"Zapata, the county seat of Zapata County, is on U.S. Highway 83 and the shores of International Falcon Reservoir, fifty miles south of Laredo... Organized settlement of the area began about 1750, when the viceroy of New Spain commissioned Col. José de Escandón to explore and colonize the vast northern frontier along the Rio Grande... Zapata is the center of extensive oil and gas wells. In 1985 ranching continued to be a major industry in the area. Zapata has attracted winter tourists and vacationers because of the mild climate and fine fishing in the reservoir."