Falcon International Reservoir
Encyclopedia
Falcon International Reservoir, commonly called Falcon Lake, is a reservoir
on the Rio Grande
40 miles (64 km) southeast of Laredo
, Texas
, USA, and Nuevo Laredo
, Tamaulipas
, Mexico
. The huge lake is bounded by Starr
and Zapata counties on the Texas side of the international border and the municipality and city of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
on the Tamaulipas side of the border. The reservoir was formed by the construction of the Falcon Dam
to provide water conservation, irrigation
, flood
control, and hydroelectricity
to the area. The dam was dedicated by Mexican President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower
in October 1953. The dam and lake are managed jointly by governments of the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission
. The lake is named after María Rita de la Garza Falcón, for whom the town of Falcon (displaced by the creation of the reservoir) was named.
, crappie
, catfish
, and channel bass
.
, and Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
, Tamaulipas
, and is the southern end of a 98960 acres (400.5 km²) International Falcon Reservoir. The park's main activities include camping, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and boating and a self-guided nature trail. Bass fishing
is particularly popular on the 98960 acres (400.5 km²) lake.
On the shores of Falcon Lake there are Texas Wild Olive (Cordia boissieri), Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens
), hibiscus
, mesquite
thickets, Huisache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia
spp.). Greater Roadrunner
s, Collared Peccaries
, White-tailed deer
and Black-tailed Jackrabbit
s are also within the park.
pirates on the lake claiming to be Mexican Federal Police committed at least three armed robberies. The pirates boarded U.S. boats and demanded either weapons, drugs, or money. Fear of robbery has since dissuaded U.S. fishers from the lake.
In June 2010, U.S. authorities also revealed a plot by Los Zetas to destroy the Falcon Dam.
On September 30, 2010, David Hartley and his wife Tiffany, from McAllen, Texas
, were in Mexican waters riding jet skis back from Mexico when they were allegedly chased by two boats containing about six gunmen. The Zapata County Sheriff said the woman escaped and reported that her husband was shot. He is missing and feared dead.
On October 12, 2010, Commander Rolando Flores, the lead Mexican investigator for the David Hartley disappearance case, was beheaded by Mexican drug cartel members and sent in a suitcase to the Mexican military.
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
on the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
40 miles (64 km) southeast of Laredo
Laredo, Texas
Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA, and Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo
Nuevo Laredo is a city located in the Municipality of Nuevo Laredo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. The city lies on the banks of the Río Grande, across from the United States city of Laredo, Texas. The 2010 census population of the city was 373,725. Nuevo Laredo is part of the Laredo-Nuevo...
, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The huge lake is bounded by Starr
Starr County, Texas
Starr County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 60,968. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county is named for James Harper Starr, who served as Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Texas. It is part of the Rio Grande City-Roma, TX,...
and Zapata counties on the Texas side of the international border and the municipality and city of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It lies on the banks of the Rio Grande / Río Bravo, near the U.S.-Mexico border, opposite to Falcon Heights, Texas. The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing connects Falcon Heights with Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.It is located in...
on the Tamaulipas side of the border. The reservoir was formed by the construction of the Falcon Dam
Falcon Dam
Falcon Dam is an earthen embankment dam on the Rio Grande between Starr County in the U.S. state of Texas and the city of Nueva Ciudad Guerrero in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas...
to provide water conservation, irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
control, and hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
to the area. The dam was dedicated by Mexican President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines
Adolfo Ruiz Cortines was President of Mexico from 1952 to 1958, representing the Institutional Revolutionary Party he was one of the oldest presidents of Mexico...
and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
in October 1953. The dam and lake are managed jointly by governments of the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission
International Boundary and Water Commission
The International Boundary and Water Commission is an international body created in 1889 by the United States and Mexico to administer the many boundary and water-rights treaties and agreements between the two nations....
. The lake is named after María Rita de la Garza Falcón, for whom the town of Falcon (displaced by the creation of the reservoir) was named.
Fish and plant life
Falcon International Reservoir has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in the reservoir include largemouth bassLargemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
, crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, catfish
Catfish
Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, and channel bass
Red Drum
The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops...
