This is an old revision of this page, as edited by B4hand (talk | contribs) at 14:47, 22 July 2006 (Added meaning of name as well as rationale for misnaming and citation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 14:47, 22 July 2006 by B4hand (talk | contribs) (Added meaning of name as well as rationale for misnaming and citation)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) For other uses of "Colorado River", see Colorado River (disambiguation).
The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States. The 862 mile long river — 600 miles of which flows through Texas — flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Marble Falls, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus, and Bay City before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay.
The Colorado River, which means "colored red" was freqently confused with the not too distant to the north Brazos River by early Spanish explorers. It is this confusion as well as an alleged mapping error that is believed to have led to its misnaming. It is an important source of water for farming, cities, and electrical power production. Major man-made reservoirs on the river include Lake Marble Falls, Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Town 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.
Flood control and use of the Colorado River is managed by three agencies established by the Texas Legislature, the Upper Colorado River Authority, Central Colorado River Authority, and Lower Colorado River Authority.
External links
- Colorado River from the Handbook of Texas Online
- Map of Texas' Colorado River
- Upper Colorado River Authority
- Lower Colorado River Authority
References
- ^ J.C. Kammerer (May 1990). "Largest Rivers in the United States" (HTML). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "River Basin Map of Texas" (JPEG). Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin. 1996. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
- "Colorado River" (HTML). The Handbook of Texas Online. The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. 1999-02-15. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
