Where does 'Houston' begin and end? 

If you ask the average person who lives in the Houston area where Houston begins and ends you might get several different responses.  Sure Houston has city limits where essential services are under the control of the city, but in the minds of locals what constitutes Houston and what does not? 

See some alternate maps of "Houston".... less If you ask the average person who lives in the Houston area where Houston begins and ends you might get several different responses.  Sure Houston has city limits where essential services are under the control ... more Photo: Pawel.gaul/Getty Images Photo: Pawel.gaul/Getty Images Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Where does 'Houston' begin and end?  1 / 38 Back to Gallery

When speaking to someone unfamiliar with Houston's sprawl, most people who live in the area won't say they live in Cypress, Baytown, or Alvin but will most likely just say "Houston" and then add in that they really live in a suburb of the city. 

As the old traffic joke goes, "Houston is an hour away from Houston." 

But just where does Houston begin and end? 

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According to the Greater Houston Partnership the Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) covers just over 9,400 miles and encompasses nine counties including Harris, Austin, Brazoria, Liberty, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery, and Waller. 

The city's official website has a collection of maps detailing most every aspect of government that the public would need to access from TIRZ to city council districts.  One map definitely shows all of Houston (seen in yellow) if anyone doubts its size. 

Photo: Houstontx.gov Houston proper is seen yellow.  Everything else is disputed...

During a recent informal social media poll we asked what locals thought the boundaries of Houston were, at least colloquially.  It's hard to rein in 655 square-miles of city in the minds of residents.  Most Inner Loopers only think "real" Houston is inside Loop 610, while even others would say Houston is inside Beltway 8. 

"Houston officially starts at College Station, around to Huntsville, across to Cleveland, over to Winnie, around Galveston," said Chance McClain on Twitter. " Then it hoops up to swallow Katy before reconnecting in College Station." 

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Another respondent, Jimi Austin, noted that Houston's eventual new "boundary" will be the 184-mile Grand Parkway (State Highway 99) when it's completed. 

"Columbus to Louisiana on I-10, Cleveland to Victoria on 59, and Huntsville to Galveston on 45," wrote Bryan Agan on Facebook. 

If you were to take a drive around the Golden Nugget and L'Auberge casino parking lots you might also think you were still in Texas, if not Houston. 

Another very-Texan theory is Houston ends at each Buc-ee's location on the outside of town on the main freeways.  Madisonville to the north, Baytown to the east, Texas City to the south, and Katy's location out west. 

Call it the Houston Beaver Nugget Belt. 

Craig Hlavaty covers Houston history and pop-culture.  Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com.  | craig.hlavaty@chron.com