Dallas is part of the large metropolitan area in North Central Texas often referred to as the “Metroplex.” The Metroplex, a 12-county area encompassing more than 120 cities, is joined together by the cities of Dallas in the east and Fort Worth in the west.

Geographically, the Metroplex sits at the edge of the Texas Plains on the west and the Piney Woods on the east. Lying 300 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, it is a land of low hills rising no more than 1,200 feet above sea level. Indigenous plants are oak, elm, cacti, sage, pine, dogwood, holly and honeysuckle. Flat backlands and sand clay soils drain to the Trinity River.

Texas is the second largest state in the union after Alaska and now the second largest in terms of population, trailing only California. Dallas is the ninth largest city in the nation, and the third largest in the state after Houston and San Antonio. The city alone has an estimated population of 1,210,390; its Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), which extends to Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Henderson, Hunt, Kaufman and Rockwall Counties, is estimated to include more than 3 million people. The DFW Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) has an estimated 2007 population of 6.1 million, making it larger than the Houston- Galveston CMSA.

Dallas is the center of government for Dallas County, and the city houses many federal courts.

Dallas is about 200 miles north of Austin, the state capital, and about 250 miles northwest of Houston. El Paso, located in the far southwestern corner of the state, is 600 miles away; Fort Worth is a mere 30 miles from Dallas.

If you have lived in a large urban area before, traffic in Dallas should not be surprising. As with any large city, allow extra time when driving because of potential construction and traffic delays. Local television and radio stations provide regular reports on rush hour delays and accidents along with information on alternate routes.

Be sure to have your engine cooling system checked before driving in Dallas, especially in the fall. Traffic and summer heat will demand good engine cooling.

The Dallas freeway system provides numerous well-kept east-west and north-south corridors. Since the city is the hub of business in North Central Texas, many major highways intersect each other within the city, providing direct routes to other major Texas cities.

Roads within the city are generally wide and well marked. Numerous streets in downtown Dallas are one-way to provide for easy rushhour access. Downtown Dallas also has plenty of parking garages, street parking lots and streetside meters.

As in most large cities, certain streets have two names: one that is found on road maps, and one for common local reference. In Dallas, these are:

• Airport Freeway—State Highway 183 from State Highway 114 to the south DFWAirport entrance.
• President George Bush Turnpike—PBGT, State Highway 190, State Highway 161 in Las Colinas.
• John W. Carpenter Freeway—State Highways 183 and 114 from I-35 E to the north DFWAirport entrance.
• C.F. Hawn Freeway—U.S. Highway 75 south of downtown.
• Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway (LBJ)—I-635, begins at the north entrance of DFW Airport and circles the city from the north, east, and south; it includes I-20 in the south.
• Loop 12—Inner-city loop including Northwest Highway on the north; Buckner Boulevard on the east; Ledbetter Drive on the south; and Walton Walker Boulevard on the west.
• Tom Landry Highway—I-30 between I-35E in Dallas and I-35W in Fort Worth.
• Marvin D. Love Freeway—U.S. Highway 67 from I-35E to I-635 south of downtown.
• North Central Expressway—U.S. Highway 75 from downtown to the north.
• South Central Expressway—U.S. Highway 75 from downtown to the south.
• Julius Schepps Freeway—I-45 from downtown to the south.
• Stemmons Freeway—I-35E from downtown to the north.
• R.L. Thornton Freeway—begins at I-35E and U.S. Highway 77 south of Dallas at the I-635 interchange, passes just south of downtown and continues east at I-30.
• Elmer Weaver Freeway—U.S. Highway 67 from I-635 to the south.
• Woodall Rodgers Freeway—Spur 366, the short freeway that connects I-35E with U.S. Highway 75 and I-45.