Misplaced Pages

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60-489: Most of the park is primitive, but camping is available, and most of the beach is only accessible to four-wheel-drive vehicles. All but four miles is open to vehicle traffic. PAIS is the fourth designated national seashore in the United States. Padre Island is the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world. The national seashore is 70 miles (110 km) long with 65.5 miles (105.4 km) of Gulf beach. PAIS hosts

120-681: A "grass roots" policy that encourages park visitors to take out more trash than they bring in. Organization such as the Friends of Padre have removed over 2,000 tons of trash at their yearly Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Clean Up the last weekend of February every year. A study by the park, started in 1994, to analyze the origin of debris, titled the PAIS Marine Debris Point Source Investigation. The park began collecting data in 1998 to catalogue and remove debris from 16 miles (26 km) of beach. Currently

180-491: A berm is a physical, stationary barrier of some kind. For example, in highway construction, a berm is a noise barrier constructed of earth, often landscaped , running along a highway to protect adjacent land users from noise pollution . The shoulder of a road is also called a berm and in New Zealand the word describes a publicly owned grassed nature strip sometimes planted with trees alongside urban roads (usually called

240-428: A berm is constructed down the right field line. The berm replaces bleachers, and general admission tickets are sold for fans who wish to sit on the grass or watch the game from the top of the hill. Berms are also used as a method of environmental spill containment and liquid spill control. Bunding is the construction of a secondary impermeable barrier around and beneath storage or processing plant, sufficient to contain

300-433: A berm is the 2,700 km (1,700 mi) Moroccan Western Sahara Wall . Berms are also used to control soil erosion and sedimentation by reducing the rate of surface runoff . The berms either reduce the velocity of the water , or direct water to areas that are not susceptible to erosion, thereby reducing the adverse effects of running water on exposed topsoil . Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in

360-519: A berm is the earthen or sod wall or parapet, especially a low earthen wall adjacent to a ditch. The digging of the ditch (often by a bulldozer or military engineering vehicle ) can provide the soil from which the berm is constructed. Walls constructed in this manner are an obstacle to vehicles , including most armoured fighting vehicles but are easily crossed by infantry . Because of the ease of construction , such walls can be made hundreds or thousands of kilometres long. A prominent example of such

420-504: A river valley during the Pleistocene epoch , over 12,000 years ago. Early peoples obtained oysters from the bay, which were eliminated due to changes in salinity after the full formation of Laguna Madre. The first people to encounter the new lagoon were most likely the nomadic Karankawa and Coahuiltecan Indians. The Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda is believed to be the first European to come in contact with Laguna Madre in

480-430: A variety of birds. A program to re-establish a nesting beach for Kemp's ridley sea turtles on Padre Island was begun in 1978. In 1992, the first two turtles from the program returned to Padre Island beach to lay their eggs. The number of Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests on Padre Island has increased ever since with 28 being found in 2005. Park rangers at PAIS are involved in an effort to help this endangered species . In

540-540: A variety of pristine beach, dune, and tidal flat environments, including the Laguna Madre on its west coast, a famous spot for windsurfing . It is located in parts of Kleberg , Kenedy , and Willacy counties, with Kenedy County having the majority of its land area. Padre Island National Seashore is located on Padre Island, the largest of the Texas barrier islands and the world's longest barrier island . The island

600-399: A verge). [1] In snowboard cross , a berm is a wall of snow built up in a corner. In mountain biking , a berm is a banked turn formed by soil, commonly dug from the track, being deposited on the outer rim of the turn. In coastal systems, a berm is a raised ridge of pebbles or sand found at high tide or storm tide marks on a beach . In snow removal, a berm or windrow refers to

660-513: A vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line , a border / separation barrier for navigation, good drainage, industry, or other purposes. The word is from Middle Dutch and came into usage in English via French. In medieval military engineering , a berm (or berme) was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat . It

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720-403: A wide variety of birds when wet, including black-necked stilts , roseate spoonbills , great egrets , American white ibis , and many others. The ports of Port Isabel and Port Mansfield rely on the fishing and shrimping industries. In the 1960s, Port Isabel averaged a catch of 3,600,000 tonnes (3,500,000 long tons ; 4,000,000 short tons ) of shrimp annually, which accounted for 65% of

780-477: Is a vastly dynamic geologic feature. Unlike most of today's geologic features, such as the Grand Canyon , Padre Island changes constantly. Situated in a stable depository basin , there isn't much that can intervene with the barrier bars, except for the occasional hurricanes that come by. Most of Padre Island is less than 20 feet above mean sea level. Constant bombardment of prevailing southeasterly winds from

