Galveston County is a county located in the U.S. state
of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown
metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was
291,309. Its county seat is Galveston. League City is the largest
city in Galveston County in terms of population; between 2000 and
2005 it surpassed Galveston as the county's largest city. Galveston
County was founded in 1838.
Galveston County is located on the Gulf Coast of Texas eighty miles
southwest of the Louisiana state line, east of Brazoria County, and
west of Chambers County; it is bounded by the Gulf of Mexico on the
southeast. The county comprises mainland, Galveston Bay, and
Galveston Island. The island, a slowly eroding bank of sand
measuring three miles at its greatest breadth and twenty-eight
miles at its greatest length, extends two miles southwest along the
Gulf. Other barrier islands include Pelican Islandqv, four miles
out from Galveston, which was described in 1815 as a "narrow strip
of marsh" and subsequently grew from shell deposits into an island
four miles long and a half mile wide. Bolivar Peninsula is a
slender strip of mainland northeast of Galveston Island and almost
in line with it. Both Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island form
natural storm barriers for Galveston Bay, which constitutes nearly
half of the county's almost 450-square-mile area. The entrance to
Galveston harbor, between Bolivar Point and Galveston Island, is
about 1½ miles wide. Galveston, the county seat, is located at
roughly the geographical center of the county (29°18' N, 94°47' W)
on the Coastal Plain. Other towns in the county include Texas City,
Port Bolivar, Clear Lake Shores, Crystal Beach, Jamaica Beach,
Kemah, Hitchcock, Alta Loma, Dickinson, League City, La Marque,
Algoa, Arcadia, and Friendswood. Altitudes in Galveston County
range from a maximum height of thirty-five feet above sea level in
the northwest sea level; the flat surface near the coast slopes
gently to Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The mainland
coastline is indented with small bays, inlets, and marshes.
Principal streams in Galveston County include Clear Creek, which
forms the boundary between Galveston and Harris counties and
empties into Clear Lake; Dickinson Bayou, which drains into
Galveston Bay; and Highland Bayou, empties into Jones Bay and
drains the western part of the county. Land in the area includes
layered sand and clay and deep, sandy loams. The county has nearly
400 miles of beach. Many towns tap the Beaumont Clay, a
water-bearing formation that underlies the county, for water
supplies. The city of Galveston obtains its water from artesian
wells. Drainage districts control flooding problems throughout the
county. Grassland vegetation predominates, though live oak, water
oak, magnolia, hackberry, and other trees grow along the creeks and
bayous. The local water abounds with a variety of fish, including
Spanish mackerel, red snapper, flounder, pompano, spotted sea
trout, redfish, tarpon, oysters, and shrimp. The climate is humid,
subtropical, and marine. Tropical disturbances in late summer and
early fall are common. Hurricanes in 1900, 1915, 1961, and 1983
caused major damage, though construction of the Galveston seawall
in 1902 lessened the effect of later storms. Rainfall averages
47.06 inches annually, and the growing season lasts for 320 days a
year. The county's economy historically derives from its location
as an important hub of land and sea transportation on the Gulf.
Galveston is the oldest deepwater port west of New Orleans, and the
community is noted for many "firsts" in Texas.
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