Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

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Main article: Intracoastal Waterway

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1700 kilometers (1050 mi) from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.

Image:Bowmanlock.jpg

Leland Bowman Lock near Intracoastal City, Louisiana, on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 3.7 meters (12 ft), designed primarily for barge transportation. Although U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century,<ref name="handbook">The Handbook of Texas Online. University of Texas. Retrieved on 2006-03-08.</ref> the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.<ref name="alperin">Lynn M. Alperin. History of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (PDF). U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Office of History. Retrieved on 2006-04-03.</ref>

1 EHL & WHL mileages
2 Connecting waterways
3 Ports and harbors
4 See also
5 References

[edit] EHL & WHL mileages

Locations along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway are defined in terms of statute miles east and west of Harvey Lock, a navigation lock in the New Orleans area. The Hathaway Bridge in Panama City, Florida, for example, is at mile 284.6 EHL (East of Harvey Lock). The Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge at South Padre Island is at mile 665.1 WHL (West of Harvey Lock).<ref>33 CFR 89.25 Waters Specified by the Secretary. U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.</ref> The Harvey Lock chamber, located at 29.909° N 90.084° W, is considered to be mile zero.

[edit] Connecting waterways

The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway crosses or meets, and in some cases is confluent with, numerous other navigable rivers and waterways. They include: Image:165whl.jpg