The Comal River ( ) is the shortest navigable

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in the United States. Proclaimed the "longest shortest river in the world" by locals, it runs entirely within the city limits of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the county seat, seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a popula ...

in southeast

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and European history. Its county seat is New Braunfels. ...

. It is a tributary of the Guadalupe River. The Comal begins at Comal Springs in Landa Park and flows until its junction with the Guadalupe. The Comal was originally called the Little Guadalupe in early

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

accounts. After Spaniard Pedro de Rivera y Villalón identified the longer river as the Guadalupe in 1727, the Comal was given its current name. The name means ''basin'' or ''flat dish'' in

. Historically, the Comal was used to power

watermills A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

and

cotton gins A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

by early

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

settlers, and later to provide

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

. The river is primarily used for water recreation today, being the location of the original

Schlitterbahn Schlitterbahn is an American brand of water parks and resorts owned by Cedar Fair. It was previously a company family-owned-and-operated by the Henry family that was based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn opened its first location, Schlitt ...

water amusement park. The water is administered by the

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority or GBRA was formed in 1933 by the Texas legislature. Its main concerns are water supply and water conservation in the Guadalupe River Basin, which includes the Blanco, Comal, and San Marcos rivers. The authori ...

. The river is also one of only two rivers to host the

fountain darter The fountain darter (''Etheostoma fonticola'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the h ...

, a fish now in danger of extinction. The only other river inhabited by the darter is the nearby

San Marcos River The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs, the location of Aquarena Springs, in San Marcos, Texas. The springs are home to several threatened or endangered species, including the Texas blind salamander, fountain darter, and Texas wi ...

Recreation

Mild currents, clear water, and a host of lost items left behind by

tubers Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing s ...

make the river a common locale for

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

. Because the Comal maintains a temperature of approximately year round, divers are present in both the summer and the winter. Thousands of people tube down the Comal River in the spring and summer. Tubing on the Comal provides a less intense alternative to tubing on the nearby Guadalupe river, where one may encounter frequent

rapids Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...

and boulders to paddle around. The

Water Park is built along a stretch of the river.

References

External links

*
Guadalupe-Blanco River AuthorityComal River Virtual TourPhoto of Comal River near Comal Springs
*Sketch of th
Comal River Ferry
fro
''A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879''
hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
{{authority control Rivers of Texas * Rivers of Comal County, Texas New Braunfels, Texas

Recreation

See also

References

External links