Lake Nacogdoches is a reservoir located about 10 miles west of the city of

Nacogdoches, Texas Nacogdoches ( ) is a city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Stephen F. Austin State University is located in Nacogdoches and special ...

, above Loco Bayou dam. Loco Bayou is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Angelina River The Angelina River is formed by the confluence of Barnhardt and Shawnee creeks northwest of Laneville in southwest central Rusk County, Texas, United States. A tributary of the Neches River, the river flows southeast for and forms the bou ...

, part of the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs ...

basin.

History

The Loco Bayou, which created Lake Nacogdoches, was constructed and completed by Freese & Nichols from the mid-1970s to 1977. It is an earthen dam constructed for municipal water supply, yet its primary purpose was recreational. Currently, the Lake is operated and owned by the City of Nacogdoches. Debris from the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'', which had disintegrated during re-entry in 2003, was found in the lake during a 2011 drought.{{cite news , date=August 2, 2011 , title=Space shuttle Columbia part found in East Texas , url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/02/texas.shuttle.debris/index.html , url-status=live , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110802170346/http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/02/texas.shuttle.debris/index.html , archive-date=August 2, 2011 , access-date=July 27, 2022 , work=CNN

Hydrology

The lake was impounded in 1976, has a surface area of 2,212 acres, and a maximum depth of 40 feet. Currently, the lake quality has a moderately clear clarity value. According to the

Texas State Historical Association The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the lake's capacity at a normal level is 42,318 acre-feet and a maximum value of 122,000 acre-feet.

Flora

According to the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

, the aquatic flora found in the lake are mainly

Hydrilla ''Hydrilla'' (waterthyme) is a genus of aquatic plant, usually treated as containing just one species, ''Hydrilla verticillata'', though some botanists divide it into several species. It is native to the cool and warm waters of the Old World in A ...

and the American lotus.

Fauna

According to the

, the main fish species occupying Nacogdoches Lake are

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

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 ''Pomoxi ...

, and sunfish.

Uses/Purpose

Presently, Lake Nacogdoches is used primarily for game fishing.

References

Lakes of Texas Neches River