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I have also read this. Sometime in the 60s the Army Corps of Engineers, knowing the Mississippi River was naturally going to change course, built a series of dams and sluices to keep the Mississippi River on its current path, thereby ensuring the prosperity of the ports of South Louisiana and New Orleans. Left to its natural ways, the River would be largely channeled into the Atchafalaya Basin by now, depositing all that silt there where it belongs. Instead, the silt is carried down the River and flushed out into the Gulf and the Louisiana coast is disappearing.
Of course, what I have not read or heard is if the River were now mostly flowing into the Atchafalaya Basin, how much silt would still make its way into the Gulf and over toward Galveston's beaches.
--S
that actually makes perfect sense. i have always heard that the Texas beaches are brown because we have so many rivers nearby dumping silt into the gulf and stirring everything up. im sure the Atchafalaya Basin would act as a huge filter for the Mississippi. its crazy how much land Louisiana is losing now.
note there are no rivers in the area of S Padre Island and those are the clearest beaches in Texas..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Lance
Sooner of later its estimated that 70% of the Mississippi will divert to the Atchafalaya. It is just one big flood away. It almost happened in 1973 and may happen this year or next but eventually it WILL happen. No one knows how that will affect and interact with the near shore currents of the Gulf, but some generation of Texans will learn
that reminds me of a doomsday scenario i heard once about a large volcano in the Canary Islands named Cumbre Vieja, with a western flank that had slid down the mountain a few feet in an earthquake in the 1940s, creating a rift along the volcano vents on the ridge. they say that if another large earthquake or eruption were to occur the whole side of the volcano could collapse into the ocean, sending a massive tidal wave across the ocean, wiping out almost every coastline on the atlantic.
heres an article that popped up when i searched Canary Island volcano.
that actually makes perfect sense. i have always heard that the Texas beaches are brown because we have so many rivers nearby dumping silt into the gulf and stirring everything up. im sure the Atchafalaya Basin would act as a huge filter for the Mississippi. its crazy how much land Louisiana is losing now.
note there are no rivers in the area of S Padre Island and those are the clearest beaches in Texas..
All that brown in the Gulf around the Houston Area represents topsoil that was intended for Louisiana's wetlands. Over the years, the coastline has eroded severely. The only rivers that I think affect Houston based on the flow of the currents are the Trinity, Sabine, and Mississippi Rivers. But I don't know if small rivers contributes to the "dirtiness" of the water; The Nile and the Amazon Rivers both empty into larger bodies of water, but the beaches in those areas don't look that bad.
South Padre Island has a river; the Rio Grande. However, the river flows through arid/semi-arid areas, so not much sediment is picked up as it empties into sea. In addition, the river is not often flowing.
I haven't read many of these posts, but the first thing that occurred to me is that Houston doesn't have beaches. The upper, middle, and lower coasts do, though.
The naturally occurring silt unfortunately does taint the color of the water, depending on rainfall conditions. I've seen the Gulf at Galveston and Surfside look fairly blue during droughts, and muddy at other times. It's a natural thing. The water from Corpus southward looks nice, and can be really pretty at South Padre.
There are other places in the country that have the same problem (some of the east coast beaches, for example). And some of the worst looking beaches can even be found in Hawaii (definitely not the touristy ones, though). All over the world, in fact, there's a range of muddy looking water to the bluest of blues.
Due to mandatory cleanups in the last several decades, Galveston Bay's quality has improved drastically. You can thank the efforts of the EPA and TCEQ for that, as well as the Galveston Bay improvement group that has operated for years. A very dedicated attorney named Jim Blackburn has spent a lot of his life in efforts to improve the bay.
I'm betting that some day the coastline of the bay will be much improved (e.g., someone mentioned the restoration of Sylvan Beach). Already, you have Kemah as an improved area, although somewhat tacky. But it's a touristy area and kept clean. I've driven through neighborhoods on the west side of the bay that are really very nice (huge lawns with big trees), and sprawling homes built decades ago.
I liked someone's suggestion that the kind of innovation used in Dubai is applied to our coastline. Seems like there could be a way to make it really attractive yet preserve wetlands. There might be a way, although it would surely be controversial.
Last edited by Weatherguy; 01-03-2014 at 09:03 PM..
A little over 40 years ago would have been right about the time they dredged out that channel I was referring to earlier. The majority of the pics my uncle has in that scrapbook are from roughly 1964 to 1967. I know his photos aren't doctored in any way.
I went to the beaches in the 50s and 60s, and the water was rarely blue, but when it was, it was nice. Apparently that still happens at times, depending on rainfall and outflow of silt into the Gulf.
Edit: Finally got through all the posts. This has been a great thread with a lot of good information and ideas.
Last edited by Weatherguy; 01-03-2014 at 09:07 PM..
I haven't read many of these posts, but the first thing that occurred to me is that Houston doesn't have beaches. The upper, middle, and lower coasts do, though.
When I said "Houston," I was referring to it in the form of its metropolitan area (Greater Houston), which does indeed include coastal areas with beaches like Galveston, and the Bolivar Peninsula.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weatherguy
The naturally occurring silt unfortunately does taint the color of the water, depending on rainfall conditions. I've seen the Gulf at Galveston and Surfside look fairly blue during droughts, and muddy at other times. It's a natural thing. The water from Corpus southward looks nice, and can be really pretty at South Padre.
