People in the Dallas and Fort Worth areas sometimes use the terms Metroplex, DFW, and North Texas interchangeably.

However, North Texas refers to a much larger area that includes many northern rural counties along the Red River of the South border.

[12] Indigenous tribes in North Texas included the Caddo, Tawakoni, Wichita, Kickapoo, and Comanche.

Since European colonization and the independence movements, the North Texas area was settled and most notably developed the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth.

Severe storms are frequent in the spring and summer, as the area lies in the southern section of "tornado alley".

Characteristically, hot spells in summer are broken into three- to five-day periods by thunderstorm activity.

A large part of the annual precipitation results from thunderstorm activity, with occasional heavy rainfall over brief periods of time.

In 1972, Major League Baseball's Washington Senators moved to Arlington to become the Texas Rangers, named after the statewide law enforcement agency.

The area is also home to many minor league professional teams and four colleges that compete in NCAA Division I athletics.