Abstract During the previous glacial-eustatic fall, the ancestral Brazos and western Louisiana rivers, which flowed across low gradient coastal plains and shelves, constructed large fluvial-dominated deltas that extend to the shelf margin. These rivers shifted to new locations prior to the lowstand, resulting in shelf-margin deltas that have no associated down-dip lowstand deltas or fans. The Trinity and Colorado rivers remained fixed in their locations throughout the eustatic fall and lowstand, resulting in linked valley/delta/fan complexes. Re-incision of lowstand valleys by these rivers over several eustatic cycles resulted in significant sediment bypass to the slope. Factors that influenced the response of rivers to falling sea level include long-term sediment supply, diapiric controls on channel location, and the physiography of the shelf over which the rivers flowed.