NAVAL AIR STATION CORPUS CHRISTI WELCOME TO CORPUS CHRISTI

CORPUS CHRISTI IS A CITY WHERE PEOPLE ENJOY A DIVERSITY OF EMPLOYMENT IN AREAS LIKE THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY, MANUFACTURING, PROFESSIONAL AND BUSINESS SERVICES, TOURISM, AND IN GOVERNMENT JOBS AS WELL AS MANY OTHER FIELDS.

Local Area

Corpus Christi is is home to the largest working ranch in the United States, the King Ranch. Covering 825,000 acres, the ranch is larger than the state of New Jersey. Established in 1853, Captain Richard King and his ranch hands had to battle marauding Indians and bandits to maintain this land. After his death, his widow Henrietta, donated land for the town site of Kingsville, and helped bring a railroad to the new city. is city and railroad helped support her enormous King Ranch. Today, tours are still given through portions of the ranch. But now, Navy planes pass overhead, and the Naval Air Station at Kingsville has taken over as the city's major employer.

With a population of more than 380,000 people, Corpus Christi is a bustling city filled with modern conveniences such as shopping centers; art galleries; ballet; symphony; and playhouse; two major col leges and a minor league baseball team. It is a city where people enjoy a diversity of employment in areas like the oil and gas industry, manufacturing, professional and business services, tourism, and in government jobs as well as many other fields.

But the heart of Corpus Christi and the surrounding communities is still what can be taken from the land and the sea, with fishing villages to the north along the Coastal Bend and ranch land to the south. ese include fields filled with cotton and grains and ranges where cattle are abundant.

In addition to wide open spaces above ranch lands, Navy planes pass over tidal marshes and estuaries, over the Intra coastal Waterway, and Padre Island to the Gulf of Mexico. e land is rich in wildlife and sea life. Padre Island

National Sea shore, encompassing more than 130,000 acres, is the longest remaining undeveloped stretch of barrier island in the world. e island is one of only a handful of places in the world where the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles nest.

All along this coastline, the skies are alive with thousands of migratory birds. More than 115,000 acres of land has been set aside at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge as a breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Today, it is the wintering grounds for the world's largest wild flock of endangered whooping cranes; as well as egrets, herons and roseate spoonbills.

But it is salt water game fish that draw most sport fishermen to this coastal region. e bays, estuaries and coastline provide excellent speckled trout and redfish fishing year-round. Red snapper and amberjack are also taken year-