The San Saba River is a river in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States. It is an undeveloped and scenic waterway located on the northern boundary of the

Edwards Plateau The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is named in honor of Haden Edwards. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Lla ...

Course

The river begins in two primary branches. The North Valley Prong runs east through Schleicher County for 37 miles, while the Middle Valley Prong runs 35 miles through the same county. Both merge near

Fort McKavett The Fort McKavett State Historic Site is a former United States Army installation located in Menard County, Texas. The fort was first established in 1852 as part of a line of forts in Texas intended to protect migrants traveling to California. T ...

to form the San Saba River, which flows another 140 miles east/northeast until it drains into the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

east of the city of San Saba. A major tributary is Brady Creek, which is 90 miles long and parallels the path of the San Saba to the north.

History

The river was named by the governor of

Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1519 until 1821. Spain claimed ownership of the region in 1519. Slave raids by Spaniards into what became Texas began in the 16th century and created ...

Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos Juan Antonio Bustillo y Ceballos (Zevallos) was a soldier and politician who served as governor of Province of Texas (1730–1734) and Coahuila, New Spain (1754–1756). He also served as ''alcalde ordinario'' (ordinary mayor) in Mexico City ...

, in 1732. He called it ''Río de San Sabá de las Nueces'' ("River of Saint Sabbas of the

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

s"), because he and his troops had arrived December 5, the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

of St. Sabbas (439–532), a major figure of early Christian monastic life. Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission was established on the river in 1757.

Management

, the San Saba River was an overappropriated stream with large stretches of the river dry, depriving downstream riparian users of water, while upstream flow was being diminished by pumping of aquifers hydrologically connected to the stream."Concerns About a Shrinking River Are Beginning to Heat Up"
article by Reeve Hamilton in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' July 18, 2013

References

External links

* Rivers of Texas Rivers of McCulloch County, Texas Rivers of Menard County, Texas Rivers of Mason County, Texas Rivers of San Saba County, Texas Tributaries of the Colorado River (Texas) {{Texas-river-stub

Course

History

Management

See also

References

External links