Place · sea

Matagorda Bay

Matagorda Bay is a large bay on the Gulf coast of Texas, sheltered by Matagorda Island and Matagorda Peninsula. In 1685 La Salle's French expedition landed there and built Fort Saint Louis nearby, and his ship La Belle sank in the bay, where archaeologists recovered it in the 1990s. Alarmed by the French presence, Spain sent expeditions that began its settlement of Texas.

Matagorda Bay
Image: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Spanish Texas

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Matagorda Bay. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matagorda-bay
MLA
“Matagorda Bay.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matagorda-bay. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Matagorda Bay.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matagorda-bay.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Matagorda Bay’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/matagorda-bay (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