Lake Travis

Lake Travis
image of aerial view of Lake Travis taken in 2018
Aerial view of Lake Travis in 2018
Location of Lake Travis in Texas, USA.
Location of Lake Travis in Texas, USA.
Lake Travis
Location of Lake Travis in Texas, USA.
Location of Lake Travis in Texas, USA.
Lake Travis
LocationTravis / Burnet counties, northwest of Austin, Texas
Coordinates30°23′31″N 97°54′24″W / 30.39194°N 97.90667°W / 30.39194; -97.90667
Lake typeHydroelectric reservoir
Primary inflowsColorado River
Primary outflowsColorado River
Basin countriesUnited States
Surface area18,930 acres (7,660 ha)
Max. depth210 ft (64 m)
Water volume1,130,000 acre⋅ft (1.39 km3)
Shore length1270 mi (434 km)
Surface elevation681 ft (208 m)
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.
image of aerial shot of Lake Travis
Aerial shot of Lake Travis.

Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. It is named in honor of William B. Travis.[1]

Serving principally as a flood-control reservoir, Lake Travis' historical minimum to maximum water height change is nearly 100 feet.[2] Following the 2018 Llano River flood, Lake Travis saw a 20-foot depth increase within a single 24-hour period of time.[3] With 30 square miles of surface area, Lake Travis has the largest storage capacity of the seven reservoirs known as the Highland Lakes, and stretches 65 miles (105 km) upriver from western Travis County (near Lago Vista, Texas) in a highly serpentine course into southern Burnet County to Max Starcke Dam, southwest of the town of Marble Falls. Besides being used for flood control and as a water supply, the lake is also used for electrical power generation and recreation.

The Pedernales River, a major tributary of the Colorado River, flows into the lake from southwestern Travis County.

  1. ^ Smyrl, Vivian (September 29, 2020). "Travis County". Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  2. ^ "Historical Lake Levels | LCRA". www.lcra.org. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  3. ^ "Lake Travis Water Level". Go Lake Travis. 16–17 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.