Ruminations on Texas’ Coastal Bend

As I am finishing up my first foray away from the east coast of the US to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, my thoughts are about the great state of Texas and all its diverse environments. I was pointed to this area by avid map fans who wanted to know if I had maps of the Texas shoreline and, lord knows, there is enough of it. For a state that most easterners think of as “inland”, there is some 350+ miles of coast. I am indebted to locals in the state who pointed me to a seminal work, GULF: The Making of an American Sea by Jack Davis, which provided a wealth of inspiration, as well as information, and spurred by interest to move forward. Although I’ve been to Texas many times, the Gulf Coast was not an area I was very familiar with and the variety of the landforms as well as the sheer scale of all things Texas proved irresistible. And then that Houston disaster happened, forcing a lot more thinking about the relationship of our land and water into consciousness. The lowlands and barrier islands, natural habitats for innumerable species and the best defense we humans have against storms and flooding, are gloriously represented and celebrated in the area of my first map. While only 100+ miles to the north, these same floodplains were overbuilt and overwhelmed when nature came calling. These are powerful lessons and ones that mapping coastlines reinforce regularly. Seeing how these earthforms are meant to be constantly reminds me of the dynamism of where the water meets the land. And, conversely, when these layers are messed with (and Texas is surely not the only place to have done so), seeing just how obvious it is that the landforms should be respected and restored or suffer the consequences. Admiring and being in awe of the land/water dynamic is endlessly fascinating and engrossing. Mapping it in a variety of locations is both comforting, when I see things in action the way they were meant to be, and disturbing, when things are out of whack and predictably bad results follow. In any case, Texas is now part of my collection and I expect to explore further. New location, similar issues. The sea is impartial.