point, the broad Nueces floodplain extends for several 

 miles in a northwest direction, being confined to a 

 width of approximately 2 to 5 km. 



Along the southern edge of the delta, the Nueces River 

 flows west to east for approximately 15 km and 

 empties into Nueces Bay. The banks of the river along 

 this reach, which are generally about 1.5 to 2.5 m high, 

 are steep and wooded. At higher flows, the river spills 

 into the delta through numerous depressions along its 

 northern bank. Within the delta itself, the two 

 dominant hydraulic features are Rincon Bayou and 

 South Lake (Figure 2-2). Rincon Bayou, which was 

 likely once a course of the Nueces River, stretches 

 along the entire northern portion of the delta to the 

 bay. The depth and width of this channel varies gready 

 along this reach, at times being confined to just a few 

 meters wide and at other times opening up into several 

 large, shallow lakes or pools {e.g., upper Rincon Bayou, 

 central Rincon Bayou, and North Lake). South Lake is 

 a large pool located in the south-central portion of the 

 delta and is connected to the upper Nueces Bay by 

 numerous tidal channels. 



Figure 2-3: Typical view of the upper Nueces Delta. 



The view is looking northeast, with North Lake in the 

 background. 



Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation. 



brackish and saltwater marshes (Figure 2-4). Along 

 both the nordiem and southern bluffs, remnants of 

 diverse coastal forests exist where they have not been 

 displaced by agriculture or development (Salas 1993). 



The delta is crossed latitudinally by two Missouri- 

 Pacific (MoPac) railroads. The western-most railroad 

 is located just downstream of the IH 37 bridge, 

 crossing only the extreme western portion of the delta. 

 The eastern-most railroad divides the delta roughly in 

 half, with a majority of the lower (eastern) half being 

 regularly inundated by water from upper Nueces Bay. 

 The upper (western) half of the delta is generally higher 

 in elevation, and only the lower channels and pools are 

 regularly inundated by the bay. Both railroad crossings 

 are elevated 3 to 5 m above tlie ground by fill material 

 for most of their span, with the exception of a few 

 bridged crossings over the more sigmficant channels. 



Generally, habitat feamres are quite diverse within the 

 Nueces Delta, ranging from wooded upland areas to 

 open bay waters. The western (upper) half of the delta 

 is primarily dominated by rangeland and improved 

 pastures, with brush thickets dominating the higher 

 elevations, and a mixture of tntertidal mud flats, 

 marshes, shallow pools and channels dominating the 

 lower elevations (Figure 2-3). The eastern (lower) half 

 of the delta is almost exclusively dominated by 



HYDROGRAPHY OF THE NUECES 

 ESTUARY AND DELTA 



The Nueces Estuary and associated river delta are 

 gready influenced by water originating from riverine. 



Figure 2-4: Typical view of the lower Nueces Delta. 



Nueces Bay is a short distance to the right, and the bluff 

 along the northern boundary of the delta is in the distant 

 background. 



Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Reclamation. 



Chapter Tivo ♦ 2-3 



