SPACEPHOTOS

Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay, two of the larger bays of central coastal Texas, are visible in this near-vertical photograph. Sandy barrier islands have created a series of estuaries that separate the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway. Runways of an abandoned airstrip are barely visible near the northeast end of Matagorda Island, which lies south of Matagorda Peninsula, the sliver of barrier beach that extends southwest. Substantial suspended sediments are widespread throughout the estuaries and the shoreside waters of the gulf. Northwest of Matagorda Bay are Lavaca Bay and Port Lavaca, southwest of a bridge crossing the bay. Small Port O’Connor, southeast of Port Lavaca on the western edge of Matagorda Bay, is discernible on the northeastern point of land on the large peninsula that separates Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay. Some cultivated field patterns are apparent on the mainland.