Colorado River (Texas)

This article is about the river in Texas. For other uses, see Colorado River and Colorado River (disambiguation).
Colorado River
Colorado River in Austin as seen from Mount Bonnell
Map of the Colorado River and associated watershed
Location
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationDawson County
 • coordinates32°40′47″N 101°43′51″W / 32.67972°N 101.73083°W / 32.67972; -101.73083[1]
 • elevation2,860 ft (870 m)[2]
MouthMatagorda Bay
 • location
Gulf of Mexico, at Matagorda County, Texas
 • coordinates
28°35′41″N 95°58′59″W / 28.59472°N 95.98306°W / 28.59472; -95.98306[1]
 • elevation
0 ft (0 m)[3]
Length862 mi (1,387 km)
Basin size39,900 sq mi (103,000 km2)[4]
Discharge 
 • locationBay City
 • average2,609 cu ft/s (73.9 m3/s)
 • minimum0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s)
 • maximum84,100 cu ft/s (2,380 m3/s)

The Colorado River is an approximately 862-mile-long (1,387 km) river[5] in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the 11th longest river in the United States[5] and the longest river with both its source and its mouth within Texas.[6]

Its drainage basin and some of its usually dry tributaries extend into New Mexico. It flows generally southeast from Dawson County through Ballinger, Marble Falls, Lago Vista, Austin, Bastrop, Smithville, La Grange, Columbus, Wharton, and Bay City, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico at Matagorda Bay.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Colorado River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. ^ Sand Creek, TX, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1970 (1974 rev.)
  3. ^ Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.
  4. ^ Clay, Comer; Kleiner, Diana J. (1999-02-15). "Colorado River". The Handbook of Texas Online. The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
  5. ^ a b Kammerer, J. C. (1987). Largest Rivers in the United States (Report). United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2006-07-15.
  6. ^ a b Comer, Clay; Kleiner, Diana J. (1999-02-15). "Colorado River". The Handbook of Texas Online. The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2006-07-22.