The bay is fed by the Nueces River, forming a natural estuary, which renders it ecologically and economically vital to the surrounding area.

[1] The first human inhabitants were the nomadic Aransas Indians, who settled between the Copano and Baffin Bays about 8,000 years ago, until 1300 CE.

French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle sailed into the bay in 1685, mistakenly believing it was the Mississippi River.

[2] Later that century, missionaries discussed the possibility of moving Nuestra Señora del Refugio Mission to the site, but decided against the idea due to conflict with the Lipan Apaches.

The next decade, a colony for freed slaves was proposed by abolitionist Benjamin Lundy, who had to cancel after the outbreak of the Texas Revolution.

[7] To the north of the bay, the Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company controlled a large segment of San Patricio County for ranching during the aftermath of the Texas Revolution.

[17] Due south of Whites Point at the mouth of Odem Bay, is an oil field, situated against the backdrop of heavy industry on the shore to the southwest.

The southern shore, which continues toward Rincon Point, is slender due to the industrial canal dredged to the south to the Port of Corpus Christi.

However, since the construction of Choke Canyon Reservoir in 1985, freshwater inflows have decreased from the Nueces River, increasing the bay's salinity, and hurting the natural oyster and shrimp habitat.

In response, the City of Corpus Christi, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and two additional state agencies have worked to restore the natural freshwater inflows into the bay.

Oyster beds are common throughout the bay and are known to be hiding spots for such fish as trout, black drum, flounder, and redfish.

[17] A diverse collection of birds sustained by the water life, such as the black skimmer, brown pelican, great blue heron, egret, laughing gull, roseate spoonbill, tern, and white ibis, can be found in the bay, especially near the mouth of Rincon Bayou.

[22] At the nearby Nueces Delta Preserve, countless birds have been observed, as well as bobcats, coyotes, feral hogs, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, Texas spiny lizards, western diamondbacks, and white-tailed deer.

[14] Pesticides that seep into the bay from the heavy agricultural activity on the north shore can also spur adverse environmental effects.