Holocene geology of the Galveston Bay area

Galveston Bay is one of several Texas coastal bays that have formed by a combination of estuarine flooding during postglacial sea level rise and barrier island construction after sea level stillstand was reached. The extent of each embayment is controlled by initial topography, the amount of tectonic uplift or downwarp, and the amount of sediment deposited in the bay, most of which is delivered by the major coastal rivers. The bays are thus a stage in the current regressive outbuilding of the Gulf coast. This book also includes seven articles on the geology of Galveston Bay.