The ground across this part of Harris County is measurably lower than it was a century ago. Pumping groundwater out of the sand and clay beneath the city let the clay layers compact, and the surface came down with them: between 1943 and 1973 about 4,700 square miles southeast of downtown sank at least six inches, and ground near the ship channel dropped roughly nine feet. Compaction of clay is largely permanent — refilling the aquifer does not lift the land back — which is why the Harris-Galveston Subsidence District was created in 1975 to force industry and utilities off well water and onto surface supplies.
Getting there
29.7180, -95.2200
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
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