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Houston-Galveston Saltwater Bays: 824,000 surface acres: Bays:
East, Galveston, Matagorda, Trinity, and West Bays BRAZORIA COUNTY
Population (as of 2006): 241,767, Area: 1,597 square miles Recreation: Gulf beaches, water sports, fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing, historic sites, state and county parks. Brazoria County was created in 1836 and derived its name from the Brazos
River. It was part of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colony of families arriving in the early 1820s. Brazoria County's physical features include flat coastal plains and coastal soils. The county's
economy is based on the petrochemical and petroleum industries, manufacturing, tourism, fishing, and agribusiness.
CHAMBERS COUNTY Population: 26,031, Area: 868 square miles Recreation: Gulf beaches, fishing, hunting, water sports, camping, county parks, wildlife refuge, historic sites. Chambers County was established in 1858 and named after General T.J.
Chambers, a surveyor. This area contains coastal plains, coastal soils, and some forests. Its economy is based on petroleum, chemicals, steel plants, agribusiness, manufacturing, fish processing, and tourism. GALVESTON COUNTY Population: 250,158, Area: 876 square miles
Recreation: Gulf beaches, fishing, surfing, boating, sailing, wildlife
viewing, state park, museums, historic sites. French, Spanish, and American settlement began in 1815 and the Carancahua and other tribes lived in this area until 1850. Galveston County was established in 1838 and named
after the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Count Bernardo de Galvez. This area is partly barrier island and partly coastal plains and is broken up by bays. Galveston's economy is based on port activities, insurance and
finance, petrochemical plants, manufacturing, tourism, medical education, shipbuilding, and commercial fishing. HARRIS COUNTY Population: 3,400,578, Area:
1,777 square miles Recreation: Fishing, boating, water activities, wildlife viewing, museums, historic sites. Harris County was formed in 1836 and named after John R. Harris, the founder of Harrisburg. Harris
County, the largest county in eastern Texas, has many bayous, lakes, and canals and is partly forested. This county has the nation's largest concentration of petrochemical plants, and its economy is based largely on
petroleum refining, chemicals, space and medical research, and paper products. MATAGORDA COUNTY Population: 37,957 Area: 1,612 square miles Recreation: Gulf beaches, fishing, water sports, wildlife viewing, hunting, state park, museums, historic sites. Matagorda County, originally the Carancahua Indian and later the Tonkawa
Indian settlement area, was established in 1836 and settled by Stephen F. Austin colonists. It is broken up by bays and has many different soils. This area's economy is based on petroleum operations, petrochemicals,
agribusiness, manufacturing, and tourism. |
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