page_title: Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
section_title: Ports and harbors
hierarchical_section_title: Gulf Intracoastal Waterway / Ports and harbors
caption_attribution_description: English: The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway enters Galveston Bay from the southwest end of the Bolivar Peninsula at the town of Port Bolivar, Galveston County, Texas, USA. The community of Port Bolivar lies at right at the end of the peninsula. Galveston Bay is the great body of water at left. A small piece of the Gulf of Mexico can be seen at upper right. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains and dredges the waterway for commercial barge navigation.
context_page_description: 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 1,050 mi from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.
  The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 12 ft, designed primarily for barge transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949.
context_section_description: Many of the busiest ports in the United States in terms of tons of cargo are located on or near the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.  Notable ports on or near the waterway include:
  Florida
  Apalachicola, Florida
  Carrabelle, Florida
  Panama City, Florida
  Pensacola, Florida
  Alabama
  Mobile, Alabama - Ranked 9th busiest
  Mississippi
  Gulfport, Mississippi
  Pascagoula, Mississippi - Ranked 21st busiest
  Louisiana
  Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Ranked 10th busiest
  Houma, Louisiana - Ranked 88th busiest
  Intracoastal City, Louisiana
  Lake Charles, Louisiana - Ranked 12th busiest
  Larose, Louisiana
  Morgan City, Louisiana
  New Orleans, Louisiana - Ranked 7th busiest
  Port Allen, Louisiana
  Port of South Louisiana - Ranked as busiest port in the United States
  Texas
  Beaumont, Texas - Ranked 4th busiest
  Brownsville, Texas - Ranked 72nd busiest
  Corpus Christi, Texas - Ranked 8th busiest
  Galveston, Texas - Ranked 48th busiest
  Houston, Texas - Ranked 2nd busiest
  Port Arthur, Texas - Ranked 18th busiest
  Port Lavaca - Point Comfort, Texas - Ranked 50th busiest
  Texas City, Texas - Ranked 14th busiest
  Victoria, Texas - Ranked 73rd busiest
caption: The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway enters Galveston Bay at Port Bolivar, Texas
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