Bolivar Roads (Texas)

For other uses, see Bolívar (disambiguation).

Bolivar Roads is a natural navigable strait fringed by Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island emerging as a landform on the Texas Gulf Coast. The natural waterway inlet has a depth of 45 feet (14 m) with an island to peninsula shoreline width of 1.5 miles (2.4 km).

Bolivar Roads
Illustration of Bolivar Roads to Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay Entrance Channel
Location	Bolivar Peninsula - Galveston Island Galveston County, Texas
Country	United States
Coordinates	29.35051°N 94.75269°W / 29.35051; -94.75269 (Bolivar Roads, Texas)
Specifications
Length	11.2 km (7.0 miles) (originally 42.2 km or 26.2 mi) (Morgan's Point)
Navigation authority	Port of Galveston Port of Houston
Jetty Harbor System	Bolivar Peninsula-North Jetty (Map). Galveston Island-South Jetty (Map).
History
Former names	Bolivar Roads Channel Galveston Bay Entrance Channel (Map). Houston/Galveston Navigation Channel
Modern name	Doorway to Galveston Bay
Current owner	State of Texas
Topo Map	Bolivar Roads (Map).
Geography
Direction	North
Start point	Texas Gulf Coast
End point	Texas City Dike
Beginning coordinates	29.334835°N 94.688394°W / 29.334835; -94.688394
Ending coordinates	29.362688°N 94.799633°W / 29.362688; -94.799633
Branch(es)	Galveston Bay Houston Ship Channel
Branch of	Galveston Channel (Map). Inner Bar Channel (Map). Outer Bar Channel (Map). Texas City Channel (Map).
Connects to	Buffalo Bayou Carpenters Bayou San Jacinto River
GNIS feature ID	1352629 1384774

The ship canal approach is defined by two jetties extending into the Gulf of Mexico with distances of 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the Bolivar Peninsula and 2.25 miles (3.62 km) from Galveston Island. The jetty harbor entrance originated in the 1890s as a preventative structure to inhibit the coastal sediment transport progressions by means of deviations with the continental margin and the Gulf Stream ocean current.

The Bolivar Roads channel tailors a nautical navigation gateway for Galveston Bay, Houston Ship Channel, Port of Galveston, and West Bay.

Gallery

Depictions of Bolivar Roads at Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island

• 
  Southern aerial view of Bolivar Roads
• 
  Bolivar Roads partition of Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island
• 
  Maritime vessels at Galveston Island seacoast
• 
  Maritime navigation to Bolivar Roads
• 
  Ships approaching Bolivar Roads and Galveston Bay
• 
  Geographic view of Bolivar Roads
• 
  Space Shuttle Explorer navigating into Galveston Bay

See also

• Aframax
• Bolivar Bridge
• Cargo Ship Capacity
• List of Panamax ports
• Panamax
• United States Maritime Environmental Law
  • Refuse Act of 1899
  • MARPOL 73/78
  • Oil Pollution Act of 1924
  • Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships of 1980
  • Oil Pollution Act of 1961
  • Oil Pollution Act of 1990
  • Oil Pollution Act of 1973
  • Regulation of ship pollution in United States

External links

• Anonymous. "Bolivar Roads". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
• Anonymous. "Ocean Shipping". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association.
• "Bolivar Roads Anchorage". AIS Ports. MarineTraffic.
• "§ 110.197 - Galveston Harbor, Bolivar Roads Channel, Texas" [Title 33, Chapter I, Subchapter I, Part 110]. Code of Federal Regulations.
• "NOAA Nautical Chart 11323" [Approaches to Galveston Bay]. NOAA Office of Coast Survey. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• "NOAA Nautical Chart 11324" [Galveston Bay Entrance]. NOAA Office of Coast Survey. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• "NOAA Nautical Chart 11326" [Galveston Bay, Texas]. NOAA Office of Coast Survey. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.