Lake Travis 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 ...
on 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 ...
in central
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 ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It is named in honor of
William B. Travis.
Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height change is nearly 100 feet. Following the
2018 Llano River flood, Lake Travis saw a 20-foot depth increase within a single 24-hour period of time. With 30 square miles of surface area, Lake Travis has the largest storage capacity of the seven reservoirs known as the
Highland Lakes, and stretches 65 miles (105 km) upriver from western
Travis County (near
Lago Vista, Texas) in a highly serpentine course into southern
Burnet County to
Max Starcke Dam, southwest of the town of
Marble Falls. Besides being used for flood control and as a water supply, the lake is also used for electrical power generation and recreation.
The
Pedernales River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, flows into the lake from southwestern Travis County.
History
Creation
The reservoir was formed in 1942 by the construction of
Mansfield Dam on the western edge of
Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
by the
Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), and was built specifically to contain floodwaters in a
flash-flood prone region. During its construction, after a severe flood in July 1938, the height of the dam was raised to add storage capacity for floodwaters.
Ferry service
Regularly scheduled ferry service between
Point Venture and the south side of
Hurst Creek began in April 1971, operated by Point Venture Development Co. The trip took 20 minutes and was the only inland ferry service in Texas at the time.
September 2020 boat sinkings
On September 5, 2020, a boat parade took place in support of
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. The Travis County Sheriff's office reported that they had received multiple calls involving boats in distress, and that several boats had sunk. The weather was calm, but the boats generated significant
wake as they began to move together, which subsequently sank at least five boats. The hashtag #dumbkirk trended on Twitter following the incident.
Recreational uses
Lake Travis is well known for its outdoor recreation opportunities, including fishing, boating, swimming, scuba diving, picnicking, camping, and zip lining.
Hippie Hollow Park, located near the eastern end of Lake Travis, is the only legal clothing optional park in Texas. Lake Travis is generally considered one of the clearest lakes in Texas. It is a vital water supply for the nearby city of Austin, Texas and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Fatality rankings
In a ranking of Texas lakes by accidental fatalities, Lake Travis was in first place in 2011 and tied for second place for total deaths from 2000–2015.
Six people drowned in Lake Travis in 2018, out of 29 total boating deaths reported across Texas that year.
Fish populations
Lake Travis has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lake Travis include
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 ...
,
guadalupe bass,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
sunfish. Lake Travis is a popular fishing destination for anglers in Texas not only because of its stocked inventory but because of the convenient boating services and marinas in the area.
In spring 2008 there were several reports of
leeches
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bod ...
residing in Lake Travis. The leeches are generally harmless to humans but can be a nuisance.
Lake levels
Lake Travis is considered "full" (at maximum desired capacity) when the lake's water level is at above mean sea level (msl). Above , flood control gates at
Mansfield Dam are opened under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The level of the lake can vary dramatically—with an over 96-foot range between its historical high and low—depending on the amount of rainfall in the Colorado River basin upstream. The historic high level on the lake was above msl on December 25, 1991, a little less than four feet below the dam's top/spillway at above msl. The historic low was above msl on August 14, 1951.
Droughts
The extreme drought of 2008–2009 brought the lake to its fourth lowest level at above msl in November 2009. The second lowest level was above msl on November 8, 1963. During the
2010–13 Southern United States drought, levels went as low as 618 feet, making it the third lowest level ever. The
LCRA, a public utility whose responsibilities include the management of Lake Travis, makes water level reports available on the internet. In April 2016, the lake returned to its full capacity at 681 ft.
Floods
Lake Travis serves as the primary
flood
A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, 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 of significant con ...
control reservoir of the Highland Lake chain. The LCRA, under advisement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is responsible for floodgate operations at Mansfield Dam. Ideally, this is done in a time-delayed fashion after a major rainfall so as to either mitigate or outright prevent downstream flooding which otherwise would have been both immediate and extreme without the dam's presence. As Lake Travis levels increase during major floods, floodgate operations are conducted to protect property around Lake Travis as well as the dam itself.
While the dam's physical design assists in its own protection during floods, extensive spillway operations, a worst-case scenario which has not happened in the lake's history, could undermine the dam's base and affect its overall integrity. Under such conditions, operations are primarily intended to protect the dam, and lake water may be released to the dam's full, 24-floodgate capacity—regardless of downstream effects—to prevent the catastrophic loss of the dam. Including its hydroelectric generators but not the spillway, at 681 feet above msl the dam's total maximum discharge capacity is more than 130,000 cubic feet per second (cfs); a bit under one million gallons per second.
Rates of discharge increase as water levels/pressures increase.
See also
*
Pedernales River
*
Lake Travis High School
References
External links
*
Key Water Levels for Lake Travis During Floods*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Lake
1942 establishments in Texas
Protected areas of Burnet County, Texas
Geography of Austin, Texas
Reservoirs in Texas
Protected areas of Travis County, Texas
Bodies of water of Burnet County, Texas
Bodies of water of Travis County, Texas
Lower Colorado River Authority