Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, city, Texas, United States. With a fine landlocked harbour connected to the Gulf of Mexico by Aransas Pass, Corpus Christi is a major shipping point and important centre for oil and natural-gas processing—the hub of a region with thousands of producing wells. It also manufactures primary and fabricated metals, electronic equipment, and processed agricultural goods. The city is the site of the large Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, a United States army depot, and the Corpus Christi State University (1971).

The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Karankawa and other tribes. Colonel Henry L. Kinney founded a trading post at the site in 1839. It was used as a military base by General Zachary Taylor (who later became the 12th United States president) during 1845 and 1846 and became a transport centre during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The construction of a deep-water channel to the Gulf of Mexico in 1926 opened the port to ocean-going vessels and spurred the growth of industry. The city is named after Corpus Christi Bay which, tradition holds, was found and named by the Spanish explorer Álonzo Álvarez de Pineda on the feast day of Corpus Christi in 1519. Population (1980) 231,999; (1990) 257,453.