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Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas)

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Coordinates: 26°03′56″N 97°09′31″W / 26.06563°N 97.15858°W / 26.06563; -97.15858 (Brazos Santiago Pass)
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Brazos Santiago Pass
Coast Survey of Brazos Santiago Pass ca. 1867[1]
Illustration of Brazos Santiago Pass
Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas) is located in Texas
Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas)
Location on Texas Gulf Seacoast
Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas) is located in the United States
Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas)
Brazos Santiago Pass (Texas) (the United States)
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates26°03′56″N 97°09′31″W / 26.06563°N 97.15858°W / 26.06563; -97.15858 (Brazos Santiago Pass)
Specifications
Length1.14 miles (1.83 km)
NOAA NDBCBrazos Santiago ~ BZST2
History
Former names
  • Brazos Island Harbor Channel
  • Brownsville Channel
  • Port Isabel Channel
Modern nameBrazos Santiago Inlet
Current ownerState of Texas
Geography
DirectionWest
Start pointGulf of Mexico
End pointPort Isabel
Beginning coordinates26°03′59″N 97°08′42″W / 26.06631°N 97.14496°W / 26.06631; -97.14496 (Brazos Santiago Pass Entrance)
Ending coordinates26°03′59″N 97°09′50″W / 26.06632°N 97.16395°W / 26.06632; -97.16395 (Brazos Santiago Pass Exit)
Branch(es)Laguna Madre
Branch of
  • Lower Laguna Madre
  • Lower Rio Grande Valley
Connects to
GNIS feature ID1372708

Brazos Santiago Pass is a natural coastal landform located in the Lower Laguna Madre and Lower Rio Grande Valley on the furthest southern beach terrain of the Texas Gulf Coast.[2] The seacoast passage is interpolated by barrier islands encompassing the southern Brazos Island and the northern South Padre Island.[3]

Jetties at Brazos Santiago Pass

The natural ocean inlet has a travel distance of 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to the Rio Grande often entitled as the Mexico–United States border.

The waterway inlet is a navigable strait spanning a water depth of 42 feet (13 m) and a waterway channel distance of 1.14 miles (1.83 km). The Brazos Santiago channel and seaward approach is defined by parallel jetties designed with a breakwater separation of .25 miles (0.40 km). The jetty harbor development sustains the passage entrance from coastal erosion, coastal sediment transport, longshore drift, and sandbank shoals. The South Padre Island jetty is .6 miles (0.97 km) from the Padre Island shoreline annexed by the Boca Chica jetty extending .3 miles (0.48 km) into the Brazos Island continental margin.

U.S. Coastal Navigability Development of Brazos Santiago Pass

The Rivers and Harbors Act established a declaration of governance for the natural waterway of the Brazos Santiago Pass. The Act of Congress granted coastal engineering, coastal management, and public works projects for the natural inland waterway during the late nineteenth century to the twentieth century.

The Brazos Island and South Padre Island landform development proposals were endorsed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers sustaining the beach evolution at the Brazos Island Harbor natural inlet.[4][5][6]

United States Navigable Waterway Development at Brazos Santiago Pass
Date of Enactment Public Law U.S. Statute Title of U.S. Statute
☆ June 18, 1878 P.L. 45-264 20 Stat. 152 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1878
☆ June 14, 1880 P.L. 46-211 21 Stat. 180 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1880
☆ March 3, 1881 P.L. 46-136 21 Stat. 468 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1881
☆ Angust 2, 1882 P.L. 47-375 22 Stat. 191 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1882
☆ July 5, 1884 P.L. 48-229 23 Stat. 133 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1884
☆ August 5, 1886 P.L. 49-929 24 Stat. 310 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1886
☆ August 11, 1888 P.L. 50-860 25 Stat. 400 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1888
☆ August 18, 1894 P.L. 53-299 28 Stat. 338 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1894
☆ March 3, 1899 P.L. 55-425 30 Stat. 1121 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899
☆ March 3, 1909 P.L. 60-317 35 Stat. 815 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1909
☆ July 25, 1912 P.L. 62-241 37 Stat. 201 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1912
☆ March 2, 1919 P.L. 65-323 40 Stat. 1275 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1919
☆ March 3, 1925 P.L. 68-585 43 Stat. 1186 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1925
☆ July 3, 1930 P.L. 71-520 46 Stat. 918 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1930
☆ August 30, 1935 P.L. 74-409 49 Stat. 1028 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1935
☆ March 2, 1945 P.L. 79-14 59 Stat. 10 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1945
☆ May 17, 1950 P.L. 81-516 64 Stat. 163 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1950
☆ July 14, 1960 P.L. 86-645 74 Stat. 480 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1960

In 1850, the 31st United States Congress authorized the Lighthouse Service Act as enacted into law by President Zachary Taylor on September 28, 1850.[7] In 1851, the United States Lighthouse Board was convened as a quasi-military board fostering guardianship as applicable to terrestrial navigation services for maritime transport.