840-679: Is about 113 miles (182 km) long and 1.8 miles (3 km) wide, Padre Island is the second-largest island by area in the contiguous United States , after Long Island in New York on the Atlantic Coast. The geology of Padre Island National Seashore doesn't just belong within the park itself. PAIS is part of the world's longest natural barrier bar system. Padre Island is a very young geological feature that only developed merely 4,500 to 5,000 years ago, according to radio carbon dating of shells. Geologically extremely young, Padre Island

900-706: Is crossed by the Queen Isabella Causeway . Included in the Lower Laguna Madre is Red Fish Bay , which is found along the shoreline of the King Ranch, south to Port Mansfield . Together with its extensions, the lagoon forms one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas . The lagoon is shallow and narrow, averaging only 3.6 feet (1.1 m) in depth and 4 miles (6.4 km) to 6 miles (9.7 km) in width. The depth

960-506: Is designed to limit the dumping of wastes into the Gulf but there can be violators and the enforcement of the treaty is difficult, as well as the fact that some trash can originate from sewage transport or even come from the Equator . Oil and tar can commonly wash up onto the beaches as well, 94% of which originates from oil spills, engine lubrication oil, and tanker washings. The park relies on

1020-523: Is located along Texas's southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and is noted for its white sandy beaches. Meaning father in Spanish , it was named after Father José Nicolás Ballí (c.1770-1829), who owned the island and served as a missionary priest and collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley . He also founded the first mission in present-day Cameron County . It

1080-482: Is only 0.66 feet (20 cm) to 1.1 feet (34 cm) in the areas not dredged to form the 12-foot (3.7 m) deep, 138-foot (42 m) wide Gulf Intracoastal Waterway , which runs the bay's length and joins the upper and lower stretches. Two types of hard reef are found in the lagoon bed and on the shoreline, including beach rock reefs (shell and sand bound by calcium carbonate cement) common south of Baffin Bay due to

1140-739: Is the northern half of the ecosystem as a whole, which extends into Tamaulipas, Mexico approximately 144 miles (232 km) south of the US border, to the vicinity of the Rio Soto La Marina and the town of La Pesca, extending approximately 275 miles (443 km) through USA and Mexico in total. The lagoon's ecosystem is protected by the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge and the Padre Island National Seashore , as well as

1200-441: The Gulf of Mexico heap beach of sand into high foredunes. In some places, the onshore wind may blow loose sand from the foredunes and beach across the flats beyond. Active sand dunes march across the island, smothering vegetation in their paths and leaving barren sandflats in their wakes. In other places, vegetation may win a battle of its own and stabilize the blowing sand by binding it with roots and vines. Slower daily movements of

1260-723: The Intracoastal Waterway , which has been dredged through the lagoon. Cumulatively, Laguna Madre is approximately 130 miles (210 km) long, the length of Padre Island in the US. The main extensions include Baffin Bay in Upper Laguna Madre, Red Fish Bay just below the Saltillo Flats, and South Bay near the Mexican border. As a natural ecological unit, the Laguna Madre of the United States

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1320-604: The Mexican War , including the King Ranch , which was established in 1847 by Richard King . The area near present-day Port Isabel was used as a resort for Spaniards after watersellers came ashore in the late 18th century looking for freshwater supplies. A settlement known as Point Isabel was established at the location in the 1830s, and in 1853, the Point Isabel Lighthouse was constructed to overlook

1380-710: The Nueces River and the Rio Grande , the climate is dry and it is sometimes referred to as the Wild Horse Desert . The western shore, a large part of which is included in the King Ranch , is usually marked by sand dunes, yucca , prickly pear , century plants and an occasional oak tree bent by the wind. The lagoon is split by a 20-mile (32 km) expanse of sand flats, named the Saltillo Flats , which are located about 40 miles (64 km) from

1440-495: The Rio Grande Valley to decrease the shipment of oil and gas along the Intracoastal Waterway, greatly diminishing the chance of a spill. Activists have likewise railed against a proposed wind turbine farm off Baffin Bay, due to the potential harm to the scenic shores and the bird populations. The tourism industry is also a mainstay for communities on the lagoon. Beach-goers must pass the Laguna Madre to reach

