Lake Casa Blanca is a reservoir

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 Chacon Creek

Chacon Creek

Chacon Creek is a small stream of water located in Webb County, Texas which runs through Laredo, Texas. The creek is formed 6 miles from Webb, Texas and runs southwest for 20 miles until the creek connects to the Rio Grande. Chacon was dammed in 1951 in east Laredo to form Lake Casa Blanca, a 1,680...

, 5 miles (8 km) northeast of downtown 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...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The reservoir was formed in 1951 by the construction of a dam to provide recreational opportunities for the residents of Webb County

Webb County, Texas

Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...

. The current dam is the second built across the creek - a previous dam built in 1946 failed the following year during the initial attempted impounding of a reservoir. The park was operated jointly by the City of Laredo and Webb County before it was acquired by the state in 1990 and opened in March 1991 as the Lake Casa Blanca International State Park. Lake Casa Blanca is fed by the Chacon Creek and San Ygnacio Creek

San Ygnacio Creek

San Ygnacio Creek is a small stream of water located in Webb County, Texas which runs through Laredo, Texas. The creek is formed 11 miles northwest of Laredo, Texas and runs southwest for until the creek connects to the Lake Casa Blanca. The terrain surrounding the creek is mostly clay. The...

.

Fish and plant life

Lake Casa Blanca has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lake Casa Blanca include carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

, hybrid striped bass

Hybrid striped bass

A hybrid striped bass, also known as a wiper or whiterock bass, is a hybrid between the striped bass and the white bass . It can be distinguished from the striped bass by broken rather than solid horizontal stripes on the body...

, 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 largemouth bass

Largemouth 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...

.

Recreational uses

Recreational uses of the park include
cooking out, camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, picnicking,
swimming, skiing boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

,
mountain biking

Mountain biking

Mountain biking is a sport which consists of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially adapted mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.Mountain biking can...

, and the most popular recreational
use of the lake is fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

. Boat ramps are
available throughout the lake. Lake Casa Blanca
formerly supplied water to the Casa Blanca Golf
Course nearby until drought conditions forced
alternative means to be explored.

External links

• Lake Casa Blanca - Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Casa Blanca lake - Handbook of Texas Online