Nueces Bay

Nueces Bay is a northwestern extension of Corpus Christi Bay in the San Patricio and Nueces counties of Texas. The bay is fed by the Nueces River, forming a natural estuary, which renders it ecologically and economically vital to the surrounding area. It serves as a habitat for the propagation of fish and shellfish, which sustain diverse species of birds and other wildlife. The bay is threatened by pollution from the heavy industry on its southern shore, which prevents oyster farming. Petrochemical production and oil are important to the surrounding economies of the major settlements of Corpus Christi and Portland, found on the eastern shore and connected by the Nueces Bay Causeway at the bay's confluence with Corpus Christi Bay.Agriculture dominates the northern shore, where many plots of land are still owned by the descendants of early settlers. The largely abandoned historical communities of Rosita and West Portland are also located in this area. To the west, the Odem Bay extension is formed, and is fed by Rincon Bayou and a large complex of marsh formed by the Nueces River delta. Just south of the mouth, are the remains of the abandoned Nuecestown settlement, which is now included in the Corpus Christi city limits.HistoryNueces Bay formed approximately 9,000 years ago, as the sea level rose at the conclusion of the last ice age. The sea level stabilized 6,000 years later, shaping the present-day Nueces Bay. The first human inhabitants were the nomadic Aransas Indians, who settled between the Copano and Baffin bays about 8,000 years ago, until 1300 CE. In the next century, the Karankawa Indians arrived, and were present when Europeans came ashore.