bay bay northwestern extension corpus bay san counties texas bay fed forming natural estuary renders economically vital surrounding area serves habitat propagation fish sustain diverse species birds wildlife bay threatened pollution heavy industry southern shore prevents farming production oil important surrounding economies major settlements portland found eastern shore connected bay confluence agriculture dominates northern shore plots land owned descendants early settlers largely abandoned historical communities located area west extension formed fed large complex marsh formed delta south mouth remains abandoned settlement included corpus city limits history formed approximately years ago sea level rose conclusion ice age sea level stabilized years later shaping present day bay human inhabitants nomadic indians settled bays years ago century arrived present europeans came ashore spanish nuts refers trees grew banks noted spanish explorer unclear given bay called san spanish captain map texas identified bay appears noted spanish map mouth hidden river believed french explorer sailed bay mistakenly believing mississippi_river spanish colonial governor planned villa mouth named families sent site failed establish settlement lack sufficient supplies later century missionaries discussed possibility moving site decided idea conflict germans attempted settle area turned away french war 1830s decade colony freed slaves proposed abolitionist cancel outbreak texas revolution founded trading post southeastern shore believed permanent settlement bay soon grew major texas port population time census settlement finally established confluence founded corpus community referred german english settlers nearby tree clusters officially known raided mexican recovered grew population railroad passed town declined today included city limits corpus north bay controlled large segment aftermath texas revolution later names nearby towns involved company sold plot land northeast hired mexican immigrants clear land trees founded community later named plots land community held descendants original owners town portland extreme northeast bay established land purchased pasture company future state senator help new_england company town steadily grew reached population northwest bay whites point peninsula settlement established purchased land point cattle driving white family soon purchase whites died yellow fever epidemic swept area killed people land raise cattle grow cotton sell real estate new settlers post office established site given little flower names white point rejected gas explosion massive hurricanes including storm killed residents approximately killed portland corpus post office abolished year residents relocated features covers area square miles km2 drains square miles km2 basin average depth metres volume acre feet bay considered southern extreme stretches northeast galveston bay geographic transition coastal plain dry brush region forms base enters point bay north entrance extension bay named nearby settlement extension includes shallow marsh fed extensive system tidal streams including headed east south mouth oil field situated backdrop heavy industry shore southwest southern shore continues slender industrial canal south port corpus mouth bay corpus bay indian point crossed mile long bay causeway leads portland found shoreline bay curves north west lined piers residences bay leads west whites point north shore largely agriculture ecosystem estuary provides ecosystem wide variety wildlife construction freshwater decreased increasing bay hurting natural shrimp habitat response city corpus additional state agencies worked restore natural freshwater bay extension low serves nursery shrimp migrate spring beds common bay known hiding spots fish trout black drum protected excessive freshwater introduction survival diverse collection birds sustained water life black brown great blue laughing white found bay especially near mouth local efforts program benefited bird populations adding crushed shells bay small islands improved nesting conditions restoration marsh near increase fish populations satisfy birds requirements nearby countless birds observed feral mountain lions texas western white tailed deer industry oil pumped bay fishing humans inhabited area early 1970s recreational fishing accounted yearly input million local economy commercial fishermen contributed million commercial farming common bay suspended practice annual average level nearly filter affected high levels water excessive believed dumped bay texas incorporated subsidiary operated site believed discharged december time levels bay reduced slightly remains healthy levels power station come control established measure level watershed effort restore bay safe levels bay heavy agricultural activity north shore spur adverse environmental effects oil occurred result heavy petroleum industry south shore approximately gallons oil leaked pipeline miles shore years later owns bay responsible major spill resulted release gallons oil leaving mile slick corpus bay fined company million spill million later given company state texas improve bay water quality
Nueces Bay