The Houston Ship Channel, located in the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metropolitan area, is part of the Port of Houston — one of the United States's busiest sea ports.[1]
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History
While much of the Ship Channel is associated with heavy industry, two icons of Texas history are also located along its length. The USS Texas (BB-35) saw service during both World Wars, and is the oldest remaining example of a dreadnought-era battleship in existence. The nearby San Jacinto Monument commemorates the Battle of San Jacinto (1836) in which Texas won its independence from Mexico.
The channel was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 1987.
Pollution
On December 25, 2007, The Houston Ship Channel was featured on Anderson Cooper's CNN Special, "Planet in Peril," as a potential polluter of nearby neighborhoods. This year, the University of Texas released a study suggesting that children living within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the Houston Ship Channel are 56% more likely to become sick with leukemia than the national average.[2]
See also
References
- "Houston Ship Channel, Texas". NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved 2006-05-01.