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(33) BRAZOS RIVER, DIRECTIONS

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Pilotage is compulsory for all vessels in foreign trade and for coastwise vessels unless having on board a pilot licensed by the United States Steamboat Inspection Service. The rate is $4 per foot of draft, inward or outward. Pilots meet vessels by previous arrangement, using small power boats. No ships are brought in at night.

Quarantine inspection is made by local doctor after boat comes alongside.

Customs inspectors come from Houston but maintain an office in

town.

Supplies and Repairs.-Provisions and limited supplies (no ship chandlery) can be secured at Freeport stores or from Houston. Fuel oil and coal can be secured from the Freeport Sulphur Co. in emergency but not as a commercial practice. The town water is good for drinking but is specially treated for boiler use.

There are no facilities for ship repairs.

Storm warnings (day and night) are displayed at the Velasco Coast Guard Station, about 1 mile inside the entrance on the north side.

Small boats. There is an excellent yacht basin at Freeport accommodating boats up to about 50 feet long in individual slips. Provisions and some supplies are available in town, and gasoline, oil, and water can be secured at the slips. There are several other boat landings along the river.

Just below the yacht basin there is a small marine ways with a machine shop. Boats up to about 40 feet long and 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) draft can be hauled.

Tides and Currents.-The mean range of tide at the mouth of the river is 1.9 feet.

The current off the entrance generally sets to the westward, with a counter current near the beach, which is largely influenced by the direction of the wind. The bar is very rough with an easterly breeze.

Directions, Brazos River Entrance.-Bring Brazos River Lighthouse to bear 302 true (N. W. by W. 8 W.) and head for it. Brazos River Entrance Lighted Bell Buoy lies 211⁄2 miles off the end of the jetties. A course 295° true (WSW. 11⁄2 W. mag.) for 24 miles leads from the entrance buoy to the entrance between the jetties. Care should be taken to avoid the submerged end of the north jetty which extends some 200 yards beyond the visible portion and is marked by the lighted buoy.

Courses and Distances for approaching Brazos River Entrance from Galveston or Corpus Christi are given under Coastwise Courses (Position No. 27). Inland Rules are to be followed inside Brazos River Entrance Lighted Bell Buoy and in the river.

Diversion Channel and upper river.-At the present time there are no locks in the diversion dam and the only entrance to the upper river is directly into the Diversion Channel from the Gulf or through the inside waterway extending between the Brazos River and Matagorda Bay. The Diversion Channel constantly changes its course through the bar at its mouth but with local knowledge a depth of about 3 feet (0.9 m) can generally be carried from the Gulf into the canal. In June 1935, both the east and west entrance from the Diversion Channel to the inside waterway were blocked by silt and log jams and there were no immediate plans for opening them. Previously,

about 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) could be carried into the Diversion Channel from the Brazos River and about 2 feet (0.6 m) from Matagorda Bay.

A highway drawbridge crosses the Diversion Channel about 11⁄2 miles south of the dam. The horizontal clearance is 100 feet and the vertical clearance 10 feet (3.0) at high water.

The Brazos River extends about 820 miles above the dam and during high-river stages light draft vessels have ascended the river as far as Old Washington, 221 miles above the mouth. In 1929, at ordinary river stages, a depth of about 6 feet (1.8 m) could be carried to Bolivar Landing, 41 miles above the mouth. However, there is practically no commerce on the river, and snags, etc., are likely to be encountered.

A railway and a highway drawbridge cross the river at Brazoria, 23 miles above the mouth of the river, and a highway bridge crosses at Columbia, 30 miles above the mouth of the river. The minimum clearances are 85 feet horizontal and 34 feet (10.4 m) vertical at low water (about nothing at high water).

BRAZOS RIVER TO MATAGORDA BAY

(Chart 1283)

San Bernard River flows into the Gulf of Mexico about 9 miles southwestward from the mouth of the Brazos River. Its mouth is obstructed by a shifting bar on which the depth varies from 12 feet (0.4 m) to 4 feet (1.2 m). Inside the bar it is said to have a depth of 8 feet (2.4 m) for about 40 miles. There are some small settlements along the river but no towns of importance. A number of drawbridges cross the river; the minimum horizontal clearance is 32 feet. The narrows, about 3 miles above the mouth, are difficult to navigate without local knowledge.

Cedar Lakes are shallow bodies of water having a total length of about 5 miles, lying 1/2 mile westward of San Bernard River and connected therewith by Longs Bayou.

Inland Waterway. The original 5 feet (1.5 m) by 40 feet inland waterway left the Brazos River just east of the sulphur dock and extended for about 25 miles to the head of Matagorda Bay, through the upper end of which there was a dredged channel to the deeper water of the bay.

