Lake Meredith 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 ...

formed by Sanford Dam on the

Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Sanford, Texas Sanford is a town in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 164 at the 2010 census, down from 203 at the 2000 census. On December 28, 1974, ''Hee Haw'' Season 6, Episode 16, Red Steagall saluted his hometown of Sanford, pop ...

. It is about northeast of

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

in the

Texas Panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

. It historically was a major source of

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

for Amarillo and

Lubbock, Texas 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 ...

, located about to the south along with many other

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

s in between and nearby. Sanford Dam was constructed starting in 1962 with completion in 1965. In 2003, the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority announced that it would reduce allocations to its member cities due to an ongoing

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

and a continued drop in the water level in the

. As of 2008, the lake continued to hit record lows, and most of the water supplied by CRMWA is now coming from wells in Roberts County. In 2011, water withdrawals from Lake Meredith temporarily ceased and on August 7, 2013 the lake reached its all-time low . The record high capacity was in April 1973 when the lake was 101.85 ft deep. Lake depth as of October 14, 2017 was 73.12 ft deep. Lake depth as of June 17, 2019 was 77.03 ft deep. On June 1, 2008 the remains of a

Beechcraft Skipper The Beechcraft Model 77 Skipper is a two-seat, fixed tricycle gear general aviation airplane, originally designed for flight training but also used for touring and personal flying.Montgomery, M.R. and Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplan ...

airplane were found in the receding lake. The plane, reported missing on January 27, 1984, was on a two-hour flight carrying the pilot, Steven Lampe, 25 and Larry Lucas, both of

. There had been no eyewitnesses to the crash. Much of the political credit for the establishment of Lake Meredith has gone to the late

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

Grady Hazlewood Places United States *Grady, Alabama, an unincorporated community *Grady, Arkansas, a city *Grady, Mississippi, an unincorporated community *Grady, New Mexico, a village *Grady, Oklahoma, an unincorporated community *Grady, Virginia, an unincorporat ...

of Amarillo.

Recreational activities

Since its designation as a

National Recreation Area A national recreation area (NRA) is a protected area in the United States established by an Act of Congress to preserve enhanced recreational opportunities in places with significant natural and scenic resources. There are 40 NRAs, which emphasiz ...

, Lake Meredith has been an attraction for various recreational activities, including camping, fishing, and water sports of all types. Its long narrow profile and numerous coves make power boat sports (water skiing, tubing,

wake boarding Wakeboarding is a water sport in which the rider, standing on a wakeboard (a board with foot bindings), is towed behind a motorboat across its wake and especially up off the crest in order to perform aerial maneuvers. A hallmark of wakeboardin ...

, etc.) especially popular. Due to the region's normally windy summer seasons, the coves are popular spots for such water sports due to their natural protection from the winds that often make the open lake waters too choppy for these activities. It also features camping at several sites around the lake, along with five beach areas, one accessible only by boat. Fishing stock includes

sand bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...

and

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

. Anglers may also hope to land several other desirable species of fish such as

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'' ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

large mouth 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 ...

, and small mouth bass. The drought from 2011-2013 took a big toll, not only on the water level, but also on the local economy of Fritch, Texas. Lake Meredith is now enjoying recovery due to consecutive rainy seasons since 2014. The reservoir’s water level has risen over fifty feet since the record low was set on August 7, 2013. Boat ramps are located at Sanford Yake, Cedar Canyon, Fritch Fortress, Harbor Bay, and Blue West. All ramps are open as of June 17, 2019. Lake merideth2008

References

External links

*
Canadian River Municipal Water AuthorityLake Meredith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
{{authority control Meredith Protected areas of Hutchinson County, Texas Protected areas of Potter County, Texas Protected areas of Moore County, Texas Meredith Dams in Texas United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Bodies of water of Hutchinson County, Texas Bodies of water of Potter County, Texas Bodies of water of Moore County, Texas Dams completed in 1965

Recreational activities

See also

References

External links