page_title: Houston Ship Channel
section_title: Overview
hierarchical_section_title: Houston Ship Channel / Overview
caption_attribution_description: English: Astronaut photo of the Port of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA. Inset shows the USS Texas and the San Jacinto Monument.
context_page_description: The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves an increasing volume of inland barge traffic.
context_section_description: The channel is a widened and deepened natural watercourse created by dredging  Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. The channel's upstream terminus lies about four miles east of downtown Houston, at the Turning Basin, with its downstream terminus at a gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. Major products, such as petrochemicals and Midwestern grain, are transported in bulk together with general cargo. The original watercourse for the channel, Buffalo Bayou, has its headwaters 30 miles (48 km) to the west of the city of Houston. The navigational head of the channel, the most upstream point to which general cargo ships can travel, is at Turning Basin in east Houston.
  The channel has numerous terminals and berthing locations along Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. The major public terminals include Turning Basin, Barbours Cut, and Bayport. Many private docks are there, as well, including the ExxonMobil Baytown Complex and the Deer Park Complex.
  The channel, occasionally widened and deepened to accommodate ever-larger ships, is 530 feet (160 m) wide by 45 feet (14 m) deep by 50 miles (80 km) long. The islands in the ship channel are part of the ongoing widening and deepening project. The islands are formed from soil pulled up by dredging, and the salt marshes and bird islands are part of the Houston Port Authority's beneficial use and environmental mitigation responsibilities.
  The channel has five vehicle crossings: Washburn Tunnel,  Sidney Sherman Bridge,  Sam Houston Ship Channel Bridge, popularly known as the Beltway 8 Bridge;  Fred Hartman Bridge connecting La Porte and Baytown, Texas; and Lynchburg Ferry.
caption: San Jacinto River in Channel - inset (white line top left) magnified as bottom photo showing the Texas and San Jacinto Monument
exif: {}