Baytown, Texas Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! == Geography == [[File:Houston Galveston area towns roadmap.gif|left|thumb|245px|Baytown connects to I-10 via State Highways 99 and 146, and the [[Fred Hartman Bridge]] connects SH 146 southwest to [[La Porte, Texas|La Porte]].]] The city of Baytown is located at the mouth of the [[San Jacinto River (Texas)|San Jacinto River]] on [[Galveston Bay]], {{convert|26|mi}} by road east of [[Houston]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|94.6|sqkm|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|91.8|sqkm|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|2.8|sqkm|order=flip}}, 2.92%, is covered by water.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4806128| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Baytown city, Texas| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=July 27, 2015| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213084627/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US4806128| archive-date=February 13, 2020| url-status=dead}}</ref> Baytown is located on the [[Western Gulf coastal grasslands|Gulf coastal plain]], and its vegetation is classified as temperate grassland and [[marsh]]es. The municipalities have been built on reclaimed marshes, [[swamp]]s, and [[prairie]]s, which are all still visible in undeveloped parts of the Galveston Bay area.<ref>Blackburn (2004), p. 40.<br />"The acreage of swamps and bottomlands ... found in the Galveston Bay system ... [is] about 36,000 acres..."<br />Eubanks (2006), p. 10.<br />{{cite web |title=Habitats page |url=http://www.gbep.state.tx.us/about-galveston-bay/habitats.asp |publisher=Galveston Bay Estuary Program |access-date=Sep 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117215348/http://www.gbep.state.tx.us/about-galveston-bay/habitats.asp |archive-date=January 17, 2009 |df=mdy }}<br />{{cite news |title=Draining the Swamp: A scorched-earth management philosophy is sucking the life out of our region's wetlands |url=http://www.houstonpress.com/2005-01-13/news/draining-the-swamp/ |newspaper=Houston Press |access-date=Sep 9, 2009 |quote=Any local knows this city was built on a sweaty, pestilent, mosquito-infested swamp. }}</ref> Baytown is bordered by water on three sides. Along the south and west is Galveston Bay. On the east is [[Cedar Bayou]]. The city is roughly bordered along the north by [[Interstate 10 in Texas|Interstate 10]]. Portions of the city to the east of Cedar Bayou lie in [[Chambers County, Texas|Chambers County]]. Flatness of the local terrain and proximity to the bay have made [[flood]]ing a recurring problem for the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishyd98/class/trmproj/ahrens/prepro.htm |title=Flood Forecasting for the Buffalo Bayou Using CRWR-PrePro and HEC-HMS |publisher=Center for Research in Water Resources, The University of Texas at Austin |access-date=Jan 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204065252/http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishyd98/class/trmproj/ahrens/prepro.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Baytown and surrounding communities once relied on [[groundwater]] for its needs, but severe land [[subsidence]] has forced much the city to turn to ground-level water sources.<ref name="USGS_Subsidence_Fault_Creep">{{cite web | url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/pdf/07Houston.pdf | title=Houston-Galveston, Texas: Managing Coastal Subsidence | publisher=United States Geological Survey | access-date=Jan 11, 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070113025911/http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1182/pdf/07Houston.pdf| archive-date= January 13, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> === Geology === The land beneath Baytown consists of layers of sand and clay to great depths. These layers were created by millennia of river-borne [[sediment]]s which gradually incorporated plant and animal matter, creating the petroleum deposits for which the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf Coast]] is now known.<ref>{{cite web|author=Vipulanandan, C. |url=http://cigmat.cive.uh.edu/CIGMAT%20Conference/CIGMAT-08/Present%2008/C.Vipu.pdf |title=Geotechnical Engineering Challengers in the Houston Area |publisher=CIGMAT-2008 Conference & Exhibition |year=2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625075122/http://cigmat.cive.uh.edu/CIGMAT%20Conference/CIGMAT-08/Present%2008/C.Vipu.pdf |archive-date=June 25, 2010 |df=mdy }}</ref> The region around the city has numerous [[Fault (geology)|faults]], many considered active, but none have produced significant earthquakes in recorded history.