Corpus Christi is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio Counties. It is 130 miles (210 km) southeast of San Antonio. Its political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.
Geography
Corpus Christi is situated on fluvial deposits that are of Holocene—Pleistocene age. Although no solidified rock occurs naturally at the surface, the Deweyville Formation of sand, silt, clay, and gravel, is locally indurated with calcium carbonate (caliche) deposits. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey’s storm surge eroded down to shale bedrock at a depth around 40 ft in Packery Channel, an artificial pass cut between North Padre and Mustang Islands. This feature has become a gathering place for game fish, and can be identified from the surface by its whirlpool-like current. The large, shallow bay makes Corpus Christi an ideal feeding place for birds, and this is one reason why Corpus Christi is known as the “Bird Capital” of North America. Consequently, the San Diego Audubon Society has designated Corpus Christi as “America’s birdiest place”.
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 317,863 people, 117,789 households, and 79,055 families residing in the city.