Major bays are classically characterized as bar-built estuaries that have direct river inflow. Bar-built estuaries form when sand builds up along the coastline forming sandbars. The sandbars create buffers from the water behind them and the sea. Sand bars and peninsulas, reducing the interaction of the estuarine water and ocean tides, often protect estuarine waters. Therefore wind is frequently the most important most mixing tools for fresh and salt water. Major bay estuaries are the most dominant along Texas’ coast in the Gulf of Mexico.
