Coastal Bend map
Region · 11 counties · ~11,700 sq mi · Pop. about 582,000 (2020) · Central Time
The Coastal Bend is the elbow of the Texas coast. North of it the shoreline runs southwest; at Corpus Christi Bay it turns and runs almost due south toward the Rio Grande. Everything on this map drains into that bend: four large bay systems, three barrier islands and the largest port between Houston and Brownsville.
From Copano Bay south to Baffin Bay, and inland to Duval and Live Oak counties. The thin strips offshore are Mustang and San José islands and the north end of Padre Island.
Where it starts and ends
The northern limit is Copano and Aransas bays, where Aransas and Refugio counties meet the Calhoun County line; north of there the coast is usually called the middle Gulf Coast and looks to Victoria rather than Corpus Christi. The southern limit is Baffin Bay and the Kenedy–Willacy county line, below which the map becomes the Rio Grande Valley. Inland the region reaches as far as Duval and Live Oak counties, where the coastal prairie gives way to the mesquite and blackbrush of the South Texas brush country.
The Nueces River is the region's defining line as well as its name. Mexico regarded the Nueces, not the Rio Grande, as the southern boundary of Texas, and the strip between the two rivers was disputed until the Mexican–American War settled it. The river reaches salt water at Nueces Bay, just north of the Corpus Christi ship channel.
The eleven counties
| County | Seat | Pop. 2020 | Sq mi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nueces | Corpus Christi | 353,178 | 1,165 |
| San Patricio | Sinton | 68,755 | 707 |
| Jim Wells | Alice | 38,891 | 868 |
| Bee | Beeville | 31,047 | 880 |
| Kleberg | Kingsville | 31,040 | 1,090 |
| Aransas | Rockport | 23,830 | 528 |
| Live Oak | George West | 11,335 | 1,079 |
| Duval | San Diego | 9,831 | 1,795 |
| Goliad | Goliad | 7,012 | 859 |
| Refugio | Refugio | 6,741 | 818 |
| Kenedy | Sarita | 350 | 1,946 |
About 60% of the region's population lives in Nueces County; Kenedy County has no incorporated city at all.
Cities and towns
- Corpus Christi
317,863 people (2020), the eighth-largest city in Texas and the seat of Nueces County. Downtown, the seawall, the USS Lexington and the port all sit on Corpus Christi Bay.
- Kleberg County
Kingsville, the seat, is 40 miles south of Corpus Christi on US-77. Texas A&M–Kingsville and Naval Air Station Kingsville are in town; the King Ranch headquarters is just west of it.
- Aransas County
Rockport and Fulton sit on Aransas Bay, reached by SH-35 over the Copano Bay causeway. Shrimp fleet, fishing harbor and the wind-bent live oaks at Goose Island.
- San Patricio County
Sinton, Portland, Ingleside and Aransas Pass, strung along US-181 and SH-35 on the north shore of Nueces and Corpus Christi bays.
- Jim Wells County
Alice, the seat, is 45 miles west of Corpus Christi on SH-44 and serves as the oilfield-service town for the western Coastal Bend.
- Bee County
Beeville stands at the crossing of US-59 and US-181, 55 miles north of Corpus Christi.
- Goliad County
Presidio La Bahía and Mission Espíritu Santo stand above the San Antonio River at Goliad; the town's name is an anagram of Hidalgo.
Roads and crossings
- I-37 – the only interstate, running about 145 miles northwest from Corpus Christi through Live Oak County to San Antonio.
- US-77 – south from Refugio through Sinton, Robstown and Kingsville to the Valley, being rebuilt in stages as I-69E.
- US-59 – northeast through Beeville and Goliad toward Victoria and Houston, signed I-69W at its southern end.
- US-181 – Beeville to Portland, then over the Harbor Bridge across the Corpus Christi ship channel into downtown.
- SH-35 – the bay road: Aransas Pass, Rockport, the Copano Bay causeway and on toward Port Lavaca.
- SH-358 and Park Road 22 – Padre Island Drive out to the JFK Causeway, the only road link to Mustang and North Padre islands.
- SH-44 – west from Corpus Christi through Alice to Freer and Laredo.
Bays, islands and the port
Four bay systems sit behind the barrier islands: Aransas and Copano in the north, Nueces and Corpus Christi in the middle, and the upper Laguna Madre running south past Baffin Bay. The Laguna Madre is hypersaline — evaporation outpaces the little fresh water reaching it, so it is saltier than the Gulf, a condition shared with only a handful of lagoons anywhere. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs the length of it as a dredged barge channel.
The ship channel through Aransas Pass carries traffic to the Port of Corpus Christi, the deepwater terminal that handles crude oil, refined products and grain from the surrounding farm country. Naval Air Station Corpus Christi occupies Corpus Christi Bay's south shore, and the refineries stand on the north side along the channel.
South of the JFK Causeway the development stops and Padre Island National Seashore begins, protecting roughly 70 miles of undeveloped barrier beach and dune. Behind it, the King Ranch covers about 825,000 acres across Kleberg, Kenedy, Brooks and Willacy counties — one reason the drive south on US-77 passes almost no towns for 70 miles.
Distinctive facts
| Largest city | Corpus Christi, 317,863 (2020) |
| Smallest county population in the region | Kenedy, 350 people in 1,946 sq mi |
| Whooping cranes | The wild migratory flock winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Blackjack Peninsula |
| Barrier islands | San José, Mustang and North Padre, separated by Aransas Pass and Packery Channel |
| Oldest county names | Goliad and San Patricio, both created in 1836 |
| Newest county | Kenedy, 1921, the last county created in Texas |