Amistad National Recreation Area is a national recreation area managed by

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

(NPS) that includes the area around the

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 t ...

at the confluence of 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 ...

, the Devils River, and the

Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexic ...

near Del Rio in

Val Verde County Val Verde County is a county located on the southern Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population is 47,586. Its county seat is Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to ...

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 ...

. The reservoir was created by the

Amistad Dam Amistad Dam (Spanish: ''Presa la Amistad'') is a major embankment dam across the Rio Grande between Texas, United States, and Coahuila, Mexico. Built to provide irrigation water storage, flood control, and hydropower generation, it is the ...

(''Presa de la Amistad'' in Spanish), completed in 1969, located on the

at the United States-Mexico border across from the city of

Ciudad Acuña Ciudad Acuña, also known simply as Acuña, (originally Garza Galán, later Villa Acuña) is a city located in the Mexican state of Coahuila, at and a mean height above sea level of . It stands on the Rio Grande (locally known as the Río Bra ...

in the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...

. Amistad, Spanish for "friendship," refers broadly to the close relationship and shared history between Ciudad Acuña and Del Rio.

Recreational activities

The lake given its location is the backdrop for year-round, water-based recreation opportunities, including boating, fishing, swimming,

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and water-skiing.

Houseboat A houseboat is a boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a home. Most houseboats are not motorized as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point, and often tethered to land to provide utilities. Ho ...

s and other boating equipment can be rented from the park unit's

concessionaire A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land or property by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity. Public services such as water supply may be operated as a concession. In the case of a p ...

s. Amistad National Recreation Area in addition provides opportunities for picnicking, hiking, camping and hunting. The area is rich in archeology and rock art, and contains a wide variety of plant and animal life. In the fall, monarch butterflies by the thousands pass through the area during their 3,000 mile (4,800 km) migration from southern Canada to central Mexico. There are opportunities for hunting as provided for under state and federal law at Amistad given its status as a recreation area. Bow-hunting for

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 ...

, javelina, turkey, rabbit,

mouflon sheep The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sc ...

, aoudad sheep, blackbuck antelope and feral hog is permitted during certain times of the year in prescribed hunt areas. Though rifles and handguns are not permitted, shotguns may be used to hunt dove, quail, duck and rabbit in accordance with relevant regulations. Elite scuba divers have begun to explore the system of deep underwater caves beneath the surface of the reservoir. The dive requires exotic gas mixes, pre-placement of gas cylinders, and extensive decompression times at depth. These caves are considered hazardous and should not be attempted by anyone without extensive training and preparation.

Administrative history

The

initially managed the site as the ''Amistad Recreation Area'' under a cooperative agreement with 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 ...

effective November 11, 1965. Amistad was reauthorized as a national recreation area and NPS park unit on November 28, 1990.

Gallery

Image:Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) -near water.jpg,

Cattle egret The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron ( family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard ...

(''Bubulcus ibis'') near the reservoir Image:The-Panther.jpg, Panther

petroglyph A petroglyph is an image created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, or abrading, as a form of rock art. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions ...

located in Panther Cave jointly managed with

Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site is a state park in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located off U.S. Route 90, east of the Pecos River High Bridge, west of Comstock in Val Verde County. The park is conducive to camping, biking, bir ...

File:MonarchButterfliesatAmistadNRA.jpg, Monarch butterflies (''Danaus plexippus'') roosting in the fall on their migration south to Mexico

References

External links

* Official NPS site
Amistad National Recreation AreaArchival film footage of the Amistad Dam and Reservoir
from the

Texas Archive of the Moving Image The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) is an independent 501(c)(3) organization founded in 2002 by film archivist and University of Texas at Austin professor Caroline Frick, PhD. TAMI's mission is to preserve, study, and exhibit Texas film h ...

{{authority control Mexico–United States border Protected areas established in 1965 Protected areas of Val Verde County, Texas Rio Grande National Park Service areas in Texas National Park Service National Recreation Areas International lakes of North America