The Texas barrier islands are a chain of
barrier island
Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...
s in 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 ...
along the
Texas Gulf Coast
Texas Gulf Coast is an intertidal zone which borders the coastal region of South Texas, Southeast Texas, and the Texas Coastal Bend. The Texas coastal geography boundaries the Gulf of Mexico encompassing a geographical distance relative bearing ...
. The islands enclose a series of
estuaries along the Texas coast and attract tourists for activities such as recreational fishing and
dolphin watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...
. The seven barrier islands, listed from northeast to southwest, are
Galveston Island
Galveston Island ( ) is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in the United States, about southeast of Houston. The entire island, with the exception of Jamaica Beach, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston in Galveston County.
T ...
,
Follet's Island
Follet's Island is a barrier island on the Texas Gulf Coast in Brazoria County, Texas, immediately southwest of Galveston Island. Follet's Island separates the Christmas Bay system from the Gulf of Mexico, making it one of a chain of barrier is ...
,
Matagorda Island
Matagorda Island (), ''Spanish for'' "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. The traditional homeland of ...
,
San José Island,
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 ...
,
Padre Island
Padre Island is the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island. The island is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning ''father'' in Spanish, it ...
, and
Brazos Island
Brazos Island, also known as Brazos Santiago Island, is a barrier island on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States, south of the town of South Padre Island. The island is located in Cameron County.
Brazos Santiago Pass partitions the bar ...
.
Padre Island is the world's largest barrier island, with a length of .
Since 1962 Padre Island has been divided in two by the dredging of the
Port Mansfield Channel
Port Mansfield Channel or Mansfield Cut is an artificial waterway encompassing the Laguna Madre positioned at the 97th meridian west on the earth's longest barrier island known as Padre Island. During Post–World War II, the tidal inlet was d ...
roughly north of the south end of the island, which separated it into portions referred to as
South Padre Island
South Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. The remote landform is located in Cameron County, Willacy County, and accessible by the Queen Isabella Causeway. South Padre Island was formed when the creation of the Port Mans ...
and
North Padre Island
North Padre Island is a barrier island along the coast of Texas. It and South Padre Island were formed after the creation of the Port Mansfield Channel split Padre Island in two. From north to south, North Padre Island is located in parts of Nuec ...
.
List of islands
References
External links
*
{{Texas barrier islands