Baffin Bay (Texas)
Baffin Bay, Texas | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 27°15′21″N 97°30′59″W / 27.25583°N 97.51639°W |
Max. length | 23 km (14 mi) |
Max. width | 3–7 km (2–4 mi) |
Surface area | 219 km2 (100 sq mi) |
Average depth | 2.3 m (8 ft) |
References | [1] |
Baffin Bay is a bay in
Etymology
The history of the bay name is unclear. The most popular story is that Captain Mifflin Kenedy (1818–1895),[3] after visiting the Arctic Baffin Bay as a young man, gave the same name to the bay in Texas because of the remarkable contrast between the bays. The Arctic Baffin Bay is located between the Baffin Island of Canada and Greenland, and it is about 310 times larger by area than the Baffin Bay in Texas.[1][4][5]
Hydrology
The Baffin Bay has three branches, which are named as follows (counterclockwise on the map above):
About 21 km2 of the bottom of the bay is covered in
Climate
The climate has been described as semiarid, subhumid or subtropical, with a very varying precipitation. Tropical storms and hurricanes are common, and they strongly alter the climate and hydrology of the region.[15]
Flora and fauna
The lands around the bay are flat and dominated by grasslands and oak savanna; they are used for agriculture and cattle farming.[15] Common tree and plant species include southern live oak (Quercus virginiana), prickly pear (Opuntia spp.), lime prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara), greenbriar (Smilax spp.), sunflowers (Helianthus spp.), tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus), crinkleawn (Trachypogon spicatus), gulfdune paspalum (Paspalum monostachyum), fringed signalgrass (Urochloa ciliatissima), shrubby oxalis (Oxalis frutescens angustifolia), dayflower (Commelina spp.), Texas lantana (Lantana urticoides), Texas bullnettle (Cnidoscolus texanus), silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), crotons (Croton spp.) and Lindheimer tephrosia (Tephrosia lindheimeri).[16]
The waters of the bay contain several species of annelids[17] and 29 species of diatoms.[18] The dominant mollusks are dwarf surf clams and Capitella capitata.[19] The serpulid worm reefs are inhabited by crustaceans, polychaetes and mollusks. Invertebrates are represented by the endemic fiddler crab species Uca subcylindrica, which reside on dry soil, more than 20 meters from bay waters.[20] The bay is a popular destination for recreational angling and is famous for its trophy spotted seatrout.[21] Other species include redfish, threadfin shad (in low salinity periods),[22] pompano,[23] black drum and[24] burrowing goby,[25] etc.
Notes
- ^ a b Bartlett, p. 9
- ^ Baffin Bay from the Handbook of Texas Online
- ^ "Captain Mifflin Kenedy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
- ^ McKee, p. 2
- ^ Baffin Bay Archived 2013-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (in Russian)
- ^ McKee, p. 4
- ^ McKee, p. 7
- ^ Bartlett, p. 14
- ^ Bartlett, p. 19, 224
- ^ McKee, p. 17, 27
- ^ Bartlett, p. 88
- ^ McKee, pp. 34–36
- ^ Bartlett, pp. 76–81, 106
- ^ McKee, p. 40
- ^ a b Bartlett, p. 15
- ^ Bartlett, p. 47
- ^ Bartlett, p. 91
- ^ Bartlett, p. 103
- ^ Bartlett, p. 106
- ^ Bartlett, p. 120
- ^ Bartlett, p. 223
- ^ McKee, p. 77
- ^ McKee, p. 121
- ^ McKee, p. 135
- ^ McKee, p. 155
Bibliography
- Richard C. Bartlett (2002). The Laguna Madre of Texas and Tamaulipas. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 1-58544-133-3.
- David A. McKee; Henry Compton; Janice D. Fechhelm (2008). Fishes of the Texas Laguna Madre: A Guide for Anglers & Naturalists. Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-60344-028-8.