Screw-pile lighthouse in Laguna Madre

In 1853, a nautical beacon was initially established on South Padre Island with a proximity to the Brazos Island Military Depot originally entitled Fort Polk during the Mexican–American War. The navigation beacon had a 30 feet (9.1 m) vertical height situated on a square platform with a 15 feet (4.6 m) width. The structural design was constructed of wood equipped with a square copper lantern hoisted by block and tackle to the pinnacle.[8][9] The beacon was visually completed with 5 feet (1.5 m) artillery wheels secured to a 19 feet (5.8 m) oak axle for mobility along the barrier island coastline.[10]

In 1879, a screw-pile lighthouse was established in the intertidal zone of the Lower Laguna Madre (26°04′18″N 97°09′59″W / 26.07176°N 97.16633°W / 26.07176; -97.16633 (Screw-pile remnants)) with a geographic proximity to the Brazos Santiago Pass. The deep foundation architecture was acknowledged as a notable landmark sight for sixty years within the Texas international boundary region of the Lower Rio Grande Valley coast.[11][12] The stilt structure had a visibility of 150 yards (140 m) from the South Padre Island shore and 750 yards (690 m) from Brazos Santiago Pass. The foundation was developed with screw piles anchored into the estuarial seabed of the Lower Laguna Madre.[13] The upper quarters were structured as a 1½ storey hexagonal Cape Cod style cottage built of wood completed with a fourth-order fresnel lens located at the pinnacle.[10][14]

Station Brazos and U.S. Life Saving Service

In 1878, the United States Life Saving Service Act authorized the creation of a coastal life saving station near the navigable strait of the Brazos Island Harbor.[15] The Station Brazos was constructed in 1881 and governed by the United States Life-Saving Service.[16]

Texas Historical Commission Site

The Brazos Santiago Pass received a historical marker in 1996 by the Texas Historical Commission establishing a momentous narrative for the south Texas coastal dominion during the nineteenth century.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Brazos Santiago". Texas Almanac. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
  2. ^ Brazos Santiago Pass in Geonames.org (cc-by)
  3. ^ Anonymous. "Brazos Santiago Pass". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
  4. ^ Rosati, Julie D. (June 2005). "DTIC ADA435162: Coastal Inlet Navigation Channel Shoaling with Deepening and Widening". Internet Archive. Defense Technical Information Center.
  5. ^ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (October 2015). "DTIC ADA624911: Shoaling Analysis at Brazos Island, Harbor Inlet, Texas". Internet Archive. Defense Technical Information Center.
  6. ^ U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (February 2018). "DTIC AD1047951: Brazos Santiago Inlet, Texas, Shoaling Study". Internet Archive. Defense Technical Information Center.
  7. ^ "Lighthouse Service Act of 1850 - P.L. 31-77" (PDF). 9 Stat. 500 ~ Chapter 77. USLaw.Link. September 28, 1850.
  8. ^ "Notice to Mariners ~ The Sailor's Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 9" [Brazos Pass Beacon and Padre Island Light Observations ~ Notice to Mariners]. HathiTrust Digital Library. American Seamen’s Friend Society. May 1853. p. 280.
  9. ^ "Notice to Mariners ~ The Sailor's Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 11" [Brazos Pass Beacon and Padre Island Light Observations ~ Notice to Mariners]. HathiTrust Digital Library. American Seamen’s Friend Society. July 1853. p. 344.
  10. ^ a b "COMMENTS ~ Brazos Santiago Pass Light Station". J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog. United States Lighthouse Society. 1879.
  11. ^ "Brazos Santiago Pass Lights". J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog. United States Lighthouse Society. 1879. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018.
  12. ^ "Brazos Santiago Lighthouse". U.S. Coast Guard Historic Topics. United States Coast Guard.
  13. ^ "Brazos Santiago - Plate 2 Foundation Screw, Castings". J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog. United States Lighthouse Society. November 15, 1877. Archived from the original on July 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "Brazos Santiago (Texas) ~ Historical Light List Specifications". U.S. Lighthouse Society Education. United States Lighthouse Society.
  15. ^ "Life Saving Service Act of 1878 ~ P.L. 45-265" (PDF). 20 Stat. 163 ~ Chapter 265. USLaw.Link. June 18, 1878.
  16. ^ "Station Brazos, Texas". USLSS Station #6, Eighth District ~ Coast Guard Station #222. United States Coast Guard.
  17. ^ "Brazos Santiago Pass and Brazos Island Military Depot ~ Cameron County - Marker Number: 11777". Texas Historic Sites Atlas. Texas Historical Commission. 1996.
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