Estuaries of Texas
[3] The Texas coastline has changed significantly over the past million years as a result of sea level fluctuations, caused mainly by the passing of glacial periods.
[1] The Laguna Madre Estuary is located along the southern coast of Texas in Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy, and Cameron Counties, extending almost to the border with Mexico.
Laguna Madre is the second largest of the Texas estuaries, approximately 130 miles (210 km) long and 4 to 6 miles (6 to 10 km) wide, with a surface area of 280,910 acres (113,680 ha) including Laguna Madre and its westward extensions in Baffin Bay and South Bay.
Tourism and commercial fishing (especially for penaeid shrimp) are major industries in the region,[7] and much of the mainland shore is part of King Ranch.
It is fed by the Nueces River and Oso Creek and separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island.
[10] Other significant industries include petroleum and natural gas extraction, tourism, commercial fishing, and military facilities such as Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
It is fed by the Guadalupe River, separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Island and connecting with it through Cedar Bayou.
[21]: 6 The estuary is remote and difficult for shipping to access, and its shores are almost uninhabited, with the small towns of Seadrift and Austwell as the only significant settlements.
[23] The Colorado–Lavaca Estuary is located on the upper-mid Texas coast in Matagorda, Jackson, Victoria, and Calhoun Counties.
[28] The Trinity–San Jacinto Estuary is located on the northeastern Texas coast in Chambers, Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria Counties, adjoining the city of Houston.
[34] Petrochemical industries are concentrated along the western shore, and the estuary also supports Texas's largest commercial fishery.
[37] The Sabine–Neches Estuary is located on the Louisiana border at the corner of Southeast Texas in Jefferson and Orange Counties, adjoining the city of Port Arthur.
[40] The largest industries around the estuary are petroleum and natural gas extraction, petrochemical processing, shipping, and shipbuilding.
Agriculture also forms a significant component of the regional economy, principally rice and soybean cultivation, livestock ranching, and commercial fishing (mainly for shellfish).
Several of these are simply the lower tidal reaches of particular rivers, without barrier islands or embayments to separate them from the Gulf of Mexico.
[3] The Rio Grande Estuary is located on the Texas–Mexico border in Cameron County, south of Laguna Madre at the southern extremity of the Texas coast.
It has no significant river sources and is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Matagorda Peninsula, only intermittently connecting with it through Brown Cedar Cut.
