St. Charles Bay
| St. Charles Bay | |
|---|---|
| Location | Texas Gulf Coast |
| Coordinates | 28°11′27″N 96°56′29″W / 28.190967°N 96.941299°W |
| River sources | Cavasso Creek |
| Ocean/sea sources | Gulf of Mexico |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Settlements | Lamar, Texas |
St. Charles Bay is an inlet of Aransas Bay in Aransas County, Texas. It is flanked by Lamar peninsula on the west and Blackjack peninsula on the east. The bay hosts a valued ecosystem for the endangered whooping crane, and is a prime location for birding and fishing. Goose Island State Park and the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge are located along the bay's shores, attracting nature enthusiasts year-round.
The nomadic Karankawa Indians used the bay for hunting before the arrival of Europeans, but no major human settlements were ever established. The unincorporated community of Lamar on Live Oak Peninsula is the only substantial community that borders the bay. The cities of Rockport and Fulton on the main Aransas Bay are located only a few miles away, and the bay is usually considered a part of the collective Rockport-Fulton area. The bay is roughly 150 miles southeast of San Antonio and about 40 miles northeast of Corpus Christi.
St. Charles Bay was the domain of the Karankawa Indians before the arrival of European settlers. The Spanish referred to the bay as Laguna del Bergantine, which translated to the Lagoon of the Brigantine. The name is the likely the source of Burgantine Lake, found at the bay's head. The name derived from a Spanish vessel that was being used to transfer money to Texas to bribe Mexican soldiers at Goliad and San Antonio in 1818. It was caught in an Aransas Bay storm that swept the ship into the waters of St. Charles Bay, landing in a creek at its base. Supposedly, the ship was abandoned in the surrounding prairie (Fagan ranch near Tivoli, Texas), and its parts used by area settlers (later determined to be the Fagan family) to build homes.
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Wikipedia