Coastal Feature

Padre Island is the longest barrier island in the world and it is located in the United States. It is located in parts of Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties in Texas. The island has been separated into two sections since 1964 that are referred to as North Padre Island and South Padre Island. The island is 130 miles long and stretches between the cities of Corpus Christi, Texas to Port Isabel, Texas (Padre Island 2006). Padre Island is also home to the Padre Island National Seashore, which was established in 1970 and is over 70 miles long. The island is sparsely populated with the most heavily populated towns, South Padre Island and Port Isabel, located on the southern portion of the island.

The forming of Padre Island started around 4500 years ago as it started as a submerged sand bar (Padre Island 2006). In terms of geology, the island itself is very young because it was formed in the last several thousand years. In the 2006 article titled, Padre Island, it states, “It is theorized that Padre Island formed from offshore shoals with later growth aided by spit accretion.” The island is made up of smaller islands that were joined together as tidal inlets closed over time to make the larger island that is still being formed today. The northern half of the island is thought to be in equilibrium while the southern half is eroding constantly. In the 2006 article titled, Padre Island, it states, “Wind, wave, and current action continue to rework and shape the island. South Padre Island has been in a destructive phase for a long time, probably having retreated landward (along with the lagoon and mainland shoreline).”

At the present, hurricane washovers and sand that is transported by wind is being deposited in the Laguna Madre, which is building the island landward. It is thought by geologists that in the future, Padre Island as a whole will move landward through long-term erosion. The landward shifting of the island may eventually erase the Laguna Madre. There are many other factors that can contribute to the erosion. Tropical storms, the sea level rising, interruptions in sediment supply, and a decrease in sediment supply will probably be the main causes of the erosion