1500-453: The lagoon is highly restricted. The combination of a high rate of evaporation under the hot Texas sun and little mixing with either freshwater or normal seawater has made Laguna Madre extremely salty. The maximum width of the lagoon is approximately 10 miles. In many places, however, lagoon width fluctuates considerably with the height of wind-generated tides . The lagoon is widest during highest wind tides, which produce maximum flooding of

1560-522: The least tern , Caspian tern , black tern , Sandwich tern , and royal tern . The two periodically appearing birds nesting on the park's shores are the least tern and piping plover . Bird Island Basin, on the Laguna Madre side of the park, may be periodically dry during the summer or during periods of extended drought. It is home to a wide variety of birds when wet, including black-necked stilts , roseate spoonbills , great egrets , American white ibis , and many others. During periods throughout

1620-428: The 1940s. The Port Mansfield Ship Channel was dredged in 1957 across Padre Island and redredged in 1962 after work was done to improve the jetties . The cut allows an influx of seawater into the Lower Laguna Madre to improve the fishing and shipping industry of Port Mansfield. The community had 415 residents in 2000. Laguna Madre is found between the mainland of South Texas and Padre Island. At this location between

1680-477: The Gulf of Mexico, the construction of berms designed to prevent oil from reaching the fragile Louisiana wetlands (which would result in massive erosion) was proposed early on, and was officially approved by the federal government in mid-June, 2010, after numerous failures to stop and contain the oil leak with more advanced technologies. In coastal geography, a berm is a bank of sand or gravel ridge parallel to

1740-474: The Lower Laguna Madre, where it averages around 45 ppt. The Laguna Madre is one of the most important and unspoiled lagoon ecosystems in Texas. It is also one of the most protected in the United States; 75% of its shores are protected by the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge to the west and the Padre Island National Seashore on the east. Fish, shrimp and crab, which feed the bird populations, depend on

1800-407: The area. During the summer the most common birds are shore and marshbirds as well as some raptors and songbirds . The most common birds on the Gulf beach of the park during the year are the willet , sanderling , black skimmer , great blue heron , double-crested cormorant , cattle egret , grey plover , laughing gull , brown pelican , reddish egret , and five species of terns , including

1860-522: The early 16th century, and is credited with giving it the name, which is Spanish for "mother lagoon". Several land grants were handed out by the Spanish government for ranching near the lagoon. The first was believed to have been given to José Nicolás Cabazos in 1792, which included 500,000 acres (2,000 km ) in the area south of Baffin Bay to the Rio Grande . Cabazos stocked the land with 900 cattle. American ranching settlements developed following

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1920-612: The entire production in Texas. In Port Mansfield, the fishing industry has greatly expanded with the opening of the Port Mansfield Channel, allowing a steady accumulation of red fish, brown shrimp , and flounder. Because of the bay's environmental protections, very few manufacturing plants have been constructed in the area. Following an environmental campaign, the Valero Energy Corporation constructed an oil and gas pipeline from Corpus Christi to

1980-967: The lagoon and its plentiful beds of seagrass for survival. The seagrass of Laguna Madre accounts for 80% of all seagrass found off the Texas Coast; however, it is threatened by brown tides caused by poor circulation and dredging. An influx of seawater can sometimes replace the vital seagrass with oyster beds. Laguna Madre is home to more finfish than anywhere else on the Texas coast, with such species as blue catfish , hardhead catfish , Atlantic croaker , black drum , red drum , southern flounder , alligator gar , houndfish , crevalle jack , southern kingfish , ladyfish , Atlantic midshipman , mojarras , striped mullet , pinfish , Florida pompano , smooth butterfly ray , spotted seatrout , blacktip shark , sheepshead , bigmouth sleeper , gray snapper , common snook , southern stargazer , southern stingray and tripletail . Many fowl migrate and live around

2040-473: The lagoon are south of the Land-Cut Area, where the muddy sand bottoms lie at depths as great as 8 feet. Two small natural islands in Laguna Madre are unique environments within the national seashore. North and South Bird Islands, each a series of sand berms or ridges, have become important bird rookeries. Some of the man-made spoil islands along the Intracoastal Waterway are also nesting grounds for

2100-403: The lagoon including 75% of all redhead ducks. Other birds in the area include the peregrine falcon , piping plover , roseate spoonbill , long-billed curlew , crane , egret and the brown pelican . Sea turtles and dolphins can be found in the bay, while cattle, white-tailed deer , nilgai and bobcats can sometimes be seen near the shore. In Laguna Madre, Bird Island Basin is home to

