month, is 63 °F (17 °C), while the average low is 45 °F (7 °C). Snowfall is generally rare. The last snowstorm to hit Houston was on December 24, 2004. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Houston was 5 °F (−15 °C) on January 23, 1940.[46] Houston receives a high amount of rainfall annually, averaging about 54 inches a year. These rains tend to cause floods over portions of the city.
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What this means to visitors is that Houston covers a larger land area with less population than might otherwise be expected. Everything is spread out. No matter where you are, almost nothing will be within walking distance. The entire city is built on the assumption that nearly everyone owns and drives a car virtually everywhere they go.
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Most of Houston is located on the gulf coastal plain, and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and forest. Much of the city was built on forested land, marshes, swamp, or prairie, which are all still visible in surrounding areas. Flatness of the local terrain, when combined with urban sprawl, has made flooding a recurring problem for the city.[29] Downtown stands about 50 feet (15 m) above sea level,[30] and the highest point in far northwest Houston is about 125 feet (38 m) in elevation.[31][32] The city once relied on groundwater for its needs, but land subsidence forced the city to turn to ground-level water sources such as Lake Houston and Lake Conroe.[33][9]
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Houston is the nation’s fourth largest city, home to 2 million people and a hub of international businesses. Houston’s leaders are ... focusing their attention on making their city not only a great place to live, but a great place to visit as well.
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