There are other places in the country that have the same problem (some of the east coast beaches, for example). And some of the worst looking beaches can even be found in Hawaii (definitely not the touristy ones, though). All over the world, in fact, there's a range of muddy looking water to the bluest of blues.
That's a true point. I'm sure the beaches around the mouths of the Amazon and Nile Rivers are going to be full of silt.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weatherguy
Due to mandatory cleanups in the last several decades, Galveston Bay's quality has improved drastically. You can thank the efforts of the EPA and TCEQ for that, as well as the Galveston Bay improvement group that has operated for years. A very dedicated attorney named Jim Blackburn has spent a lot of his life in efforts to improve the bay.
I'm betting that some day the coastline of the bay will be much improved (e.g., someone mentioned the restoration of Sylvan Beach). Already, you have Kemah as an improved area, although somewhat tacky. But it's a touristy area and kept clean. I've driven through neighborhoods on the west side of the bay that are really very nice (huge lawns with big trees), and sprawling homes built decades ago.
Its good to hear about Galveston Bay. The Metro is stepping in the right direction by improving its environment. The beachfront of the bay is seeing restoration one beach cell at a time, starting with the come back of Sylvan Beach.
When I explored the Bay Area of Houston, I was stunned by the huge amounts and varieties of trees covering the landscapes, from oaks, to oleanders to palms. The greenery of Houston never ceases to amaze me; before I started exploring the city, people would always tell me that it was ugly, but when I arrived, I just couldn't see how the city was ugly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weatherguy
I liked someone's suggestion that the kind of innovation used in Dubai is applied to our coastline. Seems like there could be a way to make it really attractive yet preserve wetlands. There might be a way, although it would surely be controversial.
I think most people associate pine trees with the northwest through northeast sectors of the metro (as well as Memorial) but there are pockets of pine forest along the bay and ship channel, as well as a lot of fields or grasslands (lots of unexciting open land). Many years ago there were many more pines. Close to the Gulf, there used to be large expanses of what one could characterize as jungle. There are still very small areas like that in the vicinity of Lake Jackson and especially around Sweeney. I've driven through the small pockets of remaining coastal forest around Sweeney that were like another world. You'd have to experience it to believe it. You have to take back roads to see it. I found some areas so thick that it was surprisingly dark during the day. I doubt many people know about those areas.
Edit: One of the biggest surprises I found near the bay is the forested area around Armand Bayou and where the U of H Clear Lake Campus is. There's also an area of Clear Lake City where the astronauts live or lived, where the neighborhood is piney woods sort of like the Woodlands on the north side. It's a cool area to explore.
I realize the above isn't about beaches, but goes toward the idea that the coastal areas are pretty interesting if one explores.
So we've all heard the loads of bad news concerning Galveston, and the massive seaweed problem this year (compared to other years). Nevertheless, the good news is present; Did you know that we have the ability to give Galveston the sparkly turquoise waters people see as ideal?
Such an ability exists in the form of highly advanced technology- a powerful water filtration system capable of sifting the sediment out of the water, making it clear and blue. The feat of human ingenuity has already been implemented in the beaches around Shanghai, China, another coastal location plighted with murky water, due to its location near the mouth of the silty Yangtze River. The filtration system has benefited many of the beaches around Shanghai, including Jinshan Beach, pulling the silt of the Yangtze away from the water, making it a nice shade of blue. Therefore, such ingenuity can help Galveston, and other coastal locations with "murky water" improve their tourism image.
Nature at Jinshan City Beach has been improved on. The beach's golden sand has been imported from China's tropical paradise of Hainan Island. And a powerful water filtration system has been installed to turn the sea into a surprisingly appealing shade of blue.
At present, the blue water days in Galveston is quite fleeting compared to the dominant murkiness. BUT, I will say that in the rare times that water is blue, it is REALLY blue, as if to demonstrate how truly blue the Gulf water is, and that the North Texas coast can experience the same blueness of the Carribean from time to time. In those days, Galveston looks rather presentable imho. Here is a shot of the blue water in Galveston from the Pleasure Pier's Texas Star Flyer:
As another poster mentioned, such blueness is always present a certain distance off the coast of Galveston, as described by numerous boaters, and those on the cruise ships. If you dive a certain distance off shore from Galveston, in that area of clear water, you would see that the island is in proximity to many coral reefs, such as Stetson Bank, or the Texas Flower Gardens. Such experiences can give one a grasp of just how beautiful the Texas Gulf actually is.
All in all, just know that Galveston does indeed have a chance of having blue as the official color of the water, and unlike Shanghai, it has multiple options of getting rid of its sediment, from the filtration device, to a the natural filter in the Atchafalaya Basin, if the Mississippi does indeed change its course.
That would be wonderful if Galveston beaches could look cleaner. I can't always help but feel like our area is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to beaches. Silty gross looking water thanks to the Mississippi River AND we just happen to also get all the nasty seaweed too. (Yes, yes, I know the seaweed is an important ecosystem and all that, but it stinks and it feels gross when you are in the ocean and it is constantly brushing against your legs.)
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