Victoria

City and administrative headquarters of Victoria County, south Texas, USA; population (2000) 60,600. It is situated on the Guadalupe River, near the Gulf of Mexico, and 116 km/72 mi northeast of Corpus Christi. It is a transportation centre for oil, natural gas, chemicals, and dairy products. It was founded 1824 by Spanish settlers. The city is home to Victoria College (1925), and the University of Houston, Victoria.

Railways brought economic growth to the cattle centre late in the 19th century; there has been petrochemical and natural gas production here since the 1940s. The completion in 1963 of the Victoria Barge Canal to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway further spurred industrial expansion. The Victoria Advocate, published daily since 1846, is the second-oldest newspaper in Texas.