The Colorado River is an approximately long river in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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 ...

. It is the 18th longest river in the United States and the longest river with both its

source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

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, t ...

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 drainag ...

extend into

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. It flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Ballinger, Marble Falls, Lago Vista,

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 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, and Bay City, before emptying into the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, 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 ...

at Matagorda Bay.

Course

The Colorado River originates south of

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...

, on the Llano Estacado 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 Inks Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1938 by the construction of Inks Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Located near Burnet, Texas, the lake serves ...

, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (commonly referred to as Lake LBJ), and

Lake Travis Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height change is nearly 100 feet. In 2018 alone, it saw ...

. The

Llano River The Llano River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, about long, in Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. Two spring-fed tributaries, the North and South Llano, stre ...

joins the Colorado at Lake LBJ near Kingsland, and the

Pedernales River The Pedernales River ( ) is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in Central Texas in the United States. It drains an area of the Edwards Plateau, flowing west to east across the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. The name "Peder ...

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 Dr ...

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 La ...

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 lega ...

attempted to establish an outlying

Catholic mission Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

(

Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá was one of the Spanish missions in Texas. It was established in April 1757, along with the Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas, later renamed Presidio of San Sabá, in what is now Menard County. Located along the San ...

) on the

San Saba River The San Saba River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It is an undeveloped and scenic waterway located on the northern boundary of the Edwards Plateau. Course The river begins in two primary branches. The North Valley Prong runs east throu ...

, 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 A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

on the river include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ,

Lake Marble Falls Lake Marble Falls is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1951 by the construction of Max Starcke Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Originally named Marble Falls D ...

, 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 High ...

, Town Lake now called

Lady Bird Lake Lady Bird Lake (formerly, and still colloquially referred to as Town Lake) is a river-like reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin created the reservoir in 1960 as a cooling pond for a new city power p ...

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 Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

owns and operates three reservoirs upstream of the Highland Lakes: Lake J. B. Thomas near Snyder, E.V. Spence Reservoir near Robert Lee, and

near Ballinger. Flood control and use of the Colorado River is managed by two agencies established by the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

: the

Upper Colorado River Authority The Upper Colorado River Authority or UCRA was created in 1935 by the Texas Legislature as a quasi-governmental entity to manage the Colorado River as a water resource in Tom Green County and Coke County, Texas. The authority has since been ext ...

and the

Lower Colorado River Authority The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit public utility created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to enhance the lives of the Texans it serves through water stewardship, energy and community service. LC ...

. There are 11 major reservoirs along the Colorado River.

Major tributaries

The Colorado River is joined by five significant

: 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 Con ...

, 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 The Percy V. Pennybacker Jr. Bridge in Austin, Texas, is a through-arch bridge across Lake Austin which connects the northern and southern sections of the Loop 360 highway, also known as the "Capital of Texas Highway." The road is widely consid ...

crossing the

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 Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Uni ...

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 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 Eagle Lake may refer to: Cities, towns, townships etc. Canada * Eagle Lake, Haliburton County, Ontario * Eagle Lake, Parry Sound District, Ontario * Eagle Lake 27, Ontario (Indian reserve) * Eagle Lake, Kenora District, Ontario United States * ...

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 ...

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

, Texas File:Dazzling water textures and colors - near sculpture falls Austin green belt (TX, USA).jpg, Water reflections on sculpture falls

References

External links