Zapata County, Texas

Zapata County
The front of the Zapata County Courthouse
The front of the Zapata County Courthouse
Map of Texas highlighting Zapata County
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Map of the United States highlighting Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 27°00′N 99°11′W / 27°N 99.18°W / 27; -99.18
Country United States
State Texas
FoundedJanuary 22, 1858
Named forColonel José Antonio de Zapata
SeatZapata
Largest communityZapata
Area
 • Total
1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
 • Land998 sq mi (2,580 km2)
 • Water60 sq mi (200 km2)  5.6%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
13,889
 • Density13/sq mi (5.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district28th
Websitewww.co.zapata.tx.us

Zapata County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,889.[1] Its county seat is Zapata.[2] The county is east of the Mexico–United States border and is named for Colonel José Antonio de Zapata, a rancher in the area who rebelled against Mexico.

Zapata County comprises the Zapata, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area.

The South Texas Oil Boom included wells drilled in Zapata County in the early 1920s through the work of Laredo industrialist Oliver Winfield Killam, a Missouri native who once served as an Oklahoma state legislator.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2020 Census was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.