Apparent in this panoramic photograph is the south Texas coastal plain extending from the southern edge of Matagorda Bay to oval Corpus Christi Bay (center of photograph) and south to Padre Island. Along this section of the Texas coast, sand barrier islands parallel the coast and create a series of bays. Much of the landscape south of Corpus Christi Bay consists of flat, windswept sandy areas and occasional elevated sand dunes, which are stabilized by vegetation. Much of the land is used for livestock grazing and cotton production. Discernible are dark Choke Canyon Lake, a part of the Nueces River watershed, and the sediment and turbidity of the adjacent Gulf of Mexico.