The
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the
Intracoastal WaterwayThe Intracoastal Waterway is a 4,800-km waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals...
located along the
Gulf CoastThe Gulf Coast region of the United States, sometimes called the Gulf South, South Coast, or Third Coast, comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are known as the Gulf States...
of the United States. It is a
navigable inland waterwayThe inland waterways of the United States include over 25,000 miles of navigable waters. Much of the commercially important waterways of the United States consist of the Mississippi River System—the Mississippi River and connecting waterways.Almost all of the navigable rivers and canals in...
running approximately 1700 kilometers (1050 mi) from
CarrabelleCarrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 1,290.-Location:...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, to
BrownsvilleBrownsville is a city in and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, United States. Brownsville is the 15th largest city in the state of Texas and the 129th largest in the United States. The population was 139,722 at the 2000 census...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
.
The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 3.7 meters (12 ft), designed primarily for
bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.
Locations along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway are defined in terms of statute miles (as opposed to
Nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s, which most marine routes are measured) east and west of Harvey Lock, a navigation lock in the New Orleans area.
The
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the
Intracoastal WaterwayThe Intracoastal Waterway is a 4,800-km waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are man-made canals...
located along the
Gulf CoastThe Gulf Coast region of the United States, sometimes called the Gulf South, South Coast, or Third Coast, comprises the coasts of states which border the Gulf of Mexico. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are known as the Gulf States...
of the United States. It is a
navigable inland waterwayThe inland waterways of the United States include over 25,000 miles of navigable waters. Much of the commercially important waterways of the United States consist of the Mississippi River System—the Mississippi River and connecting waterways.Almost all of the navigable rivers and canals in...
running approximately 1700 kilometers (1050 mi) from
CarrabelleCarrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 1,290.-Location:...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, to
BrownsvilleBrownsville is a city in and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, United States. Brownsville is the 15th largest city in the state of Texas and the 129th largest in the United States. The population was 139,722 at the 2000 census...
,
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
.
The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 3.7 meters (12 ft), designed primarily for
bargeA barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.
EHL & WHL mileages
Locations along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway are defined in terms of statute miles (as opposed to
Nautical mileThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
s, which most marine routes are measured) east and west of Harvey Lock, a navigation lock in the New Orleans area. The Hathaway Bridge in
Panama CityThe City of Panama City is a city located along U.S. Highway 98 in Bay County, Florida, United States. Between Tallahassee, Florida and Pensacola, Florida it is the largest city between Pensacola and Tallahassee. It is the larger of two principal cities of the Panama City-Lynn Haven, Florida...
, Florida, for example, is at mile 284.6 EHL (East of Harvey Lock). The
Queen Isabella Causeway BridgeLocated in southern Cameron County, Texas, the two-mile long Queen Isabella Causeway is the only road connecting South Padre Island, Texas to the mainland. The Causeway was opened in 1974 and replaced the previous bridge which had also been named Queen Isabella Causeway...
at
South Padre IslandSouth Padre Island is a barrier island in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Cameron County and is a popular vacation destination because the resort community South Padre Island is located on the island.-See also:*South Padre Island, Texas...
is at mile 665.1 WHL (West of Harvey Lock). The Harvey Lock chamber, located at , is considered to be mile zero.
Connecting waterways
The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway crosses or meets, and in some cases is
confluentConfluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where a tributary joins a more major river, called the mainstem, when that major river is also the highest order stream in the drainage basin....
with, numerous other navigable rivers and waterways. They include:
- Apalachicola River
The Apalachicola River is a river, approximately 112 mi long in the U.S. state Florida. The river's large watershed, known as the ACF River Basin for short, drains an area of approximately into the Gulf of Mexico. The distance to its farthest headstream in northwest Georgia is approximately...
- Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
(connecting to the Tenn-Tom Waterway)
- Pearl River
The Pearl River is a river in the U.S. states of Mississippi and Louisiana. It forms in Winston County, Mississippi from the confluence of Nanawaya and Tallahaga Creeks. It is 790 kilometers long. The Yockanookany and Strong Rivers are tributaries...
