Visiting Austin, Texas, for a week, I have found that the Colorado River is the highlight of this southern landscape. Entering the city along its northwest border, the river flows southeastward to the downtown area and then curves eastward past the International Airport. Fortunately, our temporary residence, in a downtown skyscraper, offers several views of the Colorado Valley.
After rising on the Staked Plains of the Texas Panhandle, near Lamesa, the Colorado River flows southeastward for 862 miles to enter Matagorda Bay of the Gulf of Mexico, making it the longest river totally within the State of Texas. En route, it cuts through the Hill Country of south-central Texas, passes through multiple reservoirs and drops about 3000 feet from its origin to its mouth.
Rivers, sculptors of our landscapes, tend to be dominant natural features of most geographic areas. While our focus may be directed to hills and mountains, they are the products of uplift and erosion, the latter conducted by rivers of water or ice. Far south of North America's glaciated regions, the Colorado River of Texas has long been fed by torrents of rain, natural springs and melting snow.
After rising on the Staked Plains of the Texas Panhandle, near Lamesa, the Colorado River flows southeastward for 862 miles to enter Matagorda Bay of the Gulf of Mexico, making it the longest river totally within the State of Texas. En route, it cuts through the Hill Country of south-central Texas, passes through multiple reservoirs and drops about 3000 feet from its origin to its mouth.
Rivers, sculptors of our landscapes, tend to be dominant natural features of most geographic areas. While our focus may be directed to hills and mountains, they are the products of uplift and erosion, the latter conducted by rivers of water or ice. Far south of North America's glaciated regions, the Colorado River of Texas has long been fed by torrents of rain, natural springs and melting snow.
