| Colorado River | |
| Texas | |
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Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River, as seen from Mount Bonnell
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Texas |
| Source | |
| - location | Dawson County |
| - elevation | 3,280 ft (1,000 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | [2] |
| Mouth | Matagorda Bay |
| - location | Gulf of Mexico, at Matagorda County, Texas |
| - elevation | 0 ft (0 m) [1] |
| - coordinates | [2] |
| Length | 862 mi (1,387 km) |
| Basin | 39,900 sq mi (103,341 km2) [3] |
| Discharge | for Bay City |
| - average | 2,609 cu ft/s (74 m3/s) |
| - max | 84,100 cu ft/s (2,381 m3/s) |
| - min | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
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Map of the Colorado River and associated watershed
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The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California.
The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States[4] and the longest river with both its source and mouth within Texas;[3] its drainage basin and some of its usually dry tributaries extend into New Mexico. The 862-mile (1,387 km) long river[4] flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Marble Falls, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus, Wharton, and Bay City before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay.[3]
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The Colorado River originates south of Lubbock, on the Llano Estacado, near Lamesa. It flows generally southeast, out of the Llano Estacado and through the Texas Hill Country, through several reservoirs including Lake J.B. Thomas, E.V. Spence Reservoir, and Lake O.H. Ivie. The river flows through several more reservoirs before reaching Austin, including Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, commonly referred to as Lake LBJ, and Lake Travis. The Llano River joins the Colorado at Lake LBJ, near Kingsland. The Pedernales River joins the Colorado at Lake Travis near Briarcliff. After passing through Austin, the Colorado River continues flowing southeast until emptying into Matagorda Bay on the Gulf of Mexico, near Matagorda.
The Colorado River, which means "colored red",[5] was frequently confused by Spanish explorers with the Brazos River to the north.[3] It is this confusion as well as an alleged mapping error that is believed to have led to its misnaming.
The upper Colorado River was controlled by Comanches from the early 18th century to the late 19th century. In 1757, Spanish Texas attempted to establish an outlying mission on the San Saba River, near its confluence with the Colorado River. Nearly defenseless and viewed by the Comanche as a territorial invasion, the mission was sacked in 1758 by about 2,000 Comanches and their allies. The Comanche were not effectively challenged on the upper Colorado River for nearly a century.[6]
The river is an important source of water for farming, cities, and electrical power production. Major man-made reservoirs on the river include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Lady Bird Lake in Austin. Collectively, these lakes are known as the Highland Lakes. In addition to power plants operating on each of the major lakes, waters of the Colorado are used for cooling the South Texas Nuclear Project, near Bay City. The Colorado River Municipal Water District owns and operates three reservoirs upstream of the Highland Lakes, Lake J. B. Thomas near Snyder, E. V. Spence Reservoir near Robert Lee, and O. H. Ivie Reservoir near Ballinger.
Flood control and use of the Colorado River is managed by two agencies established by the Texas Legislature, the Upper Colorado River Authority, and the Lower Colorado River Authority. There are 11 major reservoirs along the Colorado River.[7]
The Colorado River also has made many geographic landmarks such as Deep Eddy Pool in Austin, Texas.
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