Bays & Estuaries Texas has 367 miles of coastline within which
21 river basins terminate, bringing fresh water from surface
run-off, rivers, and streams into individual bays. Here, bounded
by barrier islands, the mixing of freshwater and seawater in
these bays forms estuaries. Texas has seven major and five minor
estuaries ranging from the nearly fresh Sabine Lake, which
borders Louisiana, to the frequently hypersaline Laguna Madre
along the southern coast. Although each estuary differs in size,
hydrologic, and ecological characteristics, together they
support a diverse array of species which serve as the raw
materials for a variety of economic activities associated with
commercial and recreational fishing, hunting, and birding. In
addition, they provide many other ecological services, such as
water filtration and the regulation of nutrients through
nutrient cycling or storm surge protection and shoreline
stabilization through the trapping of sediments and building-up
of fringing wetlands. The quality, quanti