CTS-Lakes

Lake Travis

Lake Travis is a large, very scenic, heavily trafficked lake used by most boaters living in Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, West Lake Hills and surrounding communities. The Dallas Morning News says that "its crowded waters and narrow configuration make it one of the most dangerous lakes in Texas. It's also one of the most popular recreation and residential lakes. Resorts, restaurants, golf courses and full-service marinas overshadow the area's private campgrounds." And, during the winter months, the lake attracts competition sailors from around the world.

The lake's limestone cliffs and shoreline are the perfect backdrop for both sailing and powerboating. Sailing is most popular between the basin (Mansfield Dam) and Lakeway. Lake Travis Yacht Harbor, Commander's Point Marina, Marshall Ford Marina, and Dodd Street Docks are among the larger sailboat oriented marinas. See the Marina page for additional details. If you are interested in sailing organizations on Lake Travis, visit these sites: Austin Yacht Club, All Catalina Fleet 69.

Lake Travis is a part of the Highland Lakes chain managed by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). It sits below Lake LBJ to the northwest near Marble Falls, TX and above Lake Austin to the southeast in Austin, TX.

Mansfield Dam, which is owned by the LCRA, creates Lake Travis.

Constructed from 1937-41 by the LCRA and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Mansfield Dam serves as the only flood control structure for the lower river basin. Mansfield and Lake Travis also provide water storage and hydroelectricity for the LCRA. The dam was originally named after the nearby settlement of Marshall's Ford (and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still refers to the structure as Marshall Ford Dam). It was renamed in 1941 for U.S. Representative J.J. Mansfield, who assisted in development of the project. The dam contains 24 floodgates.

The dam is 266.41 feet high. The length is 7,089.39 feet. At the base, it is 213 feet thick; at the top, it is 30 feet thick. The original Ranch Road 620 is built on top of the dam and it remains open to visitors (foot traffic only). The road and adjoining protective walls bring the actual height of the dam to 274 feet.

The power plant's three units provide a generating capacity of 93,000 kilowatts.

The reservoir is 63.75 miles long, and its maximum width is 4.5 miles. The lake covers 18,929 acres, and its capacity is 1,170,752 acre-feet. All figures are for the reservoir filled to the top of the conservation and power pool - elevation 681.1 feet msl.

Flood control: Mansfield Dam is the only structure in the Highland Lakes chain specifically designed to contain floodwaters. When the elevation of the lake exceeds 681 feet msl, the LCRA begins floodgate releases under the direction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the amount and duration of the releases will vary, depending upon the weather and flood conditions above and below the dam.

Lake elevation when full: 681.0 ft. msl
Normal operating range: at or below 681.0 ft. msl
Elevation of overflow spillway: 714.0 ft. msl
100 year flood level at dam: 716.0 ft. msl
Top of dam: 750 ft. msl
Lake volume: 1,170,752 acre-feet
Total discharge capacity: 121,080 cfs
24 floodgates @ 4,770 cfs each
3 turbines @ 2,200 cfs each
Historic high: 710.4 ft. msl on Dec. 25, 1991
Historic low: 614.2 ft. msl on Aug. 14, 1951
River miles from Gulf of Mexico: 318 miles

Lake Buchanan

Lake Buchanan is the northern most lake in the Highland Lakes chain and is very popular with boaters, fishermen and campers. The boat traffic is light and is mostly fishing boats. Although its usable area for sailing is much larger than Lake Travis, there are few sailboats on the lake at any given time because of the lake's distance from Austin and other major metropolitan areas (about a 1.5 hour trip from Austin). The wind is typically 15-25 knots coming right off the dam (SE). Lake Buchanan was rated as a "Top Ten" lake by the Dallas Morning News.

In 1995 over 1 1/2 million Striper Bass were stocked in Lake Buchanan. Fishing is a *BIG* industry here.

While Lake Travis' shoreline is predominately limestone, Lake Buchanan's is granite. Much of the granite used to construct the Texas Capitol building was quarried in this area. The United States Geological Survey has described this as one of the greatest deposits of rare-earth minerals in the world.

Lake Buchanan

Lake Buchanan is the largest of the first four Highland Lakes in Central Texas with a length of 30 miles and a width at the widest point of just under 5 miles and a shoreline of 124 miles. When it was built, Buchanan Dam was considered to be the longest multiple-arch dam in the U.S. with a length of just over two miles. Buchanan Dam, which is owned by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), creates Lake Buchanan.

The structure was originally named Hamilton Dam by an Insull utility subsidiary that began the project in 1931. Construction was suspended in 1932 when Insull declared bankruptcy. The LCRA completed construction from 1935-1937. Both the dam and lake are named for U. S. Representative J. P. Buchanan, who helped secure federal funds to complete the dam.

Built primarily to supply hydroelectricity and to store water, the dam is a series of arches, considered to be the longest multiple-arch dam in the nation. It contains 37 floodgates.

Multiple-arch dams are not built now because of the construction is so labor intensive, though they require much less construction material, such as concrete, rock, and fill dirt. Today's dams require much less labor, but a thousand times more materials, which results in a much more expensive construction project.

The Dam is 145.5 feet high. The length is 10,987.55 feet (more than two miles). At the base, it is 215.11 feet thick; at the top, it is 34 feet thick.

The power plant's three units provide a generating capacity of 37,500 kilowatts.

The Reservoir is 30.65 miles long, and its maximum width is 4.92 miles. The lake covers 23,060 acres. As of Oct. 01, 1987, its capacity is 918,777 acre-feet. All figures are for the reservoir fill to the top of the conservation and power pool - elevation 1020.35 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD).

Lake elevation when full: 1020.35 ft. msl
Normal operating range: May-October: at or below 1018.0 ft. msl
All other months: at or below 1021.0 ft msl
100 year flood level at dam: 1021.0 ft. msl
Top of dam: 1025.35 ft.msl
Lake volume: 895,334 acre-feet
Total discharge capacity: 355,000 cfs
7 large floodgates @ 19,000 cfs each
30 small floodgates @ 7,250 cfs each
3 turbines @ 1,500 cfs each
Historic high: 1021.4 ft. msl on Dec. 20, 1991
Historic low: 983.7 ft. msl on Sept. 09, 1952
River miles from Gulf of Mexico: 414 miles

Canyon Lake

Canyon Lake is formed by a rolled earthfill dam 6,830 ft long, consisting of the main dam 4,410 ft long, an earthen dike 210 ft long, a 1,260-foot-long uncontrolled broad-crested-type spillway, and a 950-foot concrete and earthen nonoverflow section. Deliberate impoundment began June 16, 1964, and main part of dam was completed in August 1964. The flood-control outlet works consist of a 10.0-foot-diameter conduit controlled by two 5.7 by 10.0- foot hydraulically operated slide gates. The lake was built for water conservation and flood control. Capacity table beginning Oct. 1, 1974, is based on a sedimentation survey of August 1972. Small diversions above the lake for irrigation. Satellite telemeter at station. Figures given herein represent total contents. Data regarding the dam and lake are given in the following table:

Elevation (feet) Capacity (acre-feet)

Top of dam 974.0 -

Crest of spillway 943.0 736,700

Top of conservation pool 909.0 382,000

Lowest gated outlet (invert) 775.0 240

The Canyon Lake/Cranes Mills Marinas can be found on the lake.

Information courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey

Lat 29°52'07", long 98°11'55", Comal County, Hydrologic Unit 12100201, in intake structure of Canyon Dam on Guadalupe River, 12 mi northwest of New Braunfels, and at mile 303.0