Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Disappearing Lake

Inks Lake State Park is located on one of the Highland Lakes of Central Texas.  There are seven lakes formed by a series of dams along the Colorado River.  Five of the lakes are kept at a constant level, while the two largest are used for flood control and irrigation and are highly variable.

Inks Lake is very small but constant at 831 acres. It sits just below Lake Buchanan which is the largest at 22,333 acres, when full. But Lake Buchanan is suffering badly in the drought and is a long way from full.

Teri and I decided to take a drive around Lake Buchanan as it has historically hosted some good waterfowl. We were shocked however to see how low it was and how far away the water was from some "favorite" birding spots.

Our first stop was at Black Rock Park which has a group of cabins that are supposed to sit right at the waters edge. Here I am on a cabin porch and that water is a long ways away!

The boat launch area hadn't seen any water for quite some time.

For owners of lakefront property, it looks like a good time to work on their docks. Easy access!

As we drove on around the lake, each park and boat ramp we encountered looked the same.  The image below is a boat launching ramp that has been extended several times, until there simply wasn't anything to extend it to.

Knowing Texas weather, we'll get a hurricane or some other significant weather event and this lake will be refilled in just a few weeks. But until then, it surely is a sad sight. 

Mark

7 comments:

  1. I suppose this drought means the spring wildflowers in the hill country won't be as numerous this year.??

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    1. We're starting to see lots of bluebonnet rosettes!
      Hopefully there will be lots of wildflowers.
      Teri

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  2. Hi Teri,
    Spent some time catching up on your blog and was surprised to see that you are volunteering close to where we were last winter, Balcones Canyonlands NWR! When I read that you like the HEB in Marble Falls I just had to chime in. We also love HEB and shopped at the store in Marble Falls also. But the store that blew us away was the one in Cedar Park. It is located on state road 1431 and is much larger and newer than the one in Marble Falls and on the week-ends they have the most marvelous cooking demonstrations in the deli/bakery area. They also have a large area with self dispensers of various food items from candy to hard to find grains and other ingredients. So when you have a Saturday off take the drive to Cedar Park. I promise you won't be disappointed. The store is on the east side of Cedar Park, just off of 1431 at 2800 E Whitestone Blvd. We sure miss that store! Nothing in the Phoenix area to compare. We are volunteering at one of the Maricopa County Parks, Usery Mountain Regional Park and loving this beautiful desert area. Will be here until the end of April.
    take care,
    Karen

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    1. I'll have to check it out! Thanks for the info Karen!
      Teri

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  3. Those boat ramps to nowhere are kind of eerie.... must feel like a ghost town.

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