Image Description – Padre Island Flats, King Tide Mirage

Padre Island National Seashore: low slope barrier island flats, covered up with water from the King Tide, looking west towards the mainland wind generation across the Laguna Madre. These flats are, or were, up to a mile or more wide on the landward side of much of the 114 mile-long barrier island, the longest in the world. They were only a few to several inches above sea level. The tidal range of the Laguna Madre that separates the barrier island from the mainland is extremely low with only one cut in the island about midway, so the flats are, or once were, above water except during tropical storms or heavy rain events. They “were” once above sea level as in the last 30 years, sea level here has risen about a half foot as this area has some of the highest sea level rise rates in the world. The wind generators are not offshore, they are on the mainland in South Texas, high and dry. The Laguna Madre in this photo is “optically elevated” in a mirage. The PVC pipe stickup on the left marks the edge of flats during normal water, in our old climate before sea level rise. Image from 2013.