Laguna Madre
Coordinates: 26 ° 32 '26 " N , 97 ° 22' 46" W.
The Laguna Madre is a long, shallow bay along the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the United States . The bay is 209 km long and is from the Spanish translated Mother lagoon . The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway runs across the bay.
geography
In the United States, the bay is bordered by Texas to the west and Padre Island to the east . It extends from Corpus Christi in the north to Port Isabel in the south. The Laguna Madre is a very shallow bay with a maximum depth of 0.9 meters.
ecology
The Laguna Madre is one of the most important habitats on the American coast. Many different fish , migratory birds , sea turtles and even wild cats live here. In April 2005 the Mexican government declared the bay and the mouth of the Rio Grande a Natural Protected Area , which covers an area of 5700 km².