.
Recreation
Falcon State Park is 572.6 acres (2.3 km²) located between Falcon Heights, TexasFalcon Heights, Texas
Falcon Heights is a census-designated place in Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 335 at the 2000 census. The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing connects Falcon Heights with Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas.-Geography:...
, and Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero
Nueva Ciudad Guerrero is a city in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It lies on the banks of the Rio Grande / Río Bravo, near the U.S.-Mexico border, opposite to Falcon Heights, Texas. The Lake Falcon Dam International Crossing connects Falcon Heights with Nueva Ciudad Guerrero.It is located in...
, Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas
Tamaulipas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 43 municipalities and its capital city is Ciudad Victoria. The capital city was named after Guadalupe Victoria, the...
, and is the southern end of a 98960 acres (400.5 km²) International Falcon Reservoir. The park's main activities include camping, swimming, fishing, water skiing, and boating and a self-guided nature trail. Bass fishing
Bass fishing
Bass fishing is the activity of angling for the North American gamefish known colloquially as the black bass. There are numerous black bass species considered as gamefish in North America, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , Spotted bass or Kentucky bass , Guadalupe bass Bass fishing is...
is particularly popular on the 98960 acres (400.5 km²) lake.
On the shores of Falcon Lake there are Texas Wild Olive (Cordia boissieri), Mexican Oregano (Lippia graveolens
Lippia graveolens
Lippia graveolens is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family, Verbenaceae, that is native to the southwestern United States , Mexico, and Central America as far south as Nicaragua. Common names include Redbrush Lippia, Orégano Cimmaron, Scented Lippia, Mexican Oregano, and Scented Matgrass...
), hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
, mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
thickets, Huisache (Vachellia farnesiana var. farnesiana) and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
spp.). Greater Roadrunner
Greater Roadrunner
The Greater Roadrunner, taxonomically classified as Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo," is a long-legged bird in the cuckoo family, Cuculidae. Along with the Lesser Roadrunner, it is one of two species in the roadrunner genus Geococcyx...
s, Collared Peccaries
Collared Peccary
The collared peccary is a species of mammal in the family Tayassuidae that is found in North, Central, and South America. They are commonly referred to as javelina, saíno or báquiro, although these terms are also used to describe other species in the family...
, White-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
and Black-tailed Jackrabbit
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
The black-tailed jackrabbit , also known as the american desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level to up to...
s are also within the park.
Piracy
In May 2010, Los ZetasLos Zetas
Los Zetas is the second most powerful drug cartel in Mexico and considered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as the most violent drug cartel and paramilitary enforcement group in Mexico...
pirates on the lake claiming to be Mexican Federal Police committed at least three armed robberies. The pirates boarded U.S. boats and demanded either weapons, drugs, or money. Fear of robbery has since dissuaded U.S. fishers from the lake.
In June 2010, U.S. authorities also revealed a plot by Los Zetas to destroy the Falcon Dam.
On September 30, 2010, David Hartley and his wife Tiffany, from McAllen, Texas
McAllen, Texas
McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in an area known as the Rio Grande Valley and is part of the . Its southern boundary is located about five miles from the U.S.–Mexico border and the Mexican city of Reynosa, the Rio...
, were in Mexican waters riding jet skis back from Mexico when they were allegedly chased by two boats containing about six gunmen. The Zapata County Sheriff said the woman escaped and reported that her husband was shot. He is missing and feared dead.
On October 12, 2010, Commander Rolando Flores, the lead Mexican investigator for the David Hartley disappearance case, was beheaded by Mexican drug cartel members and sent in a suitcase to the Mexican military.
External links
- Falcon International Reservoir - Texas Parks & Wildlife
- Falcon State Park - Texas Parks & Wildlife
- Falcon International Reservoir - Handbook of TexasHandbook of TexasThe Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...
Online | title=Falcon Reservoir | work=Geographic Names Information SystemGeographic Names Information SystemThe Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
| publisher=United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
}} | title=International Falcon Lake | work=Geographic Names Information SystemGeographic Names Information SystemThe Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...
| publisher=United States Geological SurveyUnited States Geological SurveyThe United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
}}