Padre Island | Island, Texas, United States - Encyclopedia Britannica

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• The American Southwest - Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

Padre Island island, Texas, United States Ask Anything Also known as: Isla Blanca Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

Padre Island, barrier island, 113 miles (182 km) long and up to 3 miles (5 km) wide, lying in the Gulf of Mexico along the southeastern coast of Texas, U.S. It extends south from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel, just north of the Mexican border, and is separated from the mainland by Laguna Madre (part of the Intracoastal Waterway). Port Mansfield Channel divides the island toward the south; the area beyond it is often known as South Padre Island.

Padre Island was first visited in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Piñeda, who called it Isla Blanca. It was later renamed for a priest, Padre José Nicolás Ballí, who set up a ranch there in 1804 and preached to the local Karankawa Indians. The island consists of miles of white sandy beaches as well as dunes, grasslands, wetlands, and tidal flats. A wide variety of shorebirds, including pelicans, plovers, and egrets, inhabits the island; it is also a primary stop for migratory birds, particularly the peregrine falcon. South Padre Island is a popular destination for college students during spring break.

In 1962 much of the island was designated a national seashore. Its area of 203 square miles (526 square km) extends over a 70-mile (115-km) stretch of the island’s central portion. It contains the longest remaining stretch of undeveloped barrier island in the United States; only its northern tip is inhabited. There is camping at Malaquite Beach. The national seashore participates in a sea turtle nesting program in which eggs are collected from nests to hatch in an incubator and baby turtles are released into the gulf.

Britannica Quiz Islands and Archipelagos This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.