Belton Lake is a

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

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

Leon River The Leon River is a river in the U.S. state of Texas. It has three primary forks - the North, Middle, and South Leon Rivers, which meet near Eastland and then run for around until it meets with the Lampasas River and the Salado Creek to form ...

in 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 ...

basin, 5 miles (8 km) northwest of Belton,

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 ...

, United States. The lake extends into both Bell County and Coryell County. Belton Dam and the lake are both managed by the Fort Worth District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoir was officially impounded in 1954, and serves to provide

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

control and drinking water for Belton,

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, and the surrounding communities. Belton Lake is a popular recreational destination. In the fall of 2018 Lake Belton was host to the annual “Lonestar Throwdown” kayak fishing tournament. Teams from the North, South, Central, and West Texas regions battled it out for bragging rights and ultimately North Texas took home the coveted trophy. Belton Lake overflowed the spillway in 1991–1992 with the occurrence of two closely spaced 50 year floods. The area immediately below the spillway was heavily damaged by the floods. It was rebuilt and reconstituted as th
Miller Springs Nature Center
on October 26, 1993. It is run by the Miller Springs Alliance, a non profit group of volunteers and has nearly 11 miles of hiking and biking trails passing through upland, prairie, canyon and riparian habitats.

Fish populations

Belton Lake has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Belton Lake 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 ...

, Smallmouth bass,

Striped Bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

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, ...

, Bluegills, and

Minnows Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are ...

Recreational uses

In addition to maintaining the dam that creates the reservoir, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains recreational facilities at the lake, including Live Oak Ridge Park, Cedar Ridge Park, Winkler Park, White Flint Park, and Westcliff Park. Under the auspices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the Miller Springs Alliance oversees the Miller Springs Nature Center located adjacent to Belton Dam.

Boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

are very popular. The Girl Scouts' Camp Kachina is on the shores of the lake.

Murders of Todd and Stacie Bagley

In 1999 Christian Youth Ministers Todd and Stacie Bagley were car-jacked by a gang and driven to the lake recreation area where they were both shot in the head and their vehicle set on fire. Two gang members convicted of the murders were executed in 2020.

References

External links

Official Belton Lake web siteBelton Lake - Texas Parks & Wildlife
* Belton Protected areas of Bell County, Texas Protected areas of Coryell County, Texas Bodies of water of Bell County, Texas Bodies of water of Coryell County, Texas {{CoryellCountyTX-geo-stub