IV-283 



However, the area shows great internal diversity. Mobile Bay is 

 the center of Increasing manufacturing activity and shipping. Tex- 

 tiles play an increasing role 1n this economy as well as the more 

 traditional shipbuilding activity and fisheries centered in the 

 Mobile Bay area. Harrison County, Mississippi, is the focus of a 

 growing pertr-chemlcal complex and other heavy Industry dependent 

 on availability of crude oil, Increasing developing of the Inland 

 waterway, and artificial ship-channel construction. 



The Louisiana and Texas North and South Gulf Coast areas have all 

 experienced greater-than-Nati on-average growth in the recent past 

 and are projected to continue this growth in the future. Much of 

 this growth 1s attributable to the discovery and extraction of the 

 coastal shelf petroleum deposits throughthe use of new technologies. 

 All three economic areas show significantly high concentrations in 

 the extractive phase of petroleum recovery (mining), the processing 

 phase (refining), and in the production of secondary products 

 (chemical and allied products). In contrast, the traditional 

 importance of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, particularly in 

 the Louisiana and Texas South Gulf coasts, has declined. 



It 1s interesting to note that the Impact of the new petro-chemical- 

 based economy differs markedly among these areas. The Louisiana 

 coast experiences ample rainfall and abundant Inflows of fresh water 

 provided mostly by the Mississippi River and Its tributaries. In 

 contrast, the Texas coastal areas experience considerably less 



