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Matagorda County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 36,702. Its county seat is Bay City, not to be confused with the larger Baytown in Harris and Chambers Counties. Matagorda County is named for the canebrakes that once grew along the coast.
Lavaca Bay is a northwestern extension of the Matagorda Bay system found mostly in Calhoun County, Texas, United States. The ports of Port Lavaca and Point Comfort have been established on the bay, and are the main areas of human habitation. Linnville was located on the bay until its abandonment after the Great Raid of 1840, and the major port of Indianola was found near the confluence with the main Matagorda Bay, until the town's final destruction following the massive hurricane of 1886. Smaller communities include Olivia, Alamo Beach and Magnolia Beach. Lavaca Bay is approximately 82 miles (130 km) northeast of Corpus Christi, about 121 miles (190 km) southwest of Houston, and 145 miles (230 km) southeast of San Antonio.
Matagorda Bay is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Corpus Christi, 143 miles (230 km) east-southeast of San Antonio, 108 miles (174 km) south-southwest of Houston, and 167 miles (269 km) south-southeast of Austin. It is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas and serves as the mouth of numerous streams, most notably the Lavaca and Colorado Rivers. The Texas seaport of Port Lavaca is located on the system's northwestern extension of Lavaca Bay. The city of Palacios is found on northeastern extension of Tres Palacios Bay, and Port O'Connor is located on the southwestern tip of the main bay's shore. The ghost town of Indianola, which was a major port before it was destroyed by two hurricanes in the late 19th century, is also found on the bay.
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of—and including—San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 4.96 million according to the 2017 census estimates. The southern portion of this region is often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley. The eastern portion along the Gulf of Mexico is also referred to as the Coastal Bend.
Matagorda Island, Spanish for "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately seven miles south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. The traditional homeland of the Karankawa people, the island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Espiritu Santo Bay on the west and north. It is separated from San José Island to the south by Cedar Bayou, and is separated from the Matagorda Peninsula to the north by Pass Cavallo. It is accessible by boat only. It has a land area of 157.25 square kilometers.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 115,324-acre (466.7 km2) protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun Counties. It is situated on the southwest side of the San Antonio Bay, formed by the mouth of the Guadalupe River. It also includes nearly the entirety of Matagorda Island, a 38-mile barrier island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7784 on 31 December 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1940 changing the name to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Corpus Christi, and 173 miles (278 km) south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island. Aransas Pass is the most direct navigable outlet into the Gulf of Mexico from the bay. The cities of Aransas Pass and Port Aransas are located at the southern end, and Rockport is found on the central western shore. The bay is oriented laterally northeast-southwest, and is extended by Redfish Bay to the southwest, Copano Bay to the west, Saint Charles Bay to the north, and Mesquite Bay to the northeast. Aransas Bay is part of the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about 10 miles from San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is 240 miles long and crosses five counties: Bexar, Goliad, Karnes, Refugio, and Wilson.
Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River and Oso Creek from its western and southern extensions, Nueces Bay and Oso Bay. The bay is located approximately 136 miles (219 km) south of San Antonio, and 179 miles (288 km) southwest of Houston.
Sargent is a small unincorporated community located in the eastern corner of Matagorda County, Texas, United States.
San Antonio Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast situated between Matagorda and Aransas Bay. It consists mainly of the combined waters of the San Antonio and Guadalupe rivers, and is located at the mouth of the Guadalupe River, about 55 miles (89 km) northeast of Corpus Christi and 130 miles (209 km) southeast of San Antonio. It is protected from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Island, leaving only relatively small and distant outlets to the Gulf for little mixing of bay and Gulf waters. The remoteness of the bay has prevented the establishment of major ports as seen on Aransas Bay and Corpus Christi Bay, to the south.
Matagorda is a census-designated place in Matagorda County, located near the mouth of the Colorado River on the upper Texas coast in the United States. In 2010, its population was 503. Matagorda is primarily a tourist town, with commercial and recreational fishing being the top industries. About 23 miles (37 km) of beach are accessible by vehicle and 35 additional miles are accessible only by boat. Matagorda is at the end of State Highway 60 and beginning of Farm to Market Road 2031, which runs over the Intracoastal Waterway and south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Cedar Bayou is a salt water channel on the Texas coast that separates San Jose Island from Matagorda Island. The pass serves as a water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the San Antonio, Matagorda and Aransas Bay systems.
The Matagorda Peninsula is a narrow spit of land on the southeastern coast of Texas in the United States.
St. Charles Bay is an inlet of Aransas Bay in Aransas County, Texas. It is flanked by Lamar peninsula on the west and Blackjack peninsula on the east. The bay hosts a valued ecosystem for the endangered whooping crane, and is a prime location for birding and fishing. Goose Island State Park and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge are located along the bay's shores, attracting nature enthusiasts year-round.
Tres Palacios Bay is a northeastern extension of Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast in Matagorda County. It is fed by the Tres Palacios River. The city of Palacios is located on its shores. A channel that connects Palacios to the Intracoastal Waterway has been dredged through the bay.
Carancahua Bay is a northern extension of Matagorda Bay located in Jackson and Matagorda counties in Texas, United States. It is oriented from the southeast to the northwest but meanders as it reaches the north to the confluence with Carancahua Creek. Generally slender, it is only about 1 mile (1.6 km) in width north of its circular mouth.
Pass Cavallo, alternately known as Cavallo Pass, is one of five natural water inlets which separate the Gulf of Mexico and Matagorda Bay, in the U.S. state of Texas. René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle came ashore in Texas at this point. Matagorda Island Lighthouse was originally built on this site. During the Civil War, Pass Cavallo was a major port of entry and was captured by the Union
Dewberry Island is an island located in Espiritu Santo Bay in Calhoun County, Texas, in the United States. It is northeast of the Matagorda Island Wildlife Refuge, and on the northern side of Shoalwater Bay, in the U.S. state of Texas. It is several miles long and is an extension of the nearby Blackberry Island. Dewberry Island is located near a geographical feature known as the Army Cut.
The U.S. state of Texas has a series of estuaries along its coast on the Gulf of Mexico, most of them bounded by the Texas barrier islands. Estuaries are coastal bodies of water in which freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the sea. Twenty-one drainage basins terminate along the Texas coastline, forming a chain of seven major and five minor estuaries: listed from southwest to northeast, these are the Rio Grande Estuary, Laguna Madre, the Nueces Estuary, the Mission–Aransas Estuary, the Guadalupe Estuary, the Colorado–Lavaca Estuary, East Matagorda Bay, the San Bernard River and Cedar Lakes Estuary, the Brazos River Estuary, Christmas Bay, the Trinity–San Jacinto Estuary, and the Sabine–Neches Estuary. Each estuary is named for its one or two chief contributing rivers, excepting Laguna Madre, East Matagorda Bay, and Christmas Bay, which have no major river sources. The estuaries are also sometimes referred to by the names of their respective primary or central water bodies, though each also includes smaller secondary bays, inlets, or other marginal water bodies.
References
- ↑ "Espiritu Santo Bay". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. November 11, 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ↑ "Espiritu Santo Bay". GulfBase. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2010. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
- ↑ Scates, Chuck; Phil H. Shook. "Fly Fishing the Texas Coast". Great Outdoor Recreation Pages. Orbitz Away LLC Time. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
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