Lake Corpus Christi is a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

in coastal southern

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 ...

. The lake was created by impoundment of the

Nueces River The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...

by the Wesley E. Seale Dam opened in 1958. The lake and the dam that creates it are managed by the City of Corpus Christi. Lake Corpus Christi was originally known as Lake Lovenskiold. It is often referred to as Lake Mathis because of its location.

Geography

It is an artificial lake owned by the city of Corpus Christi, four miles southwest of Mathis on the Nueces River at the intersection of the Live Oak, San Patricio, and Jim Wells county lines (at 28°03' N, 97°52' W). The lake has a conservation surface area of 19,336 acres, a drainage area of 16,656 square miles, and a conservation storage capacity of 269,900 acre-feet. It serves as a source of municipal water supply. Wesley E. Seale Dam, a seventy-five-foot-high earthen dam, was engineered by Ambursen Engineering and constructed by Henry B. Zachry. The resulting lake submerged the old Mathis Dam. In 1934 the state leased 288 acres surrounding the lake from the city of Corpus Christi for a park. Around the lake, flat to rolling terrain is surfaced by deep, fine sandy loam that supports hardwood forest, brush, and grasses.

Uses

Lake Corpus Christi provides drinking water for the city of Corpus Christi. The reservoir also provides good fishing opportunities, especially for

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 ...

and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. Lake Corpus Christi State Park provides

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

and picnicking areas and two

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

piers. Camp Karankawa is a

Scouting America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

camp operated by the South Texas Council, opened in 1944. Its 130 acres on the shore of Lake Corpus Christi is leased from Lake Corpus Christi State Park on a 99-year lease. Camp Green Hill is a Girl Scout camp located on 50 acres on the lake operated by the Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas.

Fish and plant species

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

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 ...

white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12–15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with whit ...

, catfish, and largemouth bass, sunfish,

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

and Alligator gar. Plant life in the lake includes water stargrass,

water lettuce ''Pistia'' is a genus of aquatic plants in the arum family, Araceae. It is the sole genus in the tribe ''Pistieae'' which reflects its systematic isolation within the family. The single species it comprises, ''Pistia stratiotes'', is often call ...

water hyacinth ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive species, invasive outside its native rang ...

, American pondweed, coontail, rushes, and cattail. The American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) also inhabit the lake.

References

External links

Lake Corpus Christi - Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

Lake Corpus Christi
- Handbook of Texas Online {{authority control Corpus Christi Protected areas of San Patricio County, Texas Protected areas of Live Oak County, Texas Protected areas of Jim Wells County, Texas Nueces River Bodies of water of San Patricio County, Texas Bodies of water of Live Oak County, Texas Bodies of water of Jim Wells County, Texas

Geography

Uses

Fish and plant species

See also

References

External links