Environmental geologic atlas of the Texas coastal zone : Beaumont-Port Arthur area

The Texas Coastal Zone is marked by diversity in geography, resources, climate, and industry. It is richly andowed with extensive petroleum reserves, sulfur and salt, deep-water ports, intracoastal waterways, mild climate, good water supplies, abundant wildlife, commercial fishing resources, unusual recreational potential, and large tracts of uncrowded land in close proximity to major population centers. The Coastal Zone is a vast area of about 20,000 square miles, including approximately 2,100 square miles of bays and estuaries, 367 miles of Gulf coastline, and 1,425 miles of bay, estuary, 1lnd lagoon shoreline. About one-third of the State's population and one-third of its economic resources are poncentrated in the Coastal Zone, an area including about 6 percent of the total area of the State. The Texas shoreline is characterized by interceonnecting natural waterways, restricted bays, lagoons, and estuaries, low to moderate fresh-water inflow, long and narrow barrier islands, and extremely low astronomical tide range. Combined with these natural coastal environments are bayside and intrabay oil fields, bayside refineries and petrochemical plants, dredged intracoastal canals and channels, and a diverse array of satellite industries. The attributes that make the Texas Coastal Zone attractive for industrialization and development also make it particularly susceptible to a variety of environmental problems. Parts of the Coastal Zone are among the fastest developing industrial, urban, and recreational regions in Texas