Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi (/ˈkɔrpəs ˈkrɪsti/) is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas. The county seat of Nueces County,^[4] it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patricio Counties. The city's political boundaries encompass Nueces Bay and Corpus Christi Bay. Its zoned boundaries include small land parcels or water inlets of three neighboring counties.  The metropolitan area US Census estimated population in 2013 was 442,600.^[1] The population was 316,381 at the 2013 US Census estimate, making it the eighth-most populous city in Texas. It is the principal city of the three-county Corpus Christi metropolitan area, as well as the larger six-county Corpus Christi-Kingsville-Alice Combined Statistical Area, with a 2013 Census estimate at 516,793. The city includes the Port of Corpus Christi, the fifth-largest in the United States. It is served by the Corpus Christi International Airport.

The city's name (Corpus Christi) in Latin means Body of Christ. The name was given to the settlement and surrounding bay by Spanish explorer Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519, as he discovered the lush semitropical bay on the Catholic feast day of Corpus Christi. The city has been nicknamed "Texas Riviera" and "Sparkling City by the Sea", particularly featured in tourist literature.