The Colorado River is an approximately long river in the U.S. state of Texas. 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 and some of its usually dry tributaries extend into New Mexico. 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 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, Ch ...

, and Bay City, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southeast ...

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 North A ...

near Lamesa. It flows generally southeast out of the Llano Estacado and through the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

, then through several reservoirs including

Lake J.B. Thomas A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

E.V. Spence Reservoir E.V. Spence Reservoir (also known as Lake E.V. Spence) is an artificial lake located west of (and upstream from) the town of Robert Lee, Texas. The reservoir was impounded by the creation of Robert Lee Dam in 1969, with the support of the Upper ...

, and O.H. Ivie Lake. 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 Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (more commonly referred to as Lake LBJ and originally named Lake Granite Shoals) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country about 45 miles northwest of Austin. The reservoir was formed in 1950 by the co ...

(commonly referred to as Lake LBJ), and Lake Travis. The

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

joins the Colorado at Lake LBJ near

Kingsland Kingsland may refer to: Places ;Barbados * Kingsland, Barbados (in Christ Church, Barbados Parish) ;Canada * Kingsland, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood ;Australia * proposed alternative name for the Northern Territory in 1912 ;New Zealand * Kings ...

, 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 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 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 High ...

, 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 A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

near Snyder,

near Robert Lee, and O.H. Ivie Lake 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 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. LCR ...

. There are 11 major reservoirs along the Colorado River.

Major tributaries

The Colorado River is joined by five significant tributaries: 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 Conch ...

, Pecan Bayou, the Llano River, the San Saba River and the Pedernales River.

Beals Creek Beals Creek is a river in Texas. The stream begins at Salt Lake just west of Big Spring, where the Sulphur Springs Draw meets the Mustang Draw. The creek flows in a generally east/southeast direction to the Colorado River south of Colorado City ...

is also a tributary fed by

arroyos Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

such as the

Sulphur Springs Draw Sulphur Springs Draw is a river in Texas. It is a dry branch or arroyo and one of the sub-tributaries of Beals Creek. It passes through Lamesa, Texas and joins Beals Creek at Big Spring, Texas Big Spring is a city in and the county seat of Howard ...

, the

Johnson Draw Johnson Draw, also formerly known as Johnsons Run and Johnson Creek, is a tributary of the Devils River in Val Verde County, Texas. It has its source in Crockett County, Texas at , 17.0 miles north northwest of Ozona, Texas. See also *List of ri ...

, and the McKenzie, Seminole, Monument, Mustang, and Midland draws.

Gallery

File:PennybackerBridge.jpg, Pennybacker Bridge 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 Caprock Escarpment is a term used in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico to describe the geographical transition point between the level High Plains of the Llano Estacado and the surrounding rolling terrain. In Texas, the escarpment stretch ...

, 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

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 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