The Colorado River is an approximately long river
in the
U.S. state of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. It is the 18th longest river in the United States
and the longest river with both its
source and its
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
within Texas.
[
Its ]drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
and some of its usually dry tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...
extend into New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex
, Offi ...
. It flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Ballinger, Marble Falls, Lago Vista, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, Wharton Wharton may refer to:
Academic institutions
* Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
* Wharton County Junior College
* Paul R. Wharton High School
* Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University
Places
* Wharton, ...
, and Bay City, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
at Matagorda Bay.
Course
The Colorado River originates south of Lubbock, on the Llano Estacado
The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the Nort ...
near Lamesa. It flows generally southeast out of the Llano Estacado and through the Texas Hill Country, then through several reservoirs including Lake J.B. Thomas, E.V. Spence Reservoir, and O.H. Ivie Lake
O.H. Ivie Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado and Concho Rivers in Concho County, Texas, Concho, Coleman County, Texas, Coleman, and Runnels County, Texas, Runnels counties, 55 miles east of San Angelo, Texas in the United S ...
. The river flows through several more reservoirs before reaching Austin, including Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (commonly referred to as Lake LBJ), and Lake Travis. The Llano River joins the Colorado at Lake LBJ near Kingsland, and the Pedernales River joins at Lake Travis near Briarcliff. After passing through Austin, the Colorado River continues flowing southeast until emptying into Matagorda Bay on the Gulf of Mexico, near Matagorda.
History
The Colorado River, which means 'red' or 'reddish' river in Spanish, was frequently confused by Spanish explorers with the Brazos River
The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 11th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...
to the north.[ The European discoverer of these two neighboring rivers called the present Colorado River the , and called the present Brazos the Colorado River. The two names would later be reversed.][
The upper Colorado River was controlled by ]Comanche
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...
s from the early 18th century to the late 19th century. In 1757, Spanish Texas
Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a leg ...
attempted to establish an outlying Catholic mission ( Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá) on the San Saba River, near its confluence with the Colorado River. Nearly defenseless and viewed by the Comanche tribe as a territorial invasion, the mission was sacked in 1758 by about 2,000 Comanches and their allies. The Comanche were not effectively challenged on the upper Colorado River for nearly a century.
River modifications
The river is an important source of water for farming, cities, and electrical power production. Major man-made reservoirs on the river include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin
Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Hi ...
, Town Lake now called Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Collectively, these lakes are known as the Highland Lakes. In addition to power plants operating on each of the major lakes, waters of the Colorado are used for cooling the South Texas Nuclear Project near Bay City. The Colorado River Municipal Water District owns and operates three reservoirs upstream of the Highland Lakes: Lake J. B. Thomas near Snyder, E.V. Spence Reservoir near Robert Lee, and O.H. Ivie Lake
O.H. Ivie Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado and Concho Rivers in Concho County, Texas, Concho, Coleman County, Texas, Coleman, and Runnels County, Texas, Runnels counties, 55 miles east of San Angelo, Texas in the United S ...
near Ballinger.
Flood control and use of the Colorado River is managed by two agencies established by the Texas Legislature: the Upper Colorado River Authority and the Lower Colorado River Authority. There are 11 major reservoirs along the Colorado River.
Major tributaries
The Colorado River is joined by five significant tributaries
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drain ...
: the Concho River
The Concho River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas.
''Concho'' is Spanish for "shell"; the river was so named due to its abundance of freshwater mussels, such as the Tampico pearly mussel ('' Cyrtonaias tampicoensis'').
Geography
The Co ...
, Pecan Bayou, the Llano River, the San Saba River and the Pedernales River. Beals Creek is also a tributary fed by arroyos such as the Sulphur Springs Draw, the Johnson Draw, and the McKenzie, Seminole, Monument, Mustang, and Midland draws.
Gallery
File:PennybackerBridge.jpg, Pennybacker Bridge crossing the Lake Austin
Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven Hi ...
portion of the Colorado River
File:Colorado River Borden County Texas 2011.jpg, The Colorado River from its source along the Caprock Escarpment, the border of Dawson and Borden County.
File:Colorado River of Texas IMG 0784.JPG, Colorado River under the Regency Suspension Bridge on the border of Mills and San Saba County
File:Colorado River under bridge in Wharton, TX IMG 1056.JPG, Scenic view of Colorado River meandering under a bridge overpass under State Highway 60 in Wharton Wharton may refer to:
Academic institutions
* Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
* Wharton County Junior College
* Paul R. Wharton High School
* Wharton Center for Performing Arts, at Michigan State University
Places
* Wharton, ...
File:Scene on the Colorado River, Austin, Texas.jpg, Scene on the Colorado River, Austin, Texas (postcard, )
File:Eagle Lake TX Colorado River Marker.JPG, A historical marker on US 90A between Eagle Lake and Altair
Altair is the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila and the twelfth-brightest star in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation Alpha Aquilae, which is Latinised from α Aquilae and abbreviated Alpha Aql o ...
explains the difficulty of navigating the lower Colorado River in the 1800s.
File:BullCreek.jpg, Old postcard of Bull Creek in Austin
File:Colorado River at Columbus, TX IMG 8244.JPG, Colorado River east of Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
, Texas
File:Dazzling water textures and colors - near sculpture falls Austin green belt (TX, USA).jpg, Water reflections on sculpture falls
See also
*List of crossings of the Colorado River (Texas)
This is a list of bridges and other crossings of the Colorado River from the Gulf of Mexico upstream to West Texas.
Crossings
References
{{Reflist
Crossings of the Colorado River (Texas)
Colorado River (Texas)
Colorado
Colorado ...
* List of tributaries of the Colorado River (Texas)
* Matagorda Bay — the river's mouth
* Texas Hill Country
* List of rivers of Texas
* Colorado City, Texas
References
External links
*
Upper Colorado River Authority
Lower Colorado River Authority
{{authority control
Rivers of Texas
Drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico
Llano Estacado
Texas Hill Country
Rivers of Dawson County, Texas
Rivers of Matagorda County, Texas
Rivers of Borden County, Texas
Rivers of Scurry County, Texas
Rivers of Mitchell County, Texas
Rivers of Coke County, Texas
Rivers of Runnels County, Texas
Rivers of Coleman County, Texas
Rivers of Concho County, Texas
Rivers of McCulloch County, Texas
Rivers of Brown County, Texas
Rivers of San Saba County, Texas
Rivers of Mills County, Texas
Rivers of Lampasas County, Texas
Rivers of Burnet County, Texas
Rivers of Travis County, Texas
Rivers of Bastrop County, Texas
Rivers of Fayette County, Texas
Rivers of Colorado County, Texas
Rivers of Wharton County, Texas