Nueces River
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Map of the Nueces River and associated watershed

The Nueces River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, approximately 315 mi (507 km) long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas north of the Rio Grande. Nueces is Spanish for nuts; early settlers discovered numerous pecan trees along its banks, thus giving the river its name.

Location and flow

The Nueces rises northwest of San Antonio in the Edwards Plateau, in Real County approximately 50 mi (80 km) north of Uvalde. It flows south through the Texas Hill Country, past Barksdale and Crystal City, approaching to within 35 mi (56 km) of the Rio Grande on the border with Mexico. East of Carrizo Springs it turns to the east, flowing the scrub plains of South Texas, across rural Dimmit, La Salle,and McMullen counties. In central Live Oak County it is joined from the northwest by the Frio River, then flows southeast along the coastal plain past Mathis, where it is impounded to form the Lake Corpus Christi reservoir. It enters Corpus Christi Bay on the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi.

History

One of the first settlers to scout the area was Cpt.Blas Maria de la Garza Falcón in 1766.¹ From before the end of the Texas Revolution, Mexico recognized that the Nueces River was historically the border of Texas from the rest of the country. However, the Republic of Texas claimed the Rio Grande 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, and was one of the causes of the Mexican-American War. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the dispute, with Mexico recognizing the Rio Grande as its northern border.
On August 10, 1862 Pro-Union Germans from the Texas Hill Country trying to flee to Mexico were ambushed and killed by Confederates; See Nueces massacre

Fishing

The Nueces is one of several clear warmwater spring creeks in the Hill Country of Texas. The river originates in Real County, Texas and flows south and then east until it finally heads south again and into the Gulf of Mexico at Corpus Christi. In its upper reaches, the water is crystal clear and cool.

Unlike spring trout creeks in the Rocky Mountains, the Nueces holds largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and the native guadalupe bass, along with a variety of panfish such as redbreast sunfish, rock bass, green sunfish and Rio Grande perch.

References

See also

• List of Texas rivers
• Fly Fishing

External links

• Nueces River from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Nueces River Authority home page