Padre Island, barrier island off the coast of southern Texas, in the Gulf of Mexico. It extends south from Corpus Christi Bay to Brazos Santiago Pass and is separated from the mainland by Laguna Madre. It is 110 miles long and up to 3 miles wide. Consisting largely of sand dunes with sparse vegetation, Padre Island is a popular resort, with excellent fishing and abundant bird life. Padre Island National Seashore, which includes 80 miles of beachfront, was authorized in 1962 and established in 1968. Sighted in 1519 by the Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Piñeda, the island was subsequently named for Padre Nicholas Balli, who founded a cattle ranch here.

Each March, 100,000 college students jam-pack the beaches of this island during daylight hours and swell into one of the several bars, like Charlie's, that open up this time of year just to accomodate the all-night drinking. Hey, what else do you expect from the "Spring Break Capital of the Southwest"?

There are plenty of beach sports, concerts and festivities to help sweat out the hangovers. Events on this barrier island, located off the state's southern Gulf Coast tip, include three-on-three basketball tournaments, beach volleyball, sumo wrestling, and, of course, surfing. Day trips to Mexico, a mere 30 miles away, are also popular, as are the booze cruises by night.

Padre Island, the world's longest barrier island, is a Gulf coast island with white sandy beaches at the south end, along the coast of southern Texas. It is named after Padre Jose Nicolas Balli (177?-1829), who served as collector of finances for all the churches in the Rio Grande Valley and founded the first Mission in present Cameron County.

Padre Island is some 130 miles (210 kilometers) long, stretching from the city of Corpus Christi, in the north, to the resort community of South Padre Island in the south. The island is oriented generally north-south, with the Gulf of Mexico on the east, and Laguna Madre on the west. The island's northern end connects to Mustang Island by roadway. The southern end of the island is separated from Brazos Island by the Brazos Santiago Pass.

The island as a whole is sparsely populated; that said, the towns of South Padre Island and Port Isabel are located at its southern end. The central part of the island is preserved in a natural wild state as Padre Island National Seashore. Since 1964, the island has been divided by the artificial Port Mansfield Channel, and as a result, "North Padre Island" and "South Padre Island" are often used to refer to the separate portions of the island. Padre Island is located in Cameron, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, and Willacy counties.

Padre Island is young in geological terms, having formed only in the last several thousand years.