Bayou City is a popular nickname

Nickname

A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

 for the city of Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, founded at the confluence

Confluence

Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...

 of White Oak and Buffalo Bayous by the Allen Brothers in the early nineteenth century. Since that time, the ubiquitous namesake streams have played a major role in the city's development, both as provider of economic bounty in the eventual development of the Houston Ship Channel

Houston Ship Channel

The Houston Ship Channel, located in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston—one of the United States's busiest seaports. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between the Houston-area shipyards and the Gulf of Mexico.-Overview:...

 and protector in the form of vital floodwater runoff channels for this flat and low-lying metropolis.

Within the general vicinity of the Houston, and mostly within its corporate limits, are at least nineteen natural streams with the designation 'Bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

' in their names: Armand Bayou

Armand Bayou

Armand Bayou, also known as Middle Bayou, is a river in U.S. State of Texas. It runs near Galveston Bay in Pasadena and the Clear Lake Area.The river is most well known for the Armand Bayou Nature Center, which it runs through...

, Brays Bayou, Brickhouse Bayou, Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou

Buffalo Bayou is a main waterway flowing through Houston, in Harris County, Texas, USA. It begins in Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas and flows approximately east to the Houston Ship Channel and then into Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...

, Carpenters Bayou

Carpenters Bayou

Carpenters Bayou rises at the south end of Sheldon Reservoir in southeastern Harris County , Texas, USA, and runs southeast for about twelve miles until it joins Buffalo Bayou at the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site ....

, Cedar Bayou

Cedar Bayou

Cedar Bayou is a salt water channel on the Texas coast that separates San Jose Island from Matagorda Island. The pass serves as a water exchange between the Gulf of Mexico and the San Antonio, Matagorda and Aransas Bay systems.-History:...

, Chocolate Bayou, Garner Bayou, Greens Bayou, Halls Bayou, Horsepen Bayou, Hunting Bayou, Jackson Bayou, Keegans Bayou, Luce Bayou, Reinhardt Bayou, Sims Bayou, Vince Bayou, and White Oak Bayou

White Oak Bayou

White Oak Bayou is one of the several waterways that give Houston, Texas, USA, its popular nickname, "The Bayou City." The Bayou originates northwest of FM 1960, near Highway 6 and U.S...

.

Bayou City may also make reference to any of the following:

• Bayou City Art Festival
  Bayou City Art Festival
  The Bayou City Art Festival is an arts festival held biannually in Houston, Texas in Memorial Park in the spring, and in Downtown Houston in the fall by the Art Colony Association....
  
   - an arts festival held biannually (spring and fall) in Houston, Texas.
• C.S. Bayou City
  C.S. Bayou City
  C.S. Army Gunboat Bayou City was a 165-foot side-wheel steamboat built for commercial use at Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1859.Serving as a mail boat between Galveston and Houston, Texas, the ship was chartered on 26 September 1861 by Comdr. W...
  
   - a Confederate States Navy
  Confederate States Navy
  The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
  
   gunboat
  Gunboat
  A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
  
   during the American Civil War
  American Civil War
  The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
  
  .

See also

• Nicknames of Houston
  Nicknames of Houston
  There are many nicknames for the city of Houston, the largest city in Texas and fourth-largest city in the United States. The city's nicknames reflect its geography, economy, multicultural population, and popular culture, including sports and music...
  
  
• List of city nicknames in Texas
• Culture of Houston
  Culture of Houston
  Houston is a multicultural city with a thriving international community supported by the third largest concentration of consular offices in the United States, representing 77 countries. Officially, Houston is nicknamed the "Space City" as it is home to NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center,...