Natural hazards of the Texas coastal zone : distribution and occurrence processes and causes, impacts, mitigation and reduction

The Texas Coastal Zone is marked by diversity in geography, resources, climate, and industry. It is richly endowed with extensive petroleum reserves, sulfur, and salt, seaports, intracoastal waterways, a mild climate, good water supplies, abundant wildlife, rich agricultural lands, commercial fishing resources, unusual recreational potential, and large tracts of uncrowded land. The Coastal Zone, as herein defined, is a vast area of about 18,000 square miles, including approximately 2,075 square miles of bays and estuaries, 367 miles of Gulf coastline, and 1,100 miles of bay, estuary, and lagoon shoreline (table 1). About a quarter of the state's population and a third of its economic resources are concentrated in the Coastal Zone, an area including about 6 percent of the total area of the state.