CALHOUN COUNTY. Calhoun County is located on the Gulf Coast between Houston
and Corpus Christi. Approximately one-fourth of the county's 540-square-mile
area is under water. Calhoun County is bordered by Victoria and Jackson
counties on the north, Matagorda Island and the Gulf on the south, Refugio
County on the west, and Matagorda County on the east. The approximate center
of the county is at 33°40' north latitude and 95°06' west longitude,
five miles southwest of Port Lavaca, the county seat. The altitude of this
Coastal Prairie county ranges from sea level to fifty feet. The terrain
is flat, poorly to moderately well drained, and surfaced with loams underlain
by cracking, clayey subsoils, including deep black soils and sandy clay.
Matagorda Island, on the southern fringe of the county, is chiefly deep
shell sand. The climate is mild, the rainfall averages about forty inches
annually, and the growing season lasts 305 days a year. The flora includes
tall grasses and live oaks with cordgrasses and sedges along the coast,
and the animal life includes quail, deer, doves, cottontail rabbits, jackrabbits,
armadillos, skunks, opossums, raccoons, and a few coyotes. Between 21 and
30 percent of the land is considered prime farmland. The county is drained
by the Guadalupe River, Chocolate Bayou, and several creeks. Green Lake,
a large natural lake, is in Calhoun County. Major incorporated communities
include Point Comfort, Port Lavaca, and Seadrift. The county is served by
the Union Pacific railroad, as well as by U.S. Highway 87 and State highways
35 and 185. (continue
reading)

Diana J. Kleiner, "CALHOUN COUNTY,"
Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc02) Published by the Texas State Historical Association. |
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