Dallas ( ) is the third-largest city in the state of Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The city covers , not including water area, and is the county seat of Dallas County. As of June 23, 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimates the population of Dallas at 1,232,940 people.

The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area, nicknamed "the Metroplex." At over 6.1 million people, it is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Dallas is listed as a gamma world city by the Loughborough University Globalization and World Cities Study Group & Network.

Founded in 1841 and formally incorporated as a city on February 1856, the city's economy is primarily based on banking, commerce, telecommunications, computer technology, energy, and transportation. Dallas is the core of the largest inland metropolitan area in the United States that lacks any navigable link to the sea. The city's prominence despite this comes from its historical importance as a center for the oil and cotton industries, its position along numerous railroad lines, its status as a major inland port, and a strong industrial and financial sector.

History

main: History of Dallas, Texas

Before Texas was claimed in the 16th century as a part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain by the Spanish Empire, the Dallas area was inhabited by the Caddo Native Americans. Later, France also claimed the area, but in 1819 the Adams-Onís Treaty made the Red River the northern boundary of New Spain, officially placing Dallas well within Spanish territory.Herbert E. Bolton, "Athanase de Mezieres and the Louisiana-Texas Frontier 1768-1780," Cleveland: Arthur H Clark Company, 1914. The area remained under Spanish rule until 1821, when Mexico declared independence from Spain and the area became part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. In 1836, the Republic of Texas broke off from Mexico to become an independent nation. In 1839, four years into the Republic's existence, Warren Angus Ferris surveyed the area around present-day Dallas. Two years later, John Neely Bryan established a permanent settlement that later became the city of Dallas. The Republic of Texas was then annexed by the United States in 1845 and Dallas County was established the following year. It is uncertain whether the city was named after George Mifflin Dallas, the U.S. Vice President under James Knox Polk.

Geography

Dallas is the county seat of Dallas County. Portions of the city extend into neighboring Collin, Denton, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of it being land and of it (11.03%) water. Dallas makes up one-fifth of the much larger urbanized area known as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, in which one quarter of all Texans live.