The Texas Coastal Bend, or just the Coastal Bend, is a

geographical region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in the

US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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 ...

. The name refers to the area being a curve 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 ...

of 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 ...

. The largest city of the Coastal Bend is Corpus Christi. It includes the Nueces Estuary (

Corpus Christi Bay 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 the

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

– Aransas Estuary (

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 most ...

), as well as part of

Laguna Madre The Laguna Madre is a long, shallow, hypersaline lagoon along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Nueces, Kenedy, Kleberg, Willacy and Cameron Counties in Texas, United States. It is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coas ...

. The coastline is paralleled by several of the

Texas barrier islands The Texas barrier islands are a chain of barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico along the Texas Gulf Coast. The islands enclose a series of estuaries along the Texas coast and attract tourists for activities such as recreational fishing and dolphin ...

, including

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 ...

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 ...

, and San José Island. The Coastal Bend consists of 9

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

: Aransas,

Bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States *Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine *Brooks Township, Michigan * ...

, Jim Wells, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Refugio, and San Patricio Counties.

Nature

The Coastal Bend is a habitat for many types of vegetation and wildlife.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge 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 Count ...

is among the most prominent centers for wildlife in the United States. Wildlife found in the area includes the rare

whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to N ...

American alligator The American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis''), sometimes referred to colloquially as a gator or common alligator, is a large crocodilian reptile native to the Southeastern United States. It is one of the two extant species in the g ...

nine-banded armadillo The nine-banded armadillo (''Dasypus novemcinctus''), also known as the nine-banded long-nosed armadillo or common long-nosed armadillo, is a mammal found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos. It ...

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

s, and numerous other species of wildlife. The Texas Coastal Bend is an area of demarcation between ranges of various vegetative species. For example, the California fan palm (''

Washingtonia filifera ''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...

'') is found only west of the Texas Coastal Bend, or more specifically the

Balcones Fault The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

Estuaries

Two of the major estuary systems of Texas are found along the coastal bend: the Nueces Estuary (

) and the

– Aransas Estuary (

). The

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

has designated these Texas Coastal Bend Estuaries as an estuary system of national significance under the

National Estuary Program In the United States, the National Estuary Program (NEP) provides grants to states where governors have identified nationally significant estuaries that are threatened by pollution, land development, or overuse. Governors have identified a total o ...

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''California Fan Palm: Washingtonia filifera'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
* Roy L. Lehman, Ruth O'Brien, Tammy White. 2005. ''Plants of the Texas Coastal Bend'', Texas A&M University Press, 352 pages ,

Line notes

External links

* * {{coord, 28.4, -96.4, display=title, region:US-TX Regions of Texas Geography of Texas

Nature

Estuaries

See also

References

Line notes

External links