Padre is a low, sandy island, about 185 km (115 miles) long and less than 4.8 km (3 miles) wide. It stretches along the southern coast of Texas, between Corpus Christi and the Mexican border. The island is characterized by large, irregular sand dunes, sparse vegetation and a strong prevailing wind off the Gulf of Mexico. The island is now split by the dredged Port Mansfield Channel. Parts of Padre Island have been developed as resorts, while oil and gas are extracted from the ground in other places.
Padre Island was first explored and charted in 1519 by Alfonso Alvarez de Pineda. It became infamous as a ship's graveyard and during a hurricane in 1553, most of a Spanish treasure fleet of 20 ships broke up on the island. Padre Nicholas Balli, for whom the island was named, founded the Santa Cruz Ranch around 1800.
Padre Island National Seashore is located in the undeveloped central part of the island, where more than 350 kinds of birds, many small animals, reptiles and varied marine life are found.
There are many hotels and restaurants on Padre. The island is more than 2300 km southwest from Washington D.C.