Aransas Pass is a navigable salt water channel connecting the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

with

Aransas Bay Aransas Bay is a bay on the Texas Gulf Coast, approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, and south of San Antonio. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by San José Island (also referred to as St. Joseph Island). Aransas Pass is the m ...

on the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Gulf coast in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The pass separates

Mustang Island Mustang Island is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long, stretching from Corpus Christi to Port Aransas. The island is oriented generally northeast–southwest, with the Gulf ...

to the south from San José Island to the north, and is protected by

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

extending into the Gulf from both islands. At the eastern end of the pass is the town of

Port Aransas Port Aransas ( ) is a city in Nueces County, Texas, United States. This city is 180 miles southeast of San Antonio. The population was 2,904 at the 2020 census. Port Aransas is the only established town on Mustang Island. It is located north of ...

, located at the far northern end of Mustang Island. At the western end of the pass, on the mainland side of Aransas Bay, is the town of

Aransas Pass Aransas Pass is a navigable salt water channel connecting the Gulf of Mexico with Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast in the United States. The pass separates Mustang Island to the south from San José Island to the north, and is protected by j ...

. A free ferry serves the two towns. The pass is located on the Aransas County and

Nueces County Nueces County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 353,178, making it the 16th-most populous county in the state. The county seat is Corpus Christi. The county was formed in 1846 from portions of S ...

line. The second

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

in Texas was built at Aransas Pass by the United States government to protect shipping in Aransas Bay. Aransas Pass was originally pictured as becoming a major Texas hub of commerce and travel with rail links to the harbor and harbor links by ships to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, New York and other destinations. Today, Aransas Pass is the major pass for all oceangoing traffic into and out of the port of Corpus Christi.

External sources

*
The New Aransas Pass Progress newspaper.
Landforms of Aransas County, Texas Bodies of water of Texas Landforms of Nueces County, Texas Channels of the United States {{AransasCountyTX-geo-stub

See also

External sources