Town Lake

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Town Lake
View from Town Lake towards downtown Austin.
Location	On the Colorado River in central Austin, Texas, USA
Coordinates	30°15.9′N 97°45.5′W
Lake type	Hydroelectric reservoir
Surface area	468 acres (1.89 km²)
Max-depth	18 ft (5.5 m)
Surface elevation	428 ft (130 m)

Town Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas, in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1960 by the construction of Longhorn Dam at its eastern boundary by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The western end of the lake is bounded by Tom Miller Dam, built in 1939. The lake was created for flood control, water supply, electrical power generation, and recreation.

The other reservoirs on the Colorado River are Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, and Lake Austin.

[edit] Recreational uses

Town Lake is a major recreation area as its banks are bounded by the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, businesses offer recreational watercraft services along the lakefront portion of the trails, Austin's Zilker Park is located on the trails, and Barton Springs flows into the lake. Much of the landscaped beauty of the parks surrounding Town Lake can be credited to the former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, who, in the 1970s, focused her attention on the Town Lake Beautification Project.

The Stevie Ray Vaughan statue on Town Lake.

The Congress Avenue Bridge spans the Town Lake and is home to the largest urban, Mexican Free-tailed Bat colony in North America with a summer population of 1.5 million bats. At dusk, from March to September, Austinites and tourists line the bridge and riverbanks to watch the dramatic sight of the bats streaming out in their nightly quest for insects. Eight other bridges span the lake, including two that are pedestrian-only bridges.

Although the City of Austin prohibits motorized watercraft, the lake serves as a recreational area for kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, and rowboats. Austin's warm climate and the river's calm waters, nearly ten-mile length and straight courses are especially popular with crew teams and clubs. Teams from northern universities (including Chicago, Oklahoma, and Nebraska) train on Town Lake during Christmas holidays and spring breaks. Other water sports along the shores of the lake include swimming in Deep Eddy Pool, the oldest swimming pool in Texas, and Barton Springs Pool, which discharges into Barton Creek and flows into Town Lake.

Music venues on the banks of Town Lake are home to a number of events year-round, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall, the Marley Fest in the spring, and many open-air concerts at Auditorium Shores on the south bank and Fiesta Gardens on the north bank. The Austin Aqua Festival was held on the shores of Town Lake from 1962 until 1998. The late Austin resident and blues guitar legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan played a number of concerts at Auditorium Shores and is honored with a memorial statue on the banks.

[edit] Fish populations

Town Lake has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Town Lake include largemouth bass, catfish, and sunfish.