Lady Bird Lake
View from Lady Bird Lake towards downtown Austin.
Location	central Austin, Texas
Coordinates	30°15.9′N 97°45.5′W
Lake type	Power plant cooling/recreational reservoir
Primary inflows	Colorado River
Primary outflows	Colorado River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	468 acres (1. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use In Hydrology, the inflow of a Body of water is the source of the Water in the body of water The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States. In Hydrology, the discharge or outflow of a River is the volume of Water transported by it in a certain amount of time The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States. A drainage basin is an extent of Land where Water from Rain or Snow melt drains downhill into a body of water such as a River, 89 km²)
Max. depth	18 ft (5. 5 m)
Surface elevation	428 ft (130 m)

Lady Bird Lake (formerly Town Lake) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in downtown Austin, Texas, in the United States. A reservoir is most broadly a place or hollow vessel where Fluid is kept in Reserve, for later use The Colorado River is the 18th longest river in the United States. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The reservoir was formed in 1960 by the construction of Longhorn Dam at its eastern boundary by the City of Austin. Longhorn Dam is a Dam located at 302504 -977135 ( WGS 84 datum) on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin, The western end of the lake is bounded by Tom Miller Dam, built in 1939. Tom Miller Dam is a Dam located at 302932 -977855 ( WGS 84 datum) on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin Texas The lake was created for several reasons, including the need for a cooling pond for the Holly Street Power Plant. The reservoir was also envisioned from the beginning as a recreational venue for the city. ^[1] A system of hike and bike trails was built along the shoreline of the lake in the 1970s, establishing Lady Bird Lake as a major recreational attraction for the city of Austin.

On July 26, 2007, the Austin City Council passed a resolution authorizing the renaming of the reservoir from Town Lake to Lady Bird Lake in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, the former First Lady of the United States and a long-time resident of the Austin area. Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22 1912&ndashJuly 11 2007 was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 having been the wife of First Lady is a term used in the United States to describe the wife of an elected male Head of state. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[2] Johnson had declined the honor of having the lake renamed for her during her life. In renaming the lake, the City Council recognized Johnson for her dedication to beautifying the lake and her efforts to create a recreational trail system around the lake's shoreline. ^[3]

Lady Bird Lake is the easternmost lake of a chain of reservoirs on the Colorado River. This chain, known locally as the Highland Lakes, include Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake LBJ, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, and Lake Austin. Lake Buchanan was formed by the construction of Buchanan Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority to provide a water supply for the region and to provide Hydroelectric Inks Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. Lake Lyndon B Johnson (or Lake LBJ) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. Lake Marble Falls is a Reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin Texas in the United States.

Recreational uses

Lady Bird Lake is a major recreation area as its banks are bounded by the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, businesses offer recreational watercraft services along the lakefront portion of the trails, Austin's Zilker Park is located on the trails, and Barton Springs flows into the lake. Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin (near Barton Springs Pool and Lady Bird Lake) that comprises over 350 acres Barton Springs are four natural springs located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin Texas resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer Much of the landscaped beauty of the parks surrounding Lady Bird Lake can be credited to the former First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, who, in the 1970s, focused her attention on the Town Lake Beautification Project.

The Stevie Ray Vaughan statue on Lady Bird Lake. Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan ( October 3, 1954 August 27, 1990) was an American Blues-rock Guitarist

The Congress Avenue Bridge spans the Lady Bird Lake and is home to the largest urban, Mexican Free-tailed Bat colony in North America with a summer population of 1. Congress Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Austin Texas. The street is a six-lane tree lined avenue that cuts through the middle of the city from far south Austin and goes The Mexican Free-tailed Bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium sized Bat. 5 million bats. At dusk, from March to September, Austinites and tourists line the bridge and riverbanks to watch the dramatic sight of the bats streaming out in their nightly quest for insects. Eight other bridges span the lake, including two that are pedestrian-only bridges.

Although the City of Austin prohibits motorized watercraft, the lake serves as a recreational area for kayaks, canoes, dragon boats, and rowing shells. A kayak is a small human-powered Boat. It typically has a covered deck and a cockpit covered by a Spraydeck. A canoe is a small narrow Boat, typically human-powered though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors A dragon boat or "dragonboat" is a very long and narrow human-powered Boat now used in the team Paddling sport of dragon boat GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 Austin's warm climate and the river's calm waters, nearly ten-mile length and straight courses are especially popular with crew teams and clubs. GB coxless pair of Toby Garbett & Rick Dunn at Henley Royal Regatta 2004 Along with the University of Texas women's rowing team and coeducational club rowing team, who practice on Lady Bird Lake year-round, teams from northern universities (including the University of Chicago, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Nebraska) train on Lady Bird Lake during Christmas holidays and spring breaks. The University of Chicago is a Private university located principally in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. University of Oklahoma, abbreviated OU, is a Coeducational public Research university located in the U The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Crew Club ( UNLCC) is the intercollegiate rowing club at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For an article concerning the Easter break see Spring Holiday. Other water sports along the shores of the lake include swimming in Deep Eddy Pool, the oldest swimming pool in Texas, and Barton Springs Pool, which discharges into Barton Creek and flows into Lady Bird Lake. Deep Eddy Pool is a historic man-made Swimming pool in Austin, Texas. Barton Springs Pool is a man-made swimming pool located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin Texas. Barton Creek is one of the tributaries that feeds the Texas Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country.

