Matagorda Bay

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Landing of La Salles in Matagorda Bay (1685)

The Matagorda Bay (German: Matagorda Bay ) is a more than 40 km long and about 40 km deep inland, almost L-shaped, haw-like bay on the western Gulf coast of Texas , protected by the offshore Matagorda Peninsula . To the northeast, separated by a land bridge , is the smaller East Matagorda Bay . It is also protected by an upstream spit . Both bays are part of the intracoastal waterway, which stretches from Houston south to the Mexican border . The bay is famous for its fishing , water sports , nature parks . The name is derived from the Spanish mata (dt. Bush) and gordo, -a (dt. Thick, large) and means thick / large bush , which refers to the original vegetation of giant bamboo (lat. Arundinaria gigantea, English giant bamboo, canebrake (German cane thicket), rivercane (German river pipe)).

In 1685 , the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle founded an unscheduled settlement in Matagorda Bay ; while trying to evacuate the settlers, the sailing ship La Belle sank off the bay in 1686 .

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Coordinates: 28 ° 33 ′  N , 96 ° 19 ′  W