Matagorda Island
From: Wild Texas, 2003; TPWD, 2003; The Handbook of Texas Online, 2003.
Matagorda Island is a low sandy barrier island. It is located between San Antonio and Espiritu Santo bays and the Gulf of Mexico. It is separated by a channel from St. Joseph Island in the southwest and by Cavallo Pass from the tip of Matagorda Peninsula in the northeast. At the eastern end of the island is the Matagorda Island State Park and Wildlife Area which hosts about 10,000 visitors a year – a former air force base used for bombing practice, now restored to natural status. Activities at the park include camping, hiking, bicycling, surfing, swimming, beach combing, bird watching, nature study and fishing. A passenger ferry and on-island shuttle are available for scheduled tours. A very important monument here is the Matagorda Island Lighthouse.
Matagorda Island is characterized by lumpy sand dunes, salt grasses and cord grasses that are covered with tidal flats and windswept stretches of beaches. The island marshes are important nursery grounds for many fish species including red drum, spotted sea trout, tarpon, shark and mackerel. Amphibians are few on Matagorda Island and include leopard frog, bullfrog and gulf coast toad. Twenty state or federally protected species (flora and fauna) inhabit Matagorda Island. The most common mammals found here are white-tailed deer, coyote, raccoon, badger, jackrabbit and the bottle nosed porpoise. The island also provides nursing grounds for more than 300 bird species. Over 30 species of reptiles occur on the island including 19 snake species. The Western Massasauga Rattlesnake is only found here and one small area in Missouri.