Music venues on the banks of Lady Bird Lake are home to a number of events year-round, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival in the fall, the Austin Reggae Festival and Spamarama in the spring, and many open-air concerts at Auditorium Shores on the south bank and Fiesta Gardens on the north bank. The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day music and art festival in Austin Texas 's Zilker Park. The Austin Aqua Festival was held on the shores of Lady Bird Lake from 1962 until 1998. The Austin Aqua Festival (usually called Aqua Fest) was a ten day Festival held the first week of August on the shores of Town Lake (now Lady Bird Lake) The late Austin resident and blues guitar legend, Stevie Ray Vaughan played a number of concerts at Auditorium Shores and is honored with a memorial statue on the banks. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles Stephen "Stevie" Ray Vaughan ( October 3, 1954 August 27, 1990) was an American Blues-rock Guitarist

Hike and Bike Trail

Many Austinites take advantage of the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail to keep fit by walking, running or bicycle riding.

The Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, formerly the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail, is the longest trail designed for non-motorized traffic maintained by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department and watched after by a local non-profit named Town Lake Trail Foundation. It is 10. 1 miles long and one of the oldest urban Texas hike and bike paths stretching the entire length of Lady Bird Lake itself. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State.

The trail is mostly flat, 97. 5% has less than an 8% grade, and makes an easy loop along both shores of Lady Bird Lake being marked on one end by Tom Miller Dam and the other by Longhorn Dam. Tom Miller Dam is a Dam located at 302932 -977855 ( WGS 84 datum) on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin Texas Longhorn Dam is a Dam located at 302504 -977135 ( WGS 84 datum) on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin, Barton Creek feeds into Lady Bird Lake from the south and a pedestrian bridge incorporated into the trail bridges Barton Creek. Barton Creek is one of the tributaries that feeds the Texas Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The Roberta Crenshaw Pedestrian Walkway bridges Lady Bird Lake beneath MoPac Boulevard and provides the trail's westmost crossing of Lady Bird Lake. Roberta P Crenshaw (1914-2005 was an Austin -area Philanthropist and civic pioneer Loop 1 is a controlled-access Highway which provides access to the west side of Austin in the U

The trail's surface is smooth and is mostly crushed granite except for a few lengths of concrete and a short detour over city sidewalks on the South-side of the lake. There are several access points and the path goes by, through or across several Austin landmarks such as Zilker Park, Barton Creek, Auditorium Shores, Deep Eddy Pool and the Congress Avenue Bridge, where the largest urban colony of Mexican Free-tailed Bats roost between mid-March and early November. Zilker Metropolitan Park is a recreational area in the heart of south Austin (near Barton Springs Pool and Lady Bird Lake) that comprises over 350 acres Barton Creek is one of the tributaries that feeds the Texas Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. Deep Eddy Pool is a historic man-made Swimming pool in Austin, Texas. Congress Avenue is a major thoroughfare in Austin Texas. The street is a six-lane tree lined avenue that cuts through the middle of the city from far south Austin and goes The Mexican Free-tailed Bat ( Tadarida brasiliensis) is a medium sized Bat.

Before 1971, the shoreline of what was then called Town Lake, was mostly a mixture of weeds, unkempt bushes and trash. Some concerned Austinites tried to clean up the lake, but the effort was only partly successful. In 1971, the City of Austin created the Town Lake Beautification Project and appointed Lady Bird Johnson as the project's honorary chairman. Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22 1912&ndashJuly 11 2007 was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 having been the wife of Johnson's involvement brought lots of attention and money (including $19,000 of her own) to the Town Lake project, allowing for the planting of hundreds of shrubs and trees and the completion of the Hike and Bike Trail from the piecemeal construction that had been done up to that time. ^[4]

Drinking water uses

The first water treatment facility in the City of Austin, the Thomas C. Green Water Treatment Plant, was built in 1925 to treat water from the Colorado River. The plant occupies six acres just west of the principal downtown business district. Since the creation of Longhorn Dam, the water treatment facility continues to treat water from Lady Bird Lake and Barton Creek for distribution as drinking water throughout downtown and central Austin. ^[5]

Fish populations

Lady Bird Lake has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lady Bird Lake include largemouth bass, catfish, carp, and sunfish. The largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides) is a Species of Fish in the sunfish family. Catfish ( order Siluriformes) are a very diverse group of bony Fish. Carp is a common name for various Freshwater Fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large The sunfishes are a family ( Centrarchidae) of freshwater Ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. A ban on the consumption of fish caught in the lake was issued by the City of Austin in 1990, as a result of excessively high levels of chlordane found in the fish. Chlordane is a manufactured chemical that was used as a Pesticide in the United States from 1948 to 1988 ^[6] Although the use of chlordane as a pesticide was banned in the United States in 1988, the chemical sticks strongly to soil particles and can continue to pollute groundwater for years after its application. The ban on the consumption of fish caught in the lake was finally lifted in 1999. ^[7]

External links

• Texas Parks and Wildlife: Town Lake
• Austin Parks and Recreation Department
• Town Lake Trail Foundation
• Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail Map
• Austin's Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail

References