Lake Dunlap 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 Guadalupe River

Guadