Central Texas can be thought of as roughly the area encompassing Austin to the south, Fort Worth to the north, Waco to the east and San Angelo in the west. Though much of the area is semi-arid, flooding has threatened habitation near some of the rivers. This, together with the need to conserve water for use by the rest of the state, led to the creation of a number of large reservoirs.
With a shoreline of 124 miles and an overall length of 30 miles, Lake Buchanan is the second-largest of the Highland Lakes, which lie in a string northwest of Austin, that were formed through the damming of the Colorado River in the 1930s and 1940s. Buchanan Dam, from which the lake takes its name, stretches for more than two miles. The lake is popular with fishermen, campers, boaters and swimmers. Visitors can rent cabins or stay in an RV park or one of the many camping sites.
Lake Travis is the longest of the Highland Lakes, stretching for more than 60 miles across the northwest of Austin and Burnet counties. It has a surface area of 18,622 acres and a maximum depth of 190 feet. Since its inception in 1941, four vibrant communities have appeared on the shores of the lake: Lakeway and Lago Vista, Jonestown and Briarcliff. Lake Travis also supports a number of leisure activities such as boating, fishing and golf.
Lake Waco is a reservoir constructed by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Situated northwest of Waco, It was designed to protect the city of Waco from flooding and has a storage capacity of 553,300 acre-feet. Lake Waco was formed by the damming of the Bosque River in McLennan County.
Belton Lake covers 12,385 acres and has 136 miles of shoreline. It was constructed in 1954 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce potential damage from flooding, to conserve water and to provide an area for wildlife and recreation. Belton Lake is situated on the Leon River in the northern part of Bell County.
Lake Whitney has a surface area of 23,500 acres and around 225 miles of shoreline. It is situated about 30 miles northwest of Waco on the Brazos and Nolan rivers. It is a popular place for fishing and contains good stocks of striped and white bass, smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie and a variety of catfish.
