Corpus Christi in southern Texas and a port of entry on Corpus Christi Bay, just southeast of the mouth of the Nueces River. It is the seat of Nueces County, though some parts of the city are in Kleberg and San Patricio counties. It has a landlocked harbor connected to the Gulf of Mexico by Aransas Pass, a break in the string of low sand islands stretching along much of the state’s coast. Smaller vessels ply the Intracoastal Waterway between the islands and the mainland. The city is a major shipping point and an important center of petroleum and natural-gas processing, the hub of a region with thousands of producing wells. Other manufactures include primary and fabricated metals, electronic equipment, and processed agricultural goods.

Corpus Christi includes a campus (established in 1947) of Texas A&M University and a community college. The city is a major tourist center and a gateway to Padre Island, much of which is a national seashore. Other attractions include a museum of science and history, part of the Bayfront Arts and Science Park; the Texas State Aquarium; the USS Lexington, an aircraft carrier famed for its participation in World War II (1939-1945) and now a naval museum; and the Corpus Christi Seawall, designed by Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore.

Beginning in 1862, during the American Civil War, the port was blockaded by Union gunboats, and it fell to Union troops in November 1863. The construction of a deepwater channel to the Gulf of Mexico in 1926 opened the port to oceangoing vessels and spurred the growth of industry. The city is named for Corpus Christi Bay, which, tradition holds, was sighted and named by Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda on the feast day of Corpus Christi in 1519.

The city is home to a number of popular destinations for both tourists and residents. In the southeast part of the city, near the Pharaoh Valley subdivision, is the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge, on the western shore of Oso Bay. The nearby Pharaohs golf course also serves as a haven for coastal and migratory birds. Some of the most visited attractions are on North Beach, where the Texas State Aquarium and the USS Lexington Museum on the Bay are located. The USS Lexington was also part of the set for the 2000 film Pearl Harbor. Nearby is Corpus Christi's museum district. Located there are the Museum of Asian Cultures, Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, the South Texas Institute for the Arts, and the Harbor Playhouse theatre, one of the oldest continually operating community theatres in the State. Heritage Park is also in the museum district, where a number of older restored houses can be found. The downtown area, of which the museum district is a part, is home to skyscrapers, companies, various shops, a very popular center of marinas, and Mirador de la Flor. Downtown also is home of the Texas Surf Museum, which explores the history of surfing and focuses on surf culture along Texas' 367-mile coast. Also in the city is the Corpus Christi Botanical Gardens and Nature Center which hosts gardening programs from time to time.

Directly east of Corpus Christi are Padre Island and Mustang Island, home to various municipal, state, and national parks, most notably Padre Island National Seashore. The city is also near King Ranch, one of the world's largest ranches, upon which the movie Giant was based.

Yearly the city also celebrates the Buccaneer Days Carnival, which is typically held downtown. South Padre Island Drive (locally abbreviated as "S.P.I.D.", with the letters pronounced individually), is the city's main retail corridor, with two shopping malls, Sunrise Mall, Padre Staples Mall, and the soon to come Crosstown Commons, which will be the largest of them all and is expected to have many more major retailers and attendance. Also, a number of other large shopping centers, small strip centers, and restaurants can be found throughout the city.