Mustang Island

Mustang Island
	Map showing Mustang Island, in a long chain of barrier islands (see: Padre Island, to the south).
Geography
Location	Gulf of Mexico
Length	18 mi (29 km)
Highest elevation	3 ft (0.9 m)
Administration
	United States
State	Texas
County	Nueces
Additional information
Official website	tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/mustang-island

Mustang Island is a

Port Aransas, beyond which is San José Island. The Aransas Channel, also known as the "Aransas Pass," which separates Mustang Island from San José Island, is protected by jetties

extending into the Gulf from each island.

The town of Port Aransas is located at the northern end of the island. Mustang Island State Park encompasses the entire southern third of the island, including 3,955 acres (1,600 ha) and 5 miles (8 km) of beach. The city of Corpus Christi includes the northernmost portion of Padre Island and part of Mustang Island between Port Aransas and the state park.

The island is a popular

Spring Break destination for its beaches and is also popular with snowbirds

, Northerners and Canadians who spend their winters in warm climates.

History

Mustang Island was first inhabited by Paleo-Indians. In 1519, when Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda sailed through the pass to what he later named Corpus Christi Bay, the island was inhabited by the Karankawa people. By the 18th century, as a result of grazing herds of horses introduced by Spanish settlers, the island was first called "Wild Horse", then "Mustang Island". Up to the 1840s, the island and pass (now the ship channel) were used by buccaneers, Mexican smugglers, merchants and immigrants seeking their fortune or someone else's fortune. The pirate Jean Lafitte purportedly frequented Mustang and neighboring islands during the 1820s.

During the Mexican–American War, a small fort was built on the island to defend the entrance to Aransas Bay.

Captain Robert Mercer was the first settler to set up residence on the island with his family. His wife is said to have been the first white woman in the area. He built a house there in 1853 and named it El Mar Rancho.

Wildlife

In September 2007,
beaches, including 81 on North Padre Island (Padre Island National Seashore) and 4 on Mustang Island. Wildlife officials released 10,594 Kemp's ridleys hatchlings along the Texas coast that year. The turtles are endangered due to shrimpers' nets and they are popular in Mexico as boot material and food.^[1]

On June 10, 2008, a

euthanized

because the city did not have the equipment needed to move the large whale.

References

^ Associated Press (September 4, 2007). "Endangered turtle nests found in Texas". The Washington Post. Corpus Christi, Texas. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

External links

Mustang Island State Park official website
Mustang Island from the Handbook of Texas Online
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Mustang Island

27°44′22″N 97°07′54″W / 27.73944°N 97.13167°W / 27.73944; -97.13167

[nests-found-2007-1] Associated Press (September 4, 2007). "Endangered turtle nests found in Texas". The Washington Post. Corpus Christi, Texas. Retrieved April 20, 2018.

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