I've always wondered you know Galveston is a pretty cool place until you see the water... why is the water dirty? Why can't it be like Cancun's.... also i know if you go to some places like east beach or jamaica on good days ... the water so clean you can see the bottom of the ocean floor at waist deep... But ive always wondered why.... Can't Galveston clean it up? add more rocks or jetties...
I've always been told that the Gulfs currents bring all the trash and mud in from the other coasts. The refineries don't help either. I lived in Florida and can appreciate nice beaches. It's a shame. Houston would be a great vacation destination if it had anything resembling a nice beach. You couldn't pay me to walk on that beach. os
Has absolutely zilch to do with refineries and the like...that water has looked like that for a VERY long time. The coast west of the Mississippi gets silt deposits from the river...that's why it's so cloudy...and there are days in Galveston where you can absolutely see your feet in the water...but most days you can't. It's not anything unnatural. My grandparents lived down there a long time...long before there were significant refineries...and it was the same thing. As for trash...every beach in the country that encourages tourism deals with the trash left by tourists. People who visit Galveston are no different than those who visit Florida beaches. As for the beach itself...it used to be a selling point that the sand was so firm and not as powdery. Galveston was billed as having the only beach in the nation where you could ride your bike.
OK, I'm a little protective of our little beaches. It has been that color for millions of years. It is like asking, why is a mud bottom river not clear like a rock bottom river. The gulf is eroding a very old marine environment of clay and mud deposits rich in oyster and clam shells. That is much of what Houston is standing on. The gulf is eroding gray matter, so to speak. That is why the beach is gray. At since the beach is gray, the water is gray, just like mud bottom rivers are brown. By contract, Florida is eroding limestone bedrocks, and most islands are eroding igneous rock. Limestone and igneous rock reflect light better and make the water look bluer. It is an illusion that the water is "dirtier" or "cleaner." Our sands are also finer, so they do stay in suspension, so in that sense, it is "dirty," I guess.
My father sat on the GCCA council for a while and they dealt with this issue alot. The number 1 reason is because the current in the Gulf generally runs counter clockwise from Florida to the Yucatan. That results in heavy sediment drifts from the Mississippi River being deposited around Galveston. Occassionally, a strong southerly flow will divert that the other direction, but, generally, we are stuck with that as a result of having a HUGE river just east of us. Secondly, there are a tremendous amount of enviornmental pollutants in the water. It doesn't always contribute directly to the "browning" of the water, however, it does contribute greatly to the contamination of the water and estuaries in the surrounding area. The ship channel along with a number of refineries who sit on waters adjacent to the bay create a lot of chemical pollution and the vast majority of it ends up in Galveston Bay and the Gulf. Finally, don't discount the use of pesticides on residential yards. They have found common insecticides and lawn fertilizers as far as 150 miles out into the Gulf. Everything you put on your lawn has the potential to end up in the bay and gulf depending on how strong the chemical bonds are.
Not sure about the pesticides and fertilizer impacting clarity, Jeff. Southern Cal beaches get storm runoff and waste and the water there does not brown-out. BTW, some of those 'pretty-water' beaches around LA (like Huntington) have to close periodically due to high bacteria counts (fecal, I believe). ..but hey, the water looks good!
That's a selling point??? They let cars drive on the beaches in Daytona. I'd rather be on a beach that is so powdery that NO vehicles would be allowed. I've never been to Cancun but have heard it is great there. os
The more important question concerning Galveston is why don't they have legalized casino gambling there? They are the only city in Texas that has the right to legalize Casino gambling, and it would increase tourism immensly. I don't understand why they have not passed that referendum yet. DaDakota
go out a few miles on a boat and the water is blue as blue can get! the closer you are to the shore the more silt and sand you have muddying up the water...
As I said, I'm a whittle bit protective of our sand color and water color. I don't like hearing that Texas has dirty beaches/water as if we ruined them or something. Is this thread a "pollution" thread or a clarity of water thread? Yeah, we are fairly polluted, but that's not coloring the water. Jeff, I'm going to have to restate my case that Texas Beaches/Shoreline are a product of ancient Texas. The color is natural. It is *all* Texas. I don't mean to question the GCCA Council, as I'm sure they are correct on the pollution effects of marine biology and all...but not sand color and water color. I've studied the geology of Texas with one of the leading authorities of our sedimentary geology, Dr. John Anderson, goofy guy. I once saw him streak with 20 feet of flaming toilet paper coming out of his ass. Geologists are freaks when out in the field drinking whiskey. And I'll deny that story if anyone repeats it. (btw: all the professors and grad students did it, I was spared the peer pressure for being just an undergrad). The Mississippi Delta contributes insignificantly to our beaches and water color, not close to the Number 1 reason. Our shoreline has been moving in and out during the ice ages. The bays used to be valleys and the barrier islands are part of the delta system, as well. The composition of our sand is from the Trinity River delta and transport from the Sabine Delta (though probably not as much as a few millinium ago) as they were regressing. We also have shell gravel (ancient and new oyster beds). That is why we have muddy/grayish looking sand that is compact. And it is a fine, mature sand that stays suspended and "dirties" the water color.
All I know is walking in the Galveston beach surf makes me feel dirty. Sort of like I feel after reading that Charlotte Church/butt thread. os
Galveston's not that bad. I agree that the water color is the way it is because of natural reasons. I only wish they had more of a nightlife, clubs or gambling. That would definately increase tourism to the Houstonia region.
thats some insightful stuff heypartner. Ive been surfing the texas coast since i was 13(25 now) and have always been led to believe that Galveston water color was brown strictly because the mouth of the mississippi river was so near. Ive surfed South Padre about 10 times and the water there was always a deep dark blue. I've surfed destin and panama city florida beach each about 10 times and the water their is even bluer. So, to me, it seems the further away one gets from the mouth of the mississippi, the clearer the water clarity gets. you do make some interesting points though. The combination of gulf bottom and the mississip could both be the cause of the muddy brown water.
