| High Island is an unincorporated community
on the Bolivar Peninsula Northeast of Galveston Island. It gets its name
from the fact that it's located above a salt dome, causing a mound that
rises about 38 feet above the rest of Bolivar Peninsula. This makes
it the highest point on the Gulf Coast, between Alabama and the Yucatán
Peninsula. The term "island" is a figure of speech used to describe
this and other Gulf Coast salt domes.
The High Island dome has been an important geological formation throughout the history of the Gulf Coast. Artifacts found on Bolivar Peninsula indicate hunter gatherers roamed the region for thousands of years, collecting shellfish and hunting the abundant wildlife. These Native Americans may have also visited the mineral springs which used to exist on High Island. These springs resulted from salt dome minerals mixing with groundwater. The mineral springs were an attraction to visitors in the late 1800s. Water from the springs was bottled and sold widely in Texas as an elixir. According to legend, the pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew had parties in the big grove of oak trees that covered the island when they cruised the coast in the early 1800s. He is reputed to have buried treasure here, but so far there's no evidence to support this folklore. Crowds of birdwatchers come to High Island during the spring migration when the beaches and woods of High Island are sometimes covered with birds migrating back to the U.S. from wintering in Central and South America. These occasions are caused by strong, turbulent headwinds and rain that usually happen when a strong, fast-moving cold front crosses the Texas coast and moves into the Gulf of Mexico. The wind and rain slows the migrating birds causing them to rapidly use up their reserves. This means the need to land and rest at the first opportunity after the exhausting flight across the Gulf. As a result the Audubon Society has several bird sanctuaries here. Formation of Salt DomesSalt deposits form when the sea rises and then recedes,
trapping seawater in inland basins/bowls/lakes. Since the water
cannot flow out of these bowls (or flows out very slowly) it evaporates,
leaving the salt. Over time this happens again and again causing
thick beds of salt to build up. Then more millions of years pass and
these beds of salt become covered by layers/strata of rocks and soil.
The High Island salt bed begins six miles underground, but salt is lighter
Since the maximum height of the bump at High Island is slight, it isn't a dramatic rise on the horizon. If coming from Galveston, when you reach N 29° 32.409 W 094° 24.896, look off to your left and you will see an area that's a slightly different elevation than the surrounding area -- that's High Island.
As the salt dome pushes up it tends to the tear different strata apart, creating voids for oil to pool. Thus, oil wells are often drilled around the perimeter of the domes. Oil Field Road rings High Island in a rough circle where wells have been drilled. Because of the nature of the area and the gentle rise of the earth it's difficult to see the mound that is High Island. To claim your find email me the answers to these questions (please don't put the answers in your log):
Please do not post pictures that include the sign.
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that
rock and soil, so it tends to rise (float up) in the layers of earth that
cover it. This pushes the strata (layers of rock and earth) up
forming a bulge or dome. As this dome pushes it way upward it bends
the strata of rock it passes through and the layers above it. If the dome
rises close enough to the surface it pushes the surface up causing a bump. High Island is
such a bump.
March
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