Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway enters Galveston Bay at Port Bolivar, Texas
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1,050 mi (1,690 km) from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.
The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 12 ft (3.7 m), designed primarily for barge transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century,[1] the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.[2]
Contents
1 EHL & WHL mileages
2 Connecting waterways
3 Ports and harbors
4 See also
5 References
EHL & WHL mileages
Locations along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway are defined in terms of statute miles (as opposed to nautical miles, in which most marine routes are measured) east and west of Harvey Lock, a navigation lock in the New Orleans area located at 29°54′32″N 90°05′02″W / 29.909°N 90.084°W / 29.909; -90.084. The Hathaway Bridge in Panama City, Florida, for example, is at mile 284.6 EHL (East of Harvey Lock). The Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge at South Padre Island is at mile 665.1 WHL (West of Harvey Lock).[3]
Connecting waterways
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway crosses or meets, and in some cases is confluent with, numerous other navigable rivers and waterways. They include:
The Corps of Engineers marks the Intracoastal with channel markers like this one.
- Apalachicola River
- Atchafalaya River
- Bayou Lafourche
- Bayou Terrebonne
- Calcasieu River
- Calcasieu Ship Channel
- Delcambre Canal
- Houston Ship Channel
- Industrial Canal
- Lower Mississippi River
- Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal
Mobile Bay (connecting to the Tenn-Tom Waterway)- Pearl River
Sabine-Neches Waterway (Includes portions of)
- Neches River
- Sabine Lake
- Sabine River
- Santa Rosa Sound
- The Rigolets
- Vermilion River
Ports and harbors
Many of the busiest ports in the United States in terms of tons of cargo[4] are located on or near the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Notable ports on or near the waterway include:
Florida
- Apalachicola, Florida
- Carrabelle, Florida
- Panama City, Florida
- Pensacola, Florida
Alabama
Mobile, Alabama - Ranked 9th busiest
Mississippi
- Gulfport, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi - Ranked 21st busiest
Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Ranked 10th busiest
Houma, Louisiana - Ranked 88th busiest- Intracoastal City, Louisiana
Lake Charles, Louisiana - Ranked 12th busiest- Larose, Louisiana
- Morgan City, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana - Ranked 7th busiest- Port Allen, Louisiana
Port of South Louisiana - Ranked as busiest port in the United States
Texas
Beaumont, Texas - Ranked 4th busiest
Brownsville, Texas - Ranked 72nd busiest
Corpus Christi, Texas - Ranked 8th busiest
Galveston, Texas - Ranked 48th busiest
Houston, Texas - Ranked 2nd busiest
Port Arthur, Texas - Ranked 18th busiest
Port Lavaca - Point Comfort, Texas - Ranked 50th busiest
Texas City, Texas - Ranked 14th busiest
Victoria, Texas - Ranked 73rd busiest
See also
- Waterways along and crossings of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
- IHNC Lake Borgne Surge Barrier
- Gulf Intracoastal Waterway West Closure Complex
References
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^ "The Handbook of Texas Online". University of Texas. Retrieved 2006-03-08..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Lynn M. Alperin. "History of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway" (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-08. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
^ "33 CFR 89.25 Waters Specified by the Secretary" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center. Retrieved 2006-04-21.
^ "U.S. Port Ranking by Cargo Tonnage, 2013". American Association of Port Authorities. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
