b'C o m m u n i t yThe Texas Gulf Coast is a geographical rarity on this particular planet. Theand the first sandbar is as deep as 15 feetthat would be the very first drop in Gulfstream current is one of the most powerful in the Northern Hemisphere, en- depth, less than 20 feet from the waters edge. Near Bob Hall Pier, for example, the tering the big bowl that is the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea to the southfirst cut is typically less than a foot or two deep, then rises onto the first sandbar.and taking a giant counter-clockwise swirl, the apex of which is the Texas coast inThe danger for casual bathers is extreme in this area of the national seashore, the northwest corner of the gulf. The current then exits to the east through theand not just from the sudden, 15-foot drop in depth less than 10 yards into the perilous Florida Straits and travels thousands of miles across the Northern Atlan- ocean, but also from the unique impact on the near-shore food chain that comes tic, all the way to Iceland, the British Isles and Scandinavia. from such a sudden drop in depth so close to the shoreline. Feed species of fish, Almost all of the Texas Gulf Coast is protected by the worlds longest network ofshrimp, crabs, and stingrays congregate and travel along these first underwater barrier islands, from the Rio Grande River at Boca Chica Beach, where the SpaceXcuts, and larger species like Redfish feed on those smaller species, then even larg-launch site is located, to the Bolivar Peninsula north of Galveston Island and lesser predators feed on the medium-sized species.than 60 miles from the Louisiana border. Padre Island is the longest barrier islandAmong those larger predators is one of the most feared and deadly fish in the on earth and the second-largest island in the United StatesLong Island, Newocean, the Tiger Shark, which are caught frequently in the over-12-foot and over-York, being the biggest by land mass. 600-pound range from this area of the Padre Island National Seashore. As this pub-The fastest-moving and most powerful ocean sub-currents, fed by one of thelication has pointed out in prior editions, bioactivity begets bioactivity, and this worlds strongest mega-currents, have maximum impact on the coastline justextreme level of feeding, spawning and migration underwater attracts birds and south of Big Shell Beach on the Padre Island National Seashorea point 40mammals from above and onshore, making Padre Island one of the planets most miles south of the JFK Causeway, where the island is less than a quarter-mile wide. vibrant marine ecosystems. For those who grew up on our gulf beaches, this wild, Where these sub-currents, fed by the Gulfstream, reach this apex point as theymysterious and intentionally unspoiled side of our islands gives great value to the turn northeast along the coastline, the cut into the seabed between the beachrefuge that we find on the tame sidewhich is still the minority community.36THE COASTAL BEND GUIDE TheCoastalBend.com'