'Galveston Bay' is a large
estuary located along
Texas's upper coast. The Galveston Bay system consists of five subbays: Christmas Bay, West Bay, Lower Galveston Bay, Upper Galveston Bay, East Bay, and
Trinity Bay. The bay is fed by the
Trinity River and the
San Jacinto River, numerous local bayous and incoming tides from the
Gulf of Mexico. The bay covers approximately 600 square miles (1,500 km²), and is 30 miles (50 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide. Galveston Bay is on average 7-9 feet (3 m) deep. The bay has three inlets at the Gulf of Mexico: Bolivar Roads (the exit of the Houston Ship Channel) between
Galveston Island and the
Bolivar Peninsula, San Luis Pass to the West, and Rollover Pass to the East.
The
Houston Ship Channel, connecting the Port of Houston to the Gulf, passes through Galveston Bay.
Houston, Texas is the largest city on the bay, while smaller ones include
Galveston,
Pasadena,
Baytown,
Texas City, and
Anahuac. Four counties border the bay;
Brazoria,
Chambers,
Harris, and
Galveston County.
The bay provides nursery and spawning grounds for large amounts of marine life, and is important for both commercial and recreational
fishing.
References in popular culture
★
Bruce Springsteen references ''Galveston Bay'' in the song with the same name on the album
The Ghost of Tom Joad.
External links
★
★ See an 1853 map
''Preliminary chart of San Luis Pass, Texas / from a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A.D. Bache ; triangulation by James S. Williams ; topography by J.M. Wampler ; hydrography by the party under the command of H.S. Stellwagen ; engg. by E. Yeager & J.J. Knight ; redd. drng. by E. Freyhold.'', hosted by the
Portal to Texas History.
External links
★
Galveston Island State Park
★
Galveston Bay Status and Trends