In June 1935 this route was blocked by silt and log booms on either side of the Brazos River Diversion Channel where the waterway crossed this channel. There were no immediate plans for removing these obstructions.

This route follows a canal from the Brazos River to the San Bernard River, crossing the Diversion Channel en route. It follows the San Bernard River upstream for about half a mile to Longs Bayou which leads to Cedar Lakes. Across Cedar Lakes the channel was formerly well marked and most of these marks are still in place. A canal connects Cedar Lakes and Caney Creek, thence the route follows Caney Creek for nearly 2 miles, to a short canal connecting with the head of Matagorda Bay. The section of the waterway through Matagorda Bay is described on page 319.

The controlling depth along this route in 1935 was about 2 feet (0.6 m) through Cedar Lakes.

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The four following highway drawbridges cross the canal sections of this route; the controlling horizontal clearance is 55 feet.

Quintana Bridge; 4 mile west Brazos River.
Bryan Bridge; 2.0 miles east Diversion Channel.

Longs Bayou Bridge; 0.2 mile west San Bernard River.

Caney Creek Bridge; 0.1 mile east of Caney Creek.

The distance from Brazos River to Matagorda Bay is 232 miles. MATAGORDA BAY

(Charts 1283 and 1284)

Pass Cavallo is an entrance from the Gulf to the southwestern corner of Matagorda Bay, 108 miles southwestward from Galveston entrance. It is 14 miles wide between Matagorda Peninsula on the east and Matagorda Island on the west, and is of some commercial importance.

The entrance is obstructed by a bar subject to frequent change in both location and depth, and the bar buoy cannot be depended upon to indicate the best water. The depths over the bar vary from 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3.0 m). With a swell or sea outside, there is practically a continuous line of breakers over the bar.

In 1935, the best water was along the east shore of Matagorda Island, a half mile or less off shore. The controlling depth was 8 feet (2.4 m) on the bar southeast of Matagorda Lighthouse. This entrance channel continues along the east shore of Matagorda Island, passing to the eastward of the beacons about half a mile off Saluria (McHenry) and Big Bayous and thence off the Port O'Connor jetties into the deeper water of the bay. About 3/4 mile north of the jetties, the piles of an old pier are to be avoided.

Pelican Island and generally shoal areas lie along the east side of the pass. In 1935, there was a passage with a depth of 9 feet (2.7 m) or more through these shoals in a northeasterly direction, from off Saluria (McHenry) Bayou to about a half mile inside the north shore of Matagorda Peninsula. This channel is particularly subject to change. The ruins of West Shoal Lighthouse were just visible along the south side of this passage and should be avoided. The ruins of old East Shoal Lighthouse lie about 1,300 yards to the north-northeastward; they are submerged and are charted as a sunken rock.

Prominent features.-Matagorda Lighthouse, the old Coast Guard Station about 14 miles northeast of the lighthouse and the new Coast Guard Station at the entrance to Saluria (McHenry) Bayou are the only objects of prominence in the vicinity of the pass. Thirty-five miles northeastward of the pass, the twin stacks and the buildings at Gulf show prominent from off shore. At about 13 and 24 miles, respectively, southwestward of the light, there is a prominent wreck close in along shore, and a tank, about a mile inshore and about 35 feet high, which show prominently from the Gulf.

Matagorda Lighthouse (Lat. 28°20.'2; Long. 96°25.'5) is a black conical tower. The light is flashing white, 85 feet (26 m) above the water and visible 15 miles.

57738°-36--21

With northerly winds or smooth sea, good anchorage may be had outside the bar in 4 to 6 fathoms (7 to 11 m), with the lighthouse bearing about W. 2 S. (mag.). Inside the bar, the deeper area toward the head of the pass is available for anchorage. In 1935 there were depths here in excess of 30 feet (9.1 m). During northers, anchorage in the pass is dangerous on account of strong currents. There are no licensed pilots. Vessels desiring to enter, usually signal the Coast Guard station, whereupon the keeper of the station places two poles with blue flags on the range marking the best water; at night white lights take the place of the flags, the higher light being the rear one. When desired, the keeper of the station will come out, if practicable to enter, and pilot a vessel in over the bar.

Matagorda Bay is an irregularly shaped body of water, 45 miles long in a general northeasterly and southwesterly direction, from 1 to 10 miles wide, and separated from the Gulf by Matagorda Peninsula. Dog Island Reef, about 20 miles from the northeastern end of the bay, divides the bay into two parts, with somewhat dissimilar characteristics. Eastward of the reef the bay is a shallow lagoon, with a greatest depth of 5 feet (1.5 m), soft mud or silt bottom, and shows indications of being filled up rapidly. The Colorado River empties into this part of the bay. Westward of Dog Island Reef, the depths range from 5 to 13 feet (1.5 to 4.0 m), averaging 10 to 12 feet (3.0 to 3.7 m) over the greater part. Middle Channel, through Dog Island Reef connects the two parts of the bay; it had a controlling depth of 3 feet (0.9 m) at the western end in 1935. This channel is marked, on the south side by Matagorda Middle Channel Lights.

