Lake Marble Falls
Encyclopedia
Lake Marble Falls is a reservoir
on the Colorado River
in the Texas Hill Country
in the United States
. The reservoir was formed in 1951 by the construction of Max Starcke Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority
. Originally named Marble Falls Dam, the dam was renamed in 1962 for Max Starcke, the second general director of the LCRA. Located near the town of Marble Falls
, the lake is used as a venue for aquatic recreation and for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power. It is the newest of the Texas Highland Lakes
, and at 611 acre (247.3 ha) it is the second smallest lake in the Texas Highland Lakes
behind Lady Bird Lake.
The other reservoirs on the Colorado River
are Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake
, Lake LBJ
, Lake Travis
, Lake Austin
, and Lady Bird Lake.
, a non-native invasive plant from Asia thought to have been introduced to the U.S. via the tropical fish industry. Lake Marble Falls has been stocked with several species of native fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Inks Lake include largemouth bass
, catfish
, and sunfish
. Lake Marble Falls boasts being in the "top 50" as far as Record Stripers Striped Bass
in the Texas freshwater fish records. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/programs/fishrecords/freshwater/top50_striped.phtml
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 Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
in the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
in the 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 Max Starcke Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority
Lower Colorado River Authority
The Lower Colorado River Authority or LCRA is a nonprofit public utility that was created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to protect people, property and the environment by providing public services for more than one million people in Central and Southeast Texas...
. Originally named Marble Falls Dam, the dam was renamed in 1962 for Max Starcke, the second general director of the LCRA. Located near the town of Marble Falls
Marble Falls, Texas
Marble Falls is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,959 at the 2000 census.Marble Falls is about northwest of Austin and north of San Antonio...
, the lake is used as a venue for aquatic recreation and for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power. It is the newest of the Texas Highland Lakes
Texas Highland Lakes
The Texas Highland Lakes is a chain of seven reservoirs in Central Texas formed by several dams on the Colorado River. This portion of the river winds southeast from its headwaters near the border of Texas and New Mexico to Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
, and at 611 acre (247.3 ha) it is the second smallest lake in the Texas Highland Lakes
Texas Highland Lakes
The Texas Highland Lakes is a chain of seven reservoirs in Central Texas formed by several dams on the Colorado River. This portion of the river winds southeast from its headwaters near the border of Texas and New Mexico to Matagorda Bay and the Gulf of Mexico...
behind Lady Bird Lake.
The other reservoirs on the Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
are Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake
Inks Lake
Inks Lake is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1938 by the construction of Inks Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Located near Burnet, Texas, the lake serves to provide flood control in tandem with Lake Buchanan...
, Lake LBJ
Lake LBJ
Lake Lyndon B. Johnson is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1950 by the construction of Granite Shoals Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The Colorado River and the Llano River meet in the northern portion of the...
, Lake Travis
Lake Travis
Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1942 by the construction of Mansfield Dam on the western edge of Austin, Texas by the Lower Colorado River Authority...
, Lake Austin
Lake Austin
Lake Austin is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority....
, and Lady Bird Lake.
Fish and wildlife populations
Unlike some of its immediate neighbors in the Texas Highland Lakes reservoir system, Lake Marble Falls is not infested with hydrillaHydrilla
Hydrilla is an aquatic plant genus, usually treated as containing just one species, Hydrilla verticillata, though some botanists divide it into several species. Synonyms include H. asiatica, H. japonica, H. lithuanica, and H. ovalifolica...
, a non-native invasive plant from Asia thought to have been introduced to the U.S. via the tropical fish industry. Lake Marble Falls has been stocked with several species of native fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Inks Lake include 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...
, 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 sunfish
Centrarchidae
The sunfishes are a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes. The type genus is Centrarchus . The family's 27 species includes many fishes familiar to North Americans, including the rock bass, largemouth bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and crappies...
. Lake Marble Falls boasts being in the "top 50" as far as Record Stripers Striped Bass
Striped bass
The striped bass is the state fish of Maryland, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and the state saltwater fish of New York, Virginia, and New Hampshire...
in the Texas freshwater fish records. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/programs/fishrecords/freshwater/top50_striped.phtml