Corpus Christi

The city's name means body of Christ in Latin. 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 nickname of the city is "Sparkling City by the Sea", particularly featured in tourist literature.

The city's location beside Corpus Christi Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, and Laguna Madre provides opportunities for water sports and nature tourism. Waterfowl hunting is available in the region for duck, geese, coot, and teal. White-winged dove and mourning dove are also hunted on private leases. The brush-land inland from Corpus Christi is also ideal for hunting feral hogs and white-tailed deer.

• Fishing is a popular recreational activity in Corpus Christi, including fishing from various piers around Corpus Christi Bay, wade fishing in Oso Bay, and fishing from the Gulf of Mexico at Packery Channel or at Bob Hall Pier.
  
• Wind sports -The city has one of the highest average wind speeds of coastal cities in North America.  Combined with the Bay Front area along Ocean Drive, making the city an important destination for wind sports such as kite boarding, wind surfing, kite flying, and sailing. In 1990,  Corpus Christi hosted the Windsurfing World Championships. In 2018, Corpus Christi hosted the 2018 Youth Sailing World Championships.
  
• Birdwatching - Being a coastal city, Corpus Christi is a good spot for seabird watching. Popular spots include Blucher Park in downtown, the Hans and Pat Suter Wildlife Refuge along Oso Bay, Hazel Bazemore County Park along the Nueces River in Calallen, and the South Texas Botanic Garden and Nature Center along the Oso Creek.