Features
The shoreline of the bay is included in the Texas Coastal Plain. At the eastern end, near the Colorado River delta, there is a swampy terrain, with an abundance of wetlands and tidal marshes. Extended coastal prairies supporting native grasses, can be found throughout the area. On average, the Matagorda Bay system is 2 meters (6.6 ft) deep, and covers approximately 1,093 square kilometers (422 sq mi). It is the third largest estuarine system in Texas behind Galveston Bay and Laguna Madre. The main extensions include: Lavaca Bay, which extends westward to the mouth of the Lavaca River; Tres Palacios Bay, which extends northeast to the mouth of the Tres Palacios River and East Matagorda Bay, which is nearly isolated from the system by the Colorado River delta. Other inlets include Turtle Bay, Carancahua Bay, Keller Bay, and Cox Bay.
Every second, approximately 150 cubic meters (40,000 USgal) of water flows into the bay. The exchange with the Gulf of Mexico occurs at Pass Cavallo, Matagorda Ship Channel, Greens Bayou, the Colorado River Delta Complex and Brown Cedar Cut. As a result of the seawater exchange, the bay's salinity is 19 parts per thousand (ppt), which is lower than the seawater average of 35 ppt. This difference is caused by the large number of creeks and rivers that flow into the system, largely from the drainage basins of the Colorado and Lavaca Rivers.
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—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)