The original 5 feet (1.5 m) by 40 feet inland waterway extends through the entire length of Matagorda Bay. This is described on page 319. In 1935, the depths through the eastern end of the bay were barely 3 feet (0.9 m) and off the mouth of the Colorado River the depths were barely 2 feet (0.6 m).

During flood conditions on the Colorado River, silt and driftwood accummulate in the bay off the mouth of the river. Following flood conditions in June 1935, there was barely 2 feet (0.6 m) between the Colorado River Entrance Light, at the mouth of the river, and Middle Channel through Dog Island Reef.

Colorado River empties into Matagorda Bay about 12 miles northeastward of Dog Island Reef. Originally there were several mouths to the river. At present, the river discharges through the east mouth which has been improved by dredging and constructing earth and driftwood dikes along either bank. The dikes and dredged channel have been extended out across Matagorda Bay to within nearly 1/2 mile of the north shore of the Matagorda Peninsula where Colorado River Entrance Light marks the entrance to the river from the inland waterway.

A county dredge is employed more or less continuously on this channel. It is attempted to maintain a 4-foot (1.2 m) channel from the Bay to Matagorda but constant shoaling occurs and frequently the depth is 3 feet (0.9 m) or less.

Opposite the mouth of the river, a cut has been made through Matagorda Peninsula to the Gulf. A bar, with practically no water over it, obstructs passage to the Gulf through this cut.

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Matagorda (population 805 by the 1930 census) is a small town and postoffice 3 miles above the mouth of the Colorado River. It is headquarters for a small fleet of fishermen and oystermen who use a number of small landings along the river bank. A depth of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) can be carried to these landings. A railroad and an improved highway extend to Bay City. Gasoline, fresh water, and provisions can be obtained, and there are facilities for hauling out small vessels.

Storm warning signals (day and night) are displayed at Matagorda. At ordinary river stages, a depth of about 2 feet (0.6 m) can be taken up the Colorado River above Matagorda to Bay City.

Gulf is a small town 42 miles eastward of Matagorda. There are extensive sulphur mines north of the town which are connected by railroad and highway with Matagorda and the interior of the State. In 1935, the mines were not being operated. The twin stacks and the buildings at the mine are prominent from off shore.

Caney Creek empties into the extreme northeastern part of Matagorda Bay, through a canal one-half mile long. It meanders through a fertile country but is of little commercial importance.

A depth of 3 to 4 feet (0.9 to 1.2 m) can be carried up the creek to a county bridge about 25 miles above Matagorda Bay. Gainesmore and Cedar Lane are small settlements and post offices.

Live Oak Bay and Bayou, tributary to the eastern part of Matagorda Bay, are shallow and of no importance.

Trespalacios Bay on the north side of the western portion of Matagorda Bay is the approach to Palacios and to the small town of Collegeport. Lights off Oliver Point and off Wells Point mark the entrance into the bay. A depth of 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) can be taken into the bay, passing close outside of either light (the area between is shoal), and about 4 feet (1.2 m) into the small dredged slip on the south shore at Palacios.

Trespalacios River empties into the northern extremity of Trespalacios Bay. It has a depth of about 2 feet (0.6 m) at the entrance and depths of 6 to 10 feet (1.8 to 3.0 m) for 10 to 15 miles above the mouth. There is a fixed highway bridge crossing the river about 311⁄2 miles above Collegeport; the horizontal clearance is 100 feet and the vertical clearance 612 feet (2.0 m).

Palacios (population 1,318 by the 1930 census) is a fishing and farming community on the west side of Trespalacios Bay about 5 miles above the entrance. It is on the improved highway between Bay City and Port Lavaca and has railroad connection to Bay City. A small boat slip has been dredged to boat landings at the shrimp and oyster canneries on the south shore of the town, and there is a slip for pleasure boats on the north side of the town. Fresh water, gasoline, and provisions and some small boat supplies can be secured. There is a marine railway near the canneries capable of hauling the larger fishing vessels (up to about 60 feet long and 4 feet (1.2 m) draft) and there is a machine shop in town.

Storm warning signals (day and night) are displayed from a steel tower near the public pier in front of the town.

Camp Hulen (Army Post) is on the western side of the town. There is a pier on Trespalacios Bay and an auxiliary landing field for aircraft. An elevated water tank at the post and a similar tank in town show prominently from the bay.

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