Copano Bay

From: TPWD, 2004; TSHA, 2004

Copano Bay is located in Texas, just west of Rockport off Refugio and Aransas counties. The bay was first explored in 1766 by Diego Ortiz Parrilla, who named it Santo Domingo, but after the port of Copano was established in 1785 and named for the Copane Indians in the area, the bay became known as Copano Bay.

Copano Bay is actually a nineteen-by-ten-km extension of Aransas Bay. The bay is surrounded by flat, marshy terrain surfaced by sand and dark clays that support mesquite and grasses. The area is home to numerous migratory and recreational birds including whooping cranes, royal and gull-billed terns, black-necked stilts, roseate spoonbills, reddish egrets, white-faced ibis, seaside sparrows, brown pelicans, mottled ducks, black-bellied whistling-ducks and herons. Famous attractions here include the Copano Bay State Fishing Pier, which is a 0.02 sq km concession-operated state park. Others include Goose Island and Matagorda Bay. Picnicking is allowed but there are no facilities. Saltwater fishing, boating, and swimming activities are common.