EAST CARANCAHUA CREEK. East Carancahua Creek rises in southern Wharton County (at 29°06' N, 96°19' W) and runs southwest for thirty-two miles, through western Matagorda County and into southeastern Jackson County, to its junction with West Carancahua Creek at the head of Carancahua Bay (at 28°46' N, 96°25' W). Before 1939 the stream was known as Carancahua Creek. It is intermittent in its upper reaches. Upstream, it traverses flat to rolling prairie surfaced by dark, calcareous clay that supports mesquite, grasses, and cacti; the lower creek crosses flat terrain with local shallow depressions, surfaced by clay and sandy loam that supports water-tolerant hardwoods, conifers, and grasses.