Matagorda Island

Matagorda Island sign

A map of Matagorda Island.

Sunset on Matagorda Island, Texas.

Matagorda Island (ⁱ/ˈmætəˈɡɔərdə/^[1]), Spanish for "thick brush," is a 38-mile (61 km) long barrier island on the Texas Gulf coast, located approximately seven miles (11 kilometres) south of Port O'Connor, in the southernmost part of Calhoun County. Traditional homeland of the Karankawa Indians. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east and south, and Espiritu Santo Bay on the west and north. It is separated from San José Island to the south by Cedar Bayou, and is separated from the Matagorda Peninsula to the north by Pass Cavallo. It has no permanent residents and is accessible by boat only. It has a land area of 157.25 square kilometres (60.71 square miles).

Matagorda Island State Park occupies 7,325 acres (2,964 hectares) on the northeastern end of the island. The remainder of the island is devoted to wildlife refuges managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and is known as Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuge and State Natural Area.

The land that is now Matagorda Island State park was acquired in 1940 by condemnation from the Hawes, Hill, and Little families (but not the Wynne-Murchison interests) for use as a temporary training facility for the World War II era.^[2]

Matagorda Island State Park was featured as a "survival location" by the main characters in the book, 'Day by Day Armageddon' by J.L. Bourne. The island is also featured as a principle location in the book Powersat by Ben Bova. Life on the island in the late 1800s is described in the book "A Texas cowboy, or, Fifteen years on the hurricane deck of a Spanish pony" by Charles A. Siringo

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Matagorda Island has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.^[3]

References

↑ "Matagorda Bay". Dictionary.com. Random House, Inc. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
↑ "A True History" Matagorda.com
↑ Climate Summary for Matagorda Island

Matagorda Island: Block 2201, Census Tract 9905, Calhoun County, Texas United States Census Bureau
2004 Rand McNally Atlas

External links

Texas Parks and Wildlife: Matagorda Island State Park
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Matagorda Island Unit
The short film Aransas and Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuges (2005) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
Matagorda Island History
A Texas cowboy, or, Fifteen years on the hurricane deck of a Spanish pony on the Internet Archive

Coordinates: 28°13′38″N 96°38′25″W / 28.22722°N 96.64028°W / 28.22722; -96.64028

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains

National Monuments and Memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument

National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP

National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith

National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River

National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston

National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca

Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Environmental Education Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Boca Chica Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Texana Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway

State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddoan Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace

State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum

State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

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