Baffin Bay (Texas) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Baffin Bay, Texas |
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 Baffin Bay, Texas
Location in Texas
Baffin Bay, Texas
Location in the United States
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| Coordinates | 27°15′21″N 97°30′59″W / 27.25583°N 97.51639°W |
| Max. length | 23 km (14 mi) |
| Max. width | 3–7 km (2–4 mi) |
| Surface area | 219 km2 (100 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 2.3 m (8 ft) |
Baffin Bay is a special bay in South Texas. It's like a smaller arm of the much bigger Laguna Madre. This bay is close to the Gulf of Mexico. It also helps form the border between Kenedy County and Kleberg County.
Contents
Why is it Called Baffin Bay?
No one is completely sure how Baffin Bay got its name. But there's a popular story!
Captain Mifflin Kenedy (who lived from 1818 to 1895) visited a huge bay in the Arctic when he was young. That bay was also called Baffin Bay.
The Arctic Baffin Bay is between Baffin Island in Canada and Greenland. It's about 310 times bigger than the Baffin Bay in Texas! People say Captain Kenedy named the Texas bay after the Arctic one because they were so different.
How Baffin Bay's Water Works
Baffin Bay has three main parts, or branches. If you look at a map, they are:
- Alazan Bay (to the north)
- Cayo del Grullo
- Laguna Salada
Water Flow and Saltiness
Some small streams flow into the bay, but only when it rains. These streams include San Fernando, Santa Gertrudis, and Los Olmos.
Because there isn't much fresh water flowing in, and a lot of water evaporates (turns into vapor) due to the shallow water and warm weather, the bay's water is very salty. Sometimes, the saltiness can reach 75 parts per thousand! This is much saltier than the ocean.
In the past, like in 1946-1948 and 1968, the water got even saltier, over 100 parts per thousand. This caused many fish in the area to die.
Plants and Reefs in the Bay
About 21 square kilometers (about 8 square miles) of the bay's bottom are covered in seagrass. Most other areas have a type of grass called shoal grass (Halodule beaudettei). You might also see some rocky spots.
Some parts of the bay, especially near its mouth, have special reefs. These reefs are made from the remains of serpulid tube worms. Even though some tube worms still live there, they don't add much to the reefs now.
Most of these reefs are round or oval. They are usually between 8 and 40 meters (26 to 131 feet) wide. They stand about 0.5 to 2 meters (1.5 to 6.6 feet) above the sand. All together, these reefs cover about 16 square kilometers (6 square miles). However, they are slowly getting smaller because of erosion.
Weather Around the Bay
The weather around Baffin Bay is often described as dry or partly humid, or even subtropical. The amount of rain can change a lot.
Tropical storms and hurricanes are common in this area. They can greatly change the weather and how the water flows in the region.
Plants and Animals of Baffin Bay
The land around the bay is mostly flat. It has grasslands and areas with oak trees. People use this land for farming and raising cattle.
Common Plants
You can find many types of trees and plants here, such as:
- Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana)
- Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia species)
- Lime prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum fagara)
- Greenbriar (Smilax species)
- Sunflowers (Helianthus species)
- Tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus)
- Crinkleawn (Trachypogon spicatus)
- Gulfdune paspalum (Paspalum monostachyum)
- Fringed signalgrass (Urochloa ciliatissima)
- Shrubby oxalis (Oxalis frutescens angustifolia)
- Dayflower (Commelina species)
- Texas lantana (Lantana urticoides)
- Texas bullnettle (Cnidoscolus texanus)
- Silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium)
- Crotons (Croton species)
- Lindheimer tephrosia (Tephrosia lindheimeri)
Animals in the Water and on Land
The bay's waters are home to several types of annelid worms and 29 kinds of diatoms (tiny algae). The most common shellfish are dwarf surf clams and Capitella capitata.
The worm reefs are home to crustaceans (like crabs), polychaete worms, and mollusks (like snails). On the dry land, more than 20 meters (about 65 feet) from the bay, you can find a special type of fiddler crab called Uca subcylindrica.
Baffin Bay is a very popular spot for fishing! It's famous for its large spotted seatrout. Other fish you might catch include:
- redfish
- Threadfin shad (when the water isn't too salty)
- Pompano
- Black drum
- Burrowing goby
See also
In Spanish: Bahía de Baffin (Texas) para niños