2160-450: The lagoon lie in the central part of the national seashore. These areas are known as Middle Ground and the Land-Cut Area, where the Intracoastal Waterway was dredged through the rarely flooded wind-tidal flats (pl. I). The Hole, which lies between Middle Ground and the Land-Cut Area, is not really much of a hole; its average depths are only 1 to 2 feet. This "hole" is occupied mostly by flats supporting shoalgrass and algae. The deepest parts of

2220-402: The lagoon. The city was named Port Isabel in 1928, and in 1954, the Queen Isabella Causeway , the longest bridge in Texas, was constructed across Laguna Madre to South Padre Island . A newer bridge was built in 1974, but part of it collapsed on September 15, 2001, after being hit by a barge, causing eight people to plunge to their deaths and significantly hindering the economy of South Texas. It

2280-479: The largest mining machine on-site. Physical security systems employ berms to exclude hostile vehicles and slow attackers on foot (similar to the military application without the trench). Security berms are common around military and nuclear facilities. An example is the berm proposed for Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vermont. At Baylor Ballpark , a baseball stadium on the campus of Baylor University ,

2340-403: The linear accumulation of snow cast aside by a plow . Earth berms are used above particle accelerator tunnels to provide shielding from radiation. In open-pit mining , a berm refers to dirt and rock piled alongside a haulage road or along the edge of a dump point. Intended as a safety measure, they are commonly required by government organizations to be at least half as tall as the wheels of

2400-676: The location of Padre Island National Seashore on the Central Flyway , a major migratory route for birds, about 380 species of birds have been documented within the park, which represents approximately 45% of all bird species documented within North America. The park was designated as a "Globally Important Bird Area" by the American Bird Conservancy in 1998 for providing an "important habitat for globally significant numbers of Brown Pelicans , Redheads (5% of

2460-537: The northern extreme near the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway in Corpus Christi . This part of the lagoon is known as the Upper Laguna Madre and includes the extension of Baffin Bay near Kingsville , and Bird Island on the eastern Padre Island shore, northeast of the opening of Baffin Bay. The Lower Laguna Madre includes the area south of the Saltillo Flats to the extension of South Bay near Port Isabel , and

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2520-541: The occasional shifts in the Laguna Madre coastal shoreline; and Serpulid reefs, common in Baffin Bay, and elsewhere in the system, formed between 300 and 3,000 years ago by the annelid's calcareous tubes. Laguna Madre has a salinity of 36 parts per thousand (ppt), which is above the seawater average of 35 ppt. Because of the high salinity, it holds the distinction as one of the Earth's six hypersaline lagoons/bays,

2580-470: The offshore oil and gas industry. Naturalist and fishing guide Billy Sandifer founded an annual beach cleanup at the park in 1996. The cleanup targets the Big Shell Beach portion of the island, around the 20-25 mile marker. In 2007, Sandifer established the Friends of Padre, a non-profit association to fund park projects and to organize the cleanup. Oil and natural gas drilling is allowed within

2640-591: The others being Sivash in Ukraine, Laguna Ojo de Liebre on the west coast of Baja California , Spencer Gulf and Shark Bay in Australia, and the Laguna Madre of Tamaulipas , which is sometimes grouped with the Laguna Madre of Texas as one system. The reasons for the lagoon's hypersalinity include its isolation from other bodies of water, the lack of a significant river source, and a high rate of evaporation caused by its shallowness and dry climate. Its salinity

2700-406: The park has collected over 1,000 days of data for the project, covering a collective area of over 16,800 miles (27,000 km) of shoreline surveyed. This study is one of the first long-term and comprehensive marine debris research projects started within the United States. From its result the vast majority of the debris is traced to the commercial shrimping industry while approximately 14% comes from

2760-476: The park. Laguna Madre The Laguna Madre is a long, shallow, hypersaline lagoon along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Nueces , Kenedy , Kleberg , Willacy and Cameron Counties in Texas , United States. It is one of seven major estuaries along the Gulf Coast of Texas . The roughly 20-mile (32 km) long Saltillo Flats land bridge divides it into Upper and Lower lagoons joined by

2820-456: The park. Congress has not approved the purchase of the mineral rights within the park even though the boundaries were surveyed as early as 1957. This has caused some controversy because the land is a protected seascape under IUCAN . Heavy equipment is used within the park and is transported across beaches that are nesting areas for not only sea turtles but many birds, including the piping plover , least tern , and other animals that may nest within