- The Rigolets
- Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal
The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal is a channel that provided a shorter route between the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans's inner harbor...
- Industrial Canal
The Industrial Canal is a 5.5 mile waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The waterway's proper name, as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and on NOAA nautical charts, is Inner Harbor Navigation Canal...
- Lower Mississippi River
The Lower Mississippi River is the portion of the Mississippi River downstream of Cairo, Illinois. From the confluence of the Ohio River and Upper Mississippi River at Cairo, the Lower flows just under 1600 kilometers to the Gulf of Mexico...
- Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Lafourche is a bayou in southeastern Louisiana, United States, that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. The first settlements of Acadians in southern Louisiana were near Bayou Lafourche and Bayou des Écores which led to a close association of the bayou with Cajun culture. Today, approximately...
- Atchafalaya River
The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers, approximately 170 miles long, in south central Louisiana in the United States. It is navigable and provides a significant industrial shipping channel for the state of Louisiana, as well as the cultural heart of the Cajun...
- Vermilion River
The Vermilion River is a river, 72 mi long, in southern Louisiana in the United States. It is formed on the common boundary of Lafayette and St. Martin Parishes by a confluence of small bayous flowing from St. Landry Parish, and flows generally southward through Lafayette and Vermilion Parishes,...
- Calcasieu River
The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U.S.A.. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American Atakapa language...
- Sabine River
The Sabine River is a river, 555 miles long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international...
- Neches River
The Neches River flows for through east Texas to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs, Lake Palestine and Lake B. A. Steinhagen are located on the Neches. Several cities are located along the Neches River Basin, including Tyler, Lufkin, Silsbee, Beaumont, Vidor,...
- Houston Ship Channel
The Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas is part of the Port of Houston — one of the United States's busiest sea ports.The channel is a conduit for ocean going vessels between the the city of Houston and the Gulf of Mexico. The channel is a widened and deepened natural watercourse created by...
Ports and harbors
Notable ports on or near the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway include:
- Carrabelle, Florida
Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 1,290.-Location:...
- Apalachicola, Florida
Apalachicola is a city in Franklin County, Florida on US 98 about 80 miles southwest of Tallahassee. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census. The 2005 census estimates gave the city at 2,340...
- Panama City, Florida
The City of Panama City is a city located along U.S. Highway 98 in Bay County, Florida, United States. Between Tallahassee, Florida and Pensacola, Florida it is the largest city between Pensacola and Tallahassee. It is the larger of two principal cities of the Panama City-Lynn Haven, Florida...
- Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2007, the estimated population was 54,283....
- Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census...
- Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
- Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area...
- New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
- Larose, Louisiana
Larose is a census-designated place in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,306 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
- Houma, Louisiana
Houma is the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...
- Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,703 at the 2000 census....
- Intracoastal City, Louisiana
Intracoastal City is an unincorporated community in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is situated on the west bank of the Vermilion River at its junction with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and has various port facilities and some permanent residents.Intracoastal City is approximately...
- Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth largest incorporated city in the US state of Louisiana.It is a major cultural and educational center in the southwest region of the state and one of the most important in Acadiana. As of the 2000 census, Lake Charles' population was 71,757...
- Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area of the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 57,755 at the 2000 census.-Geography and history:...
- Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466 within an area of...
- Texas City, Texas
Texas City is a city in Galveston county in the U.S. state of Texas within the the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city's population was 41,521 at the 2000 census.-History:...
- Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census, a major part of the region known as the "Golden Crescent"...
(the initial meeting in 1905 which led to the GIWW was held in Victoria)
- Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio counties.MSA population in 2008 is 416, 376. The population was 277,454 at the 2000 census; in 2006 the US Census...
- Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, United States. Brownsville is the 15th largest city in the state of Texas and the 129th largest in the United States. The population was 139,722 at the 2000 census...