FACTBOX: Hurricane Ike lashes Texas coast

(Reuters) - Hurricane Ike barreled into the densely populated Texas coast on Saturday, with a wall of water, ferocious winds and heavy rains.

The massive storm idled more than a fifth of U.S. oil production, shutting down 17 oil refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, the heart of the U.S. energy industry.

Here are some facts about the affected areas:

HOUSTON

* Fourth largest U.S. city with a population of 2.2 million; sixth largest U.S. metropolitan area with about 5.6 million people.

* Port of Houston on Galveston Bay is a major crude oil import entry and tenth largest world port.

* Downtown is about 50 feet above sea level.

* Administrative hub of U.S. oil industry.

* The area is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Mission Control Center for U.S. space shuttle flights.

* In 1961, Hurricane Carla hit a much less developed Houston as a Category 4 storm and caused more than $2 billion in damage and 43 deaths.

GALVESTON

* Population of nearly 60,000. Considered part of the Houston metropolitan area.

* Galveston Island, where the city of Galveston is located, is a barrier island on the Gulf coast, 50 miles southeast of Houston. Island averages 2 miles wide and is about 27 mile long and 20 feet above sea level at its highest point.

* Port of Galveston on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the north side of Galveston Island, handles cargo and is a passenger cruise ship terminal.

* Mandatory evacuation ordered.

* Galveston was the site of deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history, the hurricane of 1900, which brought a storm surge that covered most of the city. At least 6,000 people died.