Medina Lake
Encyclopedia
Medina Lake is a reservoir
on the Medina River
in the Texas Hill Country
of the United States
. It is operated by the Bexar/Medina/Atascosa County Agricultural District. Medina Dam
was completed in 1913 in a privately financed project, creating the lake to supply irrigation
water for local agricultural use. Lake Medina is in northeastern Medina County, and southeastern Bandera County
, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of San Antonio
.
It is a crescent
-shaped reservoir
running west to east. It is 18 miles (29 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide at its broadest point. It is contained by the Medina Dam
at the lake's south end. At the time of the dam's construction, it was the largest concrete dam in the country and the fourth largest dam overall. The dam is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The lake is fed by and discharges back into the Medina River
, and serves both recreational and irrigation uses. Communities located along the lake are Mico
, Lake Medina Shores and Lakehills
.
There is also a Lake Medina east of Medina, Ohio
, which recently was made a county park.
, white bass
, hybrid striped bass
, catfish
, and carp
.
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 Medina River
Medina River
The Medina River is located in south central Texas, USA, in the Medina Valley. Named after Pedro Medina, a Spanish engineer, by Alonso de León, Spanish governor of Coahuila, New Spain in 1689. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres...
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...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is operated by the Bexar/Medina/Atascosa County Agricultural District. Medina Dam
Medina Dam
The Medina Dam is a hollow-masonry type dam built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas. Medina Lake extends north of it in northeastern Medina County, Texas. The dam and irrigation project was designed and financed by Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson, an American...
was completed in 1913 in a privately financed project, creating the lake to supply 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...
water for local agricultural use. Lake Medina is in northeastern Medina County, and southeastern Bandera County
Bandera County, Texas
Bandera County, formed in 1856 from Bexar and Uvalde counties, is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population is 17,645. Its county seat is Bandera. Bandera is named for the Spanish word for flag...
, about 40 miles (64 km) northwest of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
It is a crescent
Crescent
In art and symbolism, a crescent is generally the shape produced when a circular disk has a segment of another circle removed from its edge, so that what remains is a shape enclosed by two circular arcs of different diameters which intersect at two points .In astronomy, a crescent...
-shaped 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...
running west to east. It is 18 miles (29 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide at its broadest point. It is contained by the Medina Dam
Medina Dam
The Medina Dam is a hollow-masonry type dam built in 1911 and 1912 by the Medina Irrigation Company in what became Mico, Texas. Medina Lake extends north of it in northeastern Medina County, Texas. The dam and irrigation project was designed and financed by Dr. Frederick Stark Pearson, an American...
at the lake's south end. At the time of the dam's construction, it was the largest concrete dam in the country and the fourth largest dam overall. The dam is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
The lake is fed by and discharges back into the Medina River
Medina River
The Medina River is located in south central Texas, USA, in the Medina Valley. Named after Pedro Medina, a Spanish engineer, by Alonso de León, Spanish governor of Coahuila, New Spain in 1689. It was also known as the Rio Mariano, Rio San Jose, or Rio de Bagres...
, and serves both recreational and irrigation uses. Communities located along the lake are Mico
Mico, Texas
Mico, founded in 1911, is an unincorporated community in northeastern Medina County, Texas, United States, approximately west of San Antonio. The community is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Lake Medina Shores and Lakehills
Lakehills, Texas
Lakehills is a census-designated place in Bandera County, Texas, United States. The population was 4,668 at the 2000 census, making it the most populous place in Bandera county. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
.
There is also a Lake Medina east of Medina, Ohio
Medina, Ohio
In the city the population was spread out with 29.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.1 males...
, which recently was made a county park.
Fish populations
Medina Lake has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish in Medina Lake 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...
, white bass
White bass
The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass The white bass or sand bass (MoroneIt is the state fish of Oklahoma.- Range :White bass are distributed widely across the United States, particularly in the midwest. They are very abundant in Pennsylvania and the area around Lake Erie...
, 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 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...
.