Nueces River
Encyclopedia

The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, approximately 315 miles (506.9 km) long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

. Nueces is Spanish for nut
Nut
Nut may refer to:* En dash or nut, traditionally half the width of an em dash* Nut , a piece of metal wedged into a rock* Nut , the large, usually oily seed of some plants...

 or nuts; early settlers named the river after the numerous pecan trees along its banks.

Location and flow

The Nueces rises northwest of San Antonio in the Edwards Plateau
Edwards Plateau
The Edwards Plateau is a region of west-central Texas which is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east, the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north, and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area...

, in Real County approximately 50 mi (80 km) north of Uvalde
Uvalde, Texas
Uvalde is a city in and the county seat of Uvalde County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,929 at the 2000 census.Uvalde was founded by Reading Wood Black in 1853 as the town of Encina. In 1856, when the county was organized, the town was renamed Uvalde for Spanish governor Juan de...

. It flows south through the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...

, past Barksdale
Barksdale, Texas
Barksdale is a small unincorporated town in the hill country section of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in Edwards County and has a population of a few hundred.It's referred to as a "no stop-light town"; Highway 55 passes through it....

 and Crystal City
Crystal City, Texas
Crystal City is a city in and the county seat of Zavala County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,190 at the 2000 census. The mascot of Crystal City High School is the Javelina....

, approaching to within 35 mi (56 km) of the Rio Grande on the border with Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. East of Carrizo Springs
Carrizo Springs, Texas
Carrizo Springs is a city in and the county seat of Dimmit County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,655 at the 2000 census.The name of the town comes from the local springs, which were named by the Spanish for the cane grass that once grew around them. It is the oldest town in Dimmit...

 it turns to the east, flowing through the scrub plains of South Texas, across rural Dimmit
Dimmit County, Texas
Dimmit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 10,248. It is named for Philip Dimmitt, a major figure in the Texas Revolution. The reason the county name differs is because the bill creating the county misspelled Dimmitt's name...

, La Salle,and McMullen counties. In La Salle county the river hardly ever flows except for when it rains. In central Live Oak County it is joined from the northwest by the Frio River
Frio River
The Frio River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. The word frio is Spanish for cold, a clear reference to the spring-fed coolness of the river.-Geography:The Frio River has three primary feeds; the East, West, and Dry Frio rivers...

, then flows southeast along the coastal plain
Coastal plain
A coastal plain is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features. One of the world's longest coastal plains is located in eastern South America. The southwestern coastal plain of North America is notable for its species diversity...

 past Mathis
Mathis, Texas
Mathis is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,034 at the 2000 census.In 1887 when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was laying tracks across San Patricio County, Thomas H. Mathis got naming rights when he donated for a townsite and school. Mathis could...

, where it is impounded to form the Lake Corpus Christi
Lake Corpus Christi
Lake Corpus Christi is a reservoir in coastal southern Texas. The lake was created in by the impounding of Wesley E. Seale Dam. The lake and the dam that creates it are managed by the City of Corpus Christi. Lake Corpus Christi was originally known as Lake Lovenskiold...

 reservoir. It enters Corpus Christi Bay
Corpus Christi Bay
Corpus Christi Bay is a scenic semi-tropical bay on the Texas coast found in San Patricio and Nueces counties, next to the major city of Corpus Christi. It is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Mustang Island, and is fed by the Nueces River and Oso Creek from its western and southern extensions,...

 on the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi
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. The MSA population in 2008 was 416,376. The population was 305,215 at the 2010 census making it the...

.

History

One of the first settlers to scout the area was Cpt. Blas María de la Garza Falcón
Blas Maria de la Garza Falcón
Blas María de la Garza Falcón was a Spanish settler of Tamaulipas and South Texas.- Biography :...

 in 1766. From before the end of the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 recognized that the Nueces River was historically the border of Texas
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.It had two capitals: first Saltillo, and then Monclova...

 from the rest of the country. However, the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...

 claimed the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

 as its border with Mexico, citing the Treaty of Velasco signed by Mexican President Santa Anna, who agreed to the Rio Grande border after losing the Battle of San Jacinto. This dispute continued after the annexation of Texas
Texas Annexation
In 1845, United States of America annexed the Republic of Texas and admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The U.S. thus inherited Texas's border dispute with Mexico; this quickly led to the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. captured additional territory , extending the nation's...

, and was one of the causes of the Mexican-American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

 ended the dispute, with Mexico recognizing under pressure the Rio Grande as its northern border.

On August 10, 1862 pro-Union Germans from the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...

 trying to flee to Mexico were ambushed and killed by Confederates—the Nueces massacre
Nueces massacre
The Nueces massacre was a violent confrontation between Confederate soldiers and German Texans on August 10, 1862 in Kinney County, Texas. Many Germans in Central Texas were first-generation immigrants from Germany. They tended to support the Union and were opposed to the institution of slavery. ...

.

Fishing

The Nueces is one of several clear warm-water spring creeks in the Hill Country of Texas. In its upper reaches, the water is clear and cool.

Unlike spring trout creeks in the Rocky Mountains, the Nueces holds largemouth bass
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...

, smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...

, and the native guadalupe bass
Guadalupe bass
The Guadalupe bass is a rare species of fish endemic to the U.S. state of Texas, where it also is the official state fish. It is restricted to creeks and rivers , and was formerly listed as vulnerable, but IUCN currently considers the data insufficient to determine its status...

, along with a variety of panfish such as redbreast sunfish
Redbreast sunfish
The redbreast sunfish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to the river systems of eastern Canada and the United States....

, rock bass
Rock bass
The rock bass , also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, or red eye is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. They are similar in appearance to smallmouth bass but are usually quite a bit smaller...

, green sunfish
Green sunfish
The green sunfish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. A panfish popular with anglers, the green sunfish is also kept as an aquarium fish by hobbyists. They are usually caught by accident, while fishing for other game fish...

 and Rio Grande perch
Texas cichlid
The Texas cichlid is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. Also known as Rio Grande cichlid, this species is originated from the lower Rio Grande drainage in Texas and Northeastern Mexico, particular on the sandy bottom of deep rivers...

.

External links

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