2880-424: The plant's volume after a spill. This is often achieved on large sites by surrounding the plant with a berm. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that oils and fuels stored over certain volume levels be placed in secondary spill containment. Berms for spill containment are typically manufactured from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or geomembrane fabric that provide a barrier to keep spills from reaching

2940-538: The prime beaching destination at both North and South Padre Islands. Fishing has drawn tourists to Port Isabel, where the Texas International Fishing Tournament has been held since 1934. Visitors also flock to Bird Island off the western coast of Padre Island, for windsurfing, kayaking, and other water sports. Berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of compacted soil ) separating areas in

3000-428: The privately owned King Ranch . The human history predates the formation of the Laguna Madre, and settlements have been established at Port Isabel and Port Mansfield on the lagoon's shores. Laguna Madre was formed about 3,000 years ago, after the stabilization of the sea level on the Texas Coast, culminating in the rise of Padre Island . The Baffin Bay extension is considerably older than Laguna Madre, and formed as

3060-419: The sand and stabilizing effects of vegetation are interrupted occasionally by the brutal force of hurricane winds, waves, and tides. During storms, beaches are eroded, vegetation is ripped up, dunes are flattened, and channels are scoured across the island. Laguna Madre , separating Padre Island from the Texas mainland, is locked in by the barrier island . Consequently, circulation of seawater in and out of

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3120-516: The shoreline and a few tens of centimetres high, created by wave action throwing material beyond the average level of the sea. Earth is piled up against exterior walls and packed, sloping down away from the house. The roof may or may not be fully earth covered, and windows/openings may occur on one or more sides of the shelter. Due to the building being above ground, fewer moisture problems are associated with earth berming in comparison to underground/fully recessed construction. For general applications,

3180-488: The shores of the park. This trash can be anything that is tossed overboard into the Gulf of Mexico as well as items that are either washed into the Gulf from land, or from the interior of the country by means of sewers that empty into the Gulf . These items can range from tiny pieces of plastic, hypodermic needles, and lumber, to nets or bleach bottles tossed overboard by shrimpers and even objects as large as buoys and steel containers. An international treaty known as MARPOL

3240-459: The summer months there may be a large amount of Sargassum , a brown seaweed, which washes up on the shore which aids in shore development by acting to hold sand in place, which can eventually build up the shoreline. Currents within the Gulf of Mexico are responsible for the transport of this seaweed mainly from the Sargasso Sea , but have also been responsible for the transport of trash to

3300-574: The summer, visitors can witness the release of newborn turtles. In September 2007, Corpus Christi, Texas wildlife officials found a record of 128 Kemp's ridley sea turtle nests on Texas beaches , including 81 on North Padre Island (Padre Island National Seashore) and 4 on Mustang Island . Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridleys hatchlings along the Texas coast this year. The turtles are endangered due to shrimpers' nets and they are popular in Mexico as boot material and food . Due to

3360-409: The vast tidal flats. Like the island environments, the environments of Laguna Madre vary considerably. Within the national seashore, the northern part of the lagoon is occupied largely by grassflats having an average water depth of about 3 feet. These grassflats are environments of very high biologic activity, serving as spawning grounds for a number of fish, clams, and snails. The shallowest parts of

3420-490: The world's population), Least Terns (8% of the North American population), Piping Plovers (10% of the world's population), Reddish Egrets (7% of the biogeographic population) and Peregrine Falcons (7% of the North American population)." The best time to see the multitude of the park's bird migrants is during either early spring or fall and winter, when thousands of birds spend the winter there or migrate through

3480-489: Was even greater before the Port Mansfield Gulf Channel was dredged on Padre Island, which allowed a larger amount of seawater exchange. However, very little water exchange occurs at all; every second only 25 cubic metres (6,600 US gal) of water flows into the lagoon. Rainwater from tropical storms and hurricanes is the only significant fresh water the bay receives. The salinity is greatest in

3540-405: Was intended to reduce soil pressure on the walls of the excavated part to prevent its collapse. It also meant that debris dislodged from fortifications would not fall into (and fill) a ditch or moat . In the trench warfare of World War I , the name was applied to a similar feature at the lip of a trench , which served mainly as an elbow-rest for riflemen . In modern military engineering,

3600-457: Was rebuilt and reopened in November of that year. Port Isabel had 4,865 residents during the 2000 census . To the north, Port Mansfield was established in 1950, at the old fishing community of Red Fish Landing. It was named after United States Congressman Joseph J. Mansfield ( D -TX), who introduced the bill that extended the Intracoastal Waterway from Corpus Christi to Brownsville in

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