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/tx.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020209050102/http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/faq/tx.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2002-02-09 | title=Texas Earthquakes | publisher=University of Texas Institute for Geophysics |date=July 2001 | access-date=August 29, 2007}}</ref> These faults tend to move at a smooth rate in what is termed "[[Aseismic creep|fault creep]]", which reduces the risk of an earthquake.<ref name="USGS_Subsidence_Fault_Creep" /> The one significant earthquake that has been reported in the area was the result of an underground water and petroleum extraction.<ref name="Garcia">Garcia, T.D. "Subsidence and Surface Faulting at San Jacinto Monument, Goose Creek Oil Field, and Baytown, Texas". ''Field Trip Guidebook on Environmental Impact of Clays along the Upper Texas Coast. Prepared by Theron D. Garcia, Douglas W. Ming, and Lisa Kay Tuck for the Clay Minerals Society, 28th Annual Meeting. Held October 5–10, 1991, in Houston, TX.'' pp. A33-A44. Hosted with National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.</ref> === Climate === {{Further|Climate of Houston}} Baytown's climate is classified as [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]] (''Cfa'' in [[Köppen climate classification#Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates|Köppen climate classification system]]).<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Stats |work=Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau |access-date=October 11, 2008 |url=http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Weather |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230150744/http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Weather |archive-date=December 30, 2008 }}</ref> Spring [[Supercell|supercell thunderstorms]] sometimes create [[tornado]]es (but not to the extent found in [[tornado alley]]).<ref>{{cite book | title=USA business: the portable encyclopedia for doing business with the United States| author=Shippey, Karla C. | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHLUyBTpPxgC | publisher=World Trade Press | year=1995 | page=203 | isbn=978-1-885073-01-3}}<br />{{cite web | url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/hgx/severe/swa/tornadoes.htm | title=Houston/Galveston, Texas | publisher=NOAA: National Weather Service Forecast Office | access-date=Sep 18, 2009}}</ref> Prevailing winds from the south and southeast bring heat from the deserts of [[Mexico]] and moisture from the [[Gulf of Mexico]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Weather Stats |work=Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau |access-date=October 11, 2008 |url=http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Weather |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230150744/http://www.visithoustontexas.com/media/statistics/Houston_Stats_Weather |archive-date=December 30, 2008 }}<br /> Melosi (2007), p. 13.</ref> Summer temperatures typically have highs near {{convert|90|°F|°C}} though higher temperatures are not uncommon.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/golf/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/77573?from=tenDay_bottomnav_undeclared |publisher=The Weather Channel |title=Monthly Averages for League City, TX (77573) |access-date=Dec 14, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019173244/http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/golf/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/77573?from=tenDay_bottomnav_undeclared |archive-date=October 19, 2012 }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/max90temp.html |title=National Climatic Data Center |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]], [[United States Department of Commerce]] |date=June 23, 2004 |access-date=December 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061210082240/http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/max90temp.html |archive-date=December 10, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}<br />{{cite web |url=http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/rh.html |title=Average Relative Humidity |publisher=Department of Meteorology at the [[University of Utah]] |access-date=December 14, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209105754/http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/rh.html |archive-date=December 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> The city's proximity to the bay and the winds that it generates moderate the area's temperatures and ease the effects of the humidity, creating a more pleasant climate than inland communities like Houston.