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Matagorda Bay is located on the Texas Coast at approximately
28.5 N and 96.5 W and is the third largest Texas estuarine
system (1,013.68 square km). The Matagorda Bay system contains a
number of defined embayments including East Matagorda Bay,
Karankawa Bay, Tres Palacios Bay/Turtle Bay and Lavaca Bay,
which also encompasses Chocolate, Keller and Cox Bays (see
Moseley, 1973). Oyster Lake and Powderhorn Lake are two smaller
bodies of water with connections to Matagorda Bay. Another
prominent feature of the system is the Colorado River, the delta
of which nearly completely separates East Matagorda Bay from the
rest of the system. Matagorda Bay is separated from the Gulf of
Mexico by the Matagorda Peninsula, and water exchange occurs
through 5 principal tidal inlets (south to north): Pass Cavallo,
Matagorda Ship Channel, Greens Bayou, the Colorado River Delta
Complex and Brown Cedar Cut. Freshwater input to the system
comes from a relatively large dr