Falcon International Reservoir ( es, Embalse Internacional Falcón), commonly called Falcon Lake, is a
reservoir
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 contro ...
on the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.
The length of the Rio G ...
40 miles (64 km) southeast of
Laredo, Texas
Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of t ...
,
United States
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 territorie ...
, and
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo () is a city in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Rio Grande, across from Laredo, United States. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Lare ...
,
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. The huge lake is bounded by
Starr
Starr may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Starr (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Starr (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
Places
United States
* Starr, Ohio, an unincorporated comm ...
and
Zapata Counties on the Texas side of the international border and the municipality and city of
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero (''New Guerrero City'') is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It lies on the banks of the Rio Grande / Río Bravo, near the US–Mexico border, opposite to Falcon Heights, Texas. The Lake Falcon Dam International C ...
on the Tamaulipas side. The reservoir was formed by the construction of the
Falcon Dam
Falcon Dam ( es, Presa Falcón) is an earthen embankment dam on the Rio Grande between Starr County, Texas, Starr County in the U.S. state of Texas and the city of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The dam was built for wat ...
to provide water conservation,
irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
,
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
, and
hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, 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 Renewabl ...
to the area.
The dam was dedicated in October 1953 by Mexican President
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Adolfo Tomás Ruiz Cortines (; 30 December 1889 – 3 December 1973) was a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958, after winning the disputed 1952 elections as the candidate of the ruling Institutional Revoluti ...
and
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
. The dam and lake are managed jointly by governments of the United States and Mexico through the
International Boundary and Water Commission
The International Boundary and Water Commission ( es, links=no, Comisión Internacional de Límites y Aguas) is an international body created by the United States and Mexico in 1889 to apply the rules for determining the location of their intern ...
, which was established in 1889 to maintain the border, allocate river waters between the two nations, and provide for flood control and water sanitation. The lake is named after María Rita de la Garza Falcón, for whom the town of Falcon (displaced by the creation of the reservoir) was named.
Fish and plant life
Falcon International Reservoir has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in the reservoir include
largemouth bass
The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, but ...
,
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
,
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
, and
channel catfish
The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...
.
[Gabriela A. Treviño, "Falcon Lake discussed at hearing: Declining bass population impacts ecosystem, number of tourists" (May 17, 2014) '']Laredo Morning Times
The ''Laredo Morning Times'' is a daily newspaper publication based in Laredo, Texas, USA. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and busin ...
'', pp. 1, 10A
On the shores of Falcon Lake are Texas wild olive (''
Cordia boissieri
''Cordia boissieri'' is a white-flowered, evergreen shrub or small tree in the borage family (Boraginaceae). Its native range extends from southern Texas in the United States south to central Mexico. Common names include anacahuita, Mexican olive ...
''), Mexican oregano (''
Lippia graveolens
''Lippia graveolens'', a species of flowering plant in the verbena or vervain family, Verbenaceae, is native to the southwestern United States (Texas and southern New Mexico), Mexico, and Central America as far south as Nicaragua. Common names i ...
''),
hibiscus
''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...
,
mesquite
Mesquite is a common name for several plants in the genus ''Prosopis'', which contains over 40 species of small leguminous trees. They are native to dry areas in the Americas.
They have extremely long roots to seek water from very far under grou ...
thickets, huisache (
''Vachellia farnesiana'' var. ''farnesiana'') and prickly pear cactus (''
Opuntia
''Opuntia'', commonly called prickly pear or pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as ''tuna'' (fruit), ''sabra'', ''nopal'' (paddle, plural ''nopales'') from the Nahuatl word f ...
'' spp.).
Greater roadrunner
The greater roadrunner (''Geococcyx californianus'') is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae, from the Aridoamerica region in the Southwestern United States and Mexico. The scientific name means "Californian earth-cuckoo". Along wit ...
s,
collared peccaries
The collared peccary (''Dicotyles tajacu'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed) mammal in the family Tayassuidae found in North, Central, and South America. It is the only member of the genus ''Dicotyles''. They are commonly referred to as ...
,
white-tailed deer
The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
, and
black-tailed jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...
s also exist within the park.
Recreation
Falcon State Park is located between
Falcon Heights, Texas
Falcon Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 18 at the 2020 census, down from 53 at the 2010 census.
The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing connects Falcon Heights with Nueva ...
, and Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, and is the southern end of a International Falcon Reservoir. The park's main activities include camping, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and boating, with a self-guided nature trail.
Bass fishing is particularly popular on the lake.
Climate
Climate data is recorded near the southeast corner of the reservoir at and an elevation of .
Piracy
In May 2010,
Los Zetas
Los Zetas (, Spanish for "The Zs") is a Mexican criminal syndicate, regarded as one of the most dangerous of Mexico's drug cartels. They are known for engaging in brutally violent "shock and awe" tactics such as beheadings, torture, and indiscri ...
pirates on the lake claiming to be Mexican
Federal Police
A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.
Jurisdiction
LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction.
LEAs ...
committed at least three armed robberies. The pirates boarded U.S. boats and demanded either weapons, drugs, or money. Fear of robbery has since dissuaded U.S. fishers from the lake.
In June 2010, U.S. authorities also revealed a
plot by Los Zetas to destroy the Falcon Dam.
On September 30, 2010, David Hartley and his wife Tiffany, from
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...
, were in Mexican waters riding
WaveRunner
WaveRunner is a trademarked name and type of personal water craft (PWC) produced by the Yamaha Motor Company. Unique to the WaveRunner among PWCs is the spout of water that shoots into the air from the rear of the vehicle, a visual brand identif ...
s back from Mexico when they were allegedly chased by two boats containing about six gunmen. The Zapata County Sheriff said the woman escaped and reported that her husband was shot. He is missing and feared dead.
On October 10, 2010, Zapata County Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez sent word to the Zetas that he has no plans to prosecute.
On October 12, 2010, Commander Rolando Flores, the lead Mexican investigator for the David Hartley disappearance case, was beheaded by Mexican drug cartel members and sent in a suitcase to the Mexican military.
See also
*
Amistad Reservoir
Amistad Reservoir ( es, Presa Amistad) is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River northwest of Del Rio, Texas. The lake is bounded by Val Verde County on the United States side of the international border and by th ...
References
External links
Falcon International Reservoir-
Texas Parks & Wildlife
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...
Falcon State Park-
Texas Parks & Wildlife
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and historical areas. Its mission is to manage ...
Falcon International Reservoir-
Handbook of Texas
The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
History
The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...
Online
*
*
{{authority control
Reservoirs in Texas
Reservoirs in Mexico
Protected areas of Starr County, Texas
Protected areas of Zapata County, Texas
Rio Grande
Geography of Laredo, Texas
Landforms of Tamaulipas
International lakes of North America
Protected areas of Tamaulipas
Bodies of water of Starr County, Texas
Bodies of water of Zapata County, Texas
1954 establishments in Texas
1954 establishments in Mexico
Important Bird Areas of Mexico