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/windavg.html |title=WIND – AVERAGE SPEED (mph) |publisher=Department of Meteorology, [[University of Utah]] |year=1993 |access-date=January 10, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061209112400/http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/windavg.html |archive-date=December 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> Winters in the area are temperate with typical January high of {{convert|61|°F|°C}} and lows are near {{convert|42|°F|°C}}. Snowfall is rare. Annual rainfall averages are around or exceed {{convert|60|in|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.weather.com/outlook/recreation/outdoors/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USTX0087 | title=Monthly Averages for Baytown, TX | publisher=The Weather Channel | access-date=Jan 11, 2010}}</ref> Excessive [[ozone]] levels can occur due to industrial activities; nearby Houston is ranked among the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://lungaction.org/reports/sota05_analysis4.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050429071936/http://lungaction.org/reports/sota05_analysis4.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 29, 2005 | title=State of the Air 2005, National and Regional Analysis | publisher=American Lung Association | date=Mar 25, 2005| access-date=Jan 11, 2010}}</ref> The industries located along the ship channel and the bay are a major cause of the pollution.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.cleanhouston.org/air/index.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215015743/http://www.cleanhouston.org/air/index.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 15, 2004 | title=Citizens League for Environmental Action Now | date=Jan 8, 2004 | access-date=Jan 11, 2010}}</ref> [[Hurricane]]s are a substantial concern during the fall season. Though [[Galveston Island]] and the [[Bolivar Peninsula]] provide some shielding, Baytown still faces more danger than Houston and other inland communities, particularly because of storm surge, as well as severe land subsidence in some low-lying areas of town due to excess pumping of groundwater in the 1960s (see [[Wooster, Baytown, Texas|Brownwood subdivision]])<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rice.edu/~lda/wet/bwood/sog/index.htm | title=Back to nature | publisher=Rice University | date=May 28, 2010 | access-date=Aug 15, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924091020/http://www.rice.edu/~lda/wet/bwood/sog/index.htm | archive-date=September 24, 2015 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> by area refineries and municipalities.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26676728 | title=Wide Ike and shallow coast mean strong surge | work=NBC News | date=Sep 12, 2008 | quote=Houston is buffered by Galveston Island – which sits in the way of the surge – and the bay system }}<br />{{cite news | author=Spinner, Kate | url=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090531/article/905311057?Title=Hurricane-forecasters-zero-in-on-threat-of-surge | title=Hurricane forecasters zero in on threat of surge | work=Sarasota Herald Tribune | date=May 31, 2009 | quote=Just north of Galveston Island, the Bolivar Peninsula shields Galveston Bay much like Lido Key and Longboat Key shield Sarasota Bay. | access-date=January 11, 2010 | archive-date=June 5, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605103443/http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090531/article/905311057?Title=Hurricane-forecasters-zero-in-on-threat-of-surge | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="TM: Houston sinking">{{cite journal | title=Disaster Part II. Houston is sinking into the sea | author=Broyles, William | journal=Texas Monthly | date=December 1974 | page=78 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gisEAAAAMBAJ | quote=At the height of such a hurricane [the 1900 Galveston Hurricane] today, the temporary shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico will be ten miles inland.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=Berger, Eric | url=http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2008/09/post_39.html | title=Would a category 3 hurricane surge flood your home? | work=Houston Chronicle Blogs | date=Sep 9, 2008}}</ref> Hurricanes [[Hurricane Carla|Carla]] (1961), [[Hurricane Alicia|Alicia]] (1983), [[Hurricane Ike|Ike]] (2008), and [[Hurricane Harvey|Harvey]] (2017) were the four most damaging hurricanes to affect Baytown. {{Weather box | width = auto | collapsed = yes | single line = yes | location = Baytown, Texas (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1983–present) | Jan record high F = 83 | Feb record high F = 86 | Mar record high F = 90 | Apr record high F = 93 | May record high F = 96 | Jun record high F = 102 | Jul record high F = 102 | Aug record high F = 107 | Sep record high F = 109 | Oct record high F = 94 | Nov record high F = 88 | Dec record high F = 84 | year record high F = |Jan avg record high F = 76.7 |Feb avg record high F = 79.5 |Mar avg record high F = 82.8 |Apr avg record high F = 86.3 |May avg record high F = 90.6 |Jun avg record high F = 95.5 |Jul avg record high F = 97.3 |Aug avg record high F = 98.5 |Sep avg record high F = 95.2 |Oct avg record high F = 90.4 |Nov avg record high F = 84.0 |Dec avg record high F = 79.1 |year avg record high F = 99.6 | Jan high F = 62.9 | Feb high F = 66.4 | Mar high F = 72.1 | Apr high F = 77.5 | May high F = 84.2 | Jun high F = 89.2 | Jul high F = 91.5 | Aug high F = 92.3 | Sep high F = 88.5 | Oct high F = 81.6 | Nov high F = 71.4 | Dec high F = 64.5 | year high F = 78.5 | Jan mean F = 52.1 | Feb mean F = 55.8 | Mar mean F = 62.0 | Apr mean F = 68.0 | May mean F = 75.4 | Jun mean F = 80.9 | Jul mean F = 83.1 | Aug mean F = 83.3 | Sep mean F = 78.8 | Oct mean F = 70.6 | Nov mean F = 60.7 | Dec mean F = 54.1 | year mean F = 68.7 | Jan low F = 41.4 | Feb low F = 45.3 | Mar low F = 52.0 | Apr low F = 58.5 | May low F = 66.7 | Jun low F = 72.7 | Jul low F = 74.6 | Aug low F = 74.3 | Sep low F = 69.0 | Oct low F = 59.6 | Nov low F = 50.1 | Dec low F = 43.6 | year low F = 59.0 |Jan avg record low F = 28.4 |Feb avg record low F = 32.6 |Mar avg record low F = 36.2 |Apr avg record low F = 44.4 |May avg record low F = 54.2 |Jun avg record low F = 65.9 |Jul avg record low F = 71.1 |Aug avg record low F = 70.5 |Sep avg record low F = 58.4 |Oct avg record low F = 45.5 |Nov avg record low F = 35.5 |Dec avg record low F = 31.2 |year avg record low F = 26.7 | Jan record low F = 17 | Feb record low F = 14 | Mar record low F = 25 | Apr record low F = 30 | May record low F = 43 | Jun record low F = 58 | Jul record low F = 62 | Aug record low F = 58 | Sep record low F = 48 | Oct record low F = 30 | Nov record low F = 25 | Dec record low F = 7 | year record low F = | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation inch = 4.85 | Feb precipitation inch = 3.78 | Mar precipitation inch = 3.94 | Apr precipitation inch = 4.51 | May precipitation inch = 6.01 | Jun precipitation inch = 7.08 | Jul precipitation inch = 5.49 | Aug precipitation inch = 6.82 | Sep precipitation inch = 6.41 | Oct precipitation inch = 6.13 | Nov precipitation inch = 4.94 | Dec precipitation inch = 4.77 | year precipitation inch = 64.73 | unit precipitation days = 0.01 in | Jan precipitation days = 10.6 | Feb precipitation days = 9.3 | Mar precipitation days = 9.0 | Apr precipitation days = 7.9 | May precipitation days = 7.7 | Jun precipitation days = 10.1 | Jul precipitation days = 10.1 | Aug precipitation days = 10.7 | Sep precipitation days = 9.7 | Oct precipitation days = 7.1 | Nov precipitation days = 8.3 | Dec precipitation days = 10.5 | year precipitation days = 111.0 | Jan snow inch = 0.0 | Feb snow inch = 0.0 | Mar snow inch = 0.0 | Apr snow inch = 0.0 | May snow inch = 0.0 | Jun snow inch = 0.0 | Jul snow inch = 0.0 | Aug snow inch = 0.0 | Sep snow inch = 0.0 | Oct snow inch = 0.0 | Nov snow inch = 0.0 | Dec snow inch = 0.0 | year snow inch = 0.0 | unit snow days = 0.1 in | Jan snow days = 0.0 | Feb snow days = 0.0 | Mar snow days = 0.0 | Apr snow days = 0.0 | May snow days = 0.0 | Jun snow days = 0.0 | Jul snow days = 0.0 | Aug snow days = 0.0 | Sep snow days = 0.0 | Oct snow days = 0.0 | Nov snow days = 0.0 | Dec snow days = 0.0 | year snow days = 0.0 | source = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="NOWData">{{cite web |url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=hgx |title = NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = November 11, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NCEI">{{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00410586&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL |title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020 |publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date = November 11, 2023}}</ref> }} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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