The San Bernard River is a river in Texas.

San Bernard River
San Bernard River after the 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm, a rarity for this part of Texas
Map
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
Physical characteristics
SourceNew Ulm, Texas
MouthGulf of Mexico
Basin size4,791 km2 (1,850 sq mi)

Course edit

San Bernard River flows from a spring near New Ulm, Texas[1] to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico, some 120 miles (190 km) to the southeast of the source.[1] It passes through portions of Austin, Brazoria, Colorado, Fort Bend, Matagorda and Wharton counties. It passes alongside the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge, which shelters one of the last populations of the critically endangered Attwater's prairie-chicken, a ground-dwelling grouse of the coastal prairie ecosystem.

The San Bernard River is one of a small number of rivers in Texas which empties directly into the Gulf.[1] Its mouth was impeded in 2005 causing it to drain into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, but was later corrected. Shortly after being opened back up, the entrance silted in again, and remains so at this time.[1][2]

Watershed edit

The San Bernard drains approximately 1,850 square miles (4800 km²) of land,[3] and its basin area is home to approximately 87,000 people according to the 1990 census. The region was once the home of the Karankawa Indians. The river runs near West Columbia, Texas and along one side of Camp Karankawa, a camping facility of the Boy Scouts of America. The basin receives approximately 35 to 70 inches (890 to 1,780 mm) of rainfall annually.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Texas Highways http://texashighways.com/travel/item/716-now-open-san-bernard-river
  2. ^ John Whorff (2 March 2011). Kayaking the Texas Coast. Texas A&M University Press. pp. 47–. ISBN 978-1-60344-225-1. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  3. ^ http://www.h-gac.com/HGAC/Programs/Clean+Rivers+Program/Basin+Profiles/Brazos_Colorado_Coastal_Basin+.htm

External links edit

28°51′08″N 95°26′27″W / 28.85224°N 95.44084°W / 28.85224; -95.44084