Colorado River (Gulf of Mexico)

	Colorado River
	View to Lake Austin from Mount Bonnell , part of the Colorado River
	Data
Water code	US : 1384149
location	Texas (USA)
River system	Colorado River
source	on the Llano Estacado ; 32 ° 41 ′ 0 ″ N , 101 ° 44 ′ 0 ″ W
muzzle	Gulf of Mexico Coordinates: 28 ° 36 ′ 0 ″ N , 95 ° 59 ′ 0 ″ W 28 ° 36 ′ 0 ″ N , 95 ° 59 ′ 0 ″ W;
Mouth height	0 m
length	1380 km
Catchment area	103,000 km²
Right tributaries	San Saba River , Llano River , Pedernales River
Reservoirs flowed through	Lake JB Thomas , EV Spence Reservoir, Lake OH Ivie, Lake Buchanan , Inks Lake , Lake Lyndon B. Johnson , Lake Travis, Lake Austin, Lady Bird Lake
Big cities	Austin
Small towns	Bay City
	Catchment area of the Colorado River

The Colorado River is the longest river in the US state of Texas and the 18th-longest in the United States at approximately 1,380 km .

It rises on the Llano Estacado , flows through Austin , among other places, and flows into the Gulf of Mexico via Matagorda Bay . The river has a catchment area of about 103,000 km², which extends into the neighboring state of New Mexico .

Name interpretation and history

Historians agree that the Colorado River was called Kanahatino in the Indian Caddo language ; also Pashohono was however languages of the name of the river, in the use of other local Indian tribes and.

The Colorado River is - next to the South Llano River - as a candidate for the river called San Clemente , on which the Spanish explorers Juan Domínguez de Mendoza and Nicolás López stayed for six weeks in 1684.

Another name can be found with La Sablonnière ("sand pit"), which came from the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier in 1687.

The name Colorado , the Spanish term for "red", is a misnomer according to historical researchers, since the water of the river has never had a reddish color and always carried clear water with it. The researchers agree that the Spanish explorer Alonso De León first used the name Colorado for electricity in 1690 . However, there is evidence to support the theory that the Colorado River originally meant the Brazos River ; thus the name in the course of the Spanish exploration in this area, suggests a confusion of the two rivers with the name Colorado .

After the Civil War , the Colorado River became the main source of cargo transportation.

River plain

Initially, the Colorado River ran through the prairie region near San Saba County , before reaching the Llano River basin with its rocky mountain landscape. Eventually the Colorado River flows through a number of canyons before turning into Austin, coming from the Balcones Fault . Before Austin, the landscape is characterized by hilly canyons, but after Austin the river crosses the flat alluvial land of the coastal plain and its, for this area, agriculturally important cultivation area.

The main tributaries of the Colorado River are:

With the exception of the Pecan Bayou , these tributaries are spring-fed and flow into the Colorado River in the Edwards Plateau region .

Although the Colorado River has a low annual water flow rate relative to its basin, it has caused some of the worst land flooding in Texas. Due to the low current of the river, more and more floods formed in the early 19th century due to blockages upstream, so that in 1839 the river was only navigable 15 kilometers inland from its mouth.

Wharton Counties and Matagorda Counties were particularly hard hit .

The current Caney Creek Canal was a pristine and natural canal for this river about 1,000 years ago before it split into a funnel mouth in what is now Caney Creek and the river flow expanded in a westerly direction.

The need for a constant flow of water to irrigate the large rice plantations in Wharton County and Matagorda Counties combined with water control through retention basins and dams created new challenges.

Main locations on the Colorado River

Reservoirs in the river

The main reservoirs on the Colorado River are:

Web links

Commons : Colorado River (Gulf of Mexico) - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

Comer Clay, Diana J. Kleiner: Colorado River. In: The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), 1999 ff (English, tshaonline.org ).