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The National Seashore is mostly prairie/grasslands with ephemeral marshes and ponds bordered on the east by the Gulf of Mexico and on the west by the Laguna Madre. The highest elevation is approximately fifty feet. The National Seashore is 70 miles long with 65.5 miles of Gulf beach. Most of the seashore is accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The Gulf beach is composed of white sand and is less than a hundred feet wide, Much of it is firmly packed, except for a stretch of about forty miles which becomes increasingly soft towards the center and is composed to a large degree of shells.
Bordering the beach is a narrow dune ridge running throughout the park and almost the length of the entire island. Sometimes natural or unnatural forces create breaches in the dune ridge and sand blows through creating "blowout" dunes, which may drift across the island at the rate of as much as 35 feet per year until they become vegetated. Sometimes dune fields form covering many acres.
West of the dune ridge are the grasslands and marshes.
Few trees exist on the island. Those that do are mostly mesquite, live oak, or willow.
On the western shore of the island are extensive mudflats.
Related Information
Current ozone level and weather information
Takes you to an NPS webpage on the current ozone and weather conditions for Padre Island. Please note all measurements are in the metric system.
NPS Nature and Science Website
This link provides an overview of nature and science within the National Park Service.
Padre Island National Seashore Administrative History
Read the park's Administrative History for information on the background and founding of the park and to find out the reasoning behind the park's current policies and regulations.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Webpage on Harmful Algal Blooms (red tide)
This page provides information on the scientific basis for as well as details on the signs and effects of red tide.
NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit.
This permit is required for scientific activities pertaining to natural resources or social science studies in National Park System areas that involve fieldwork, specimen collection, and/or have the potential to disturb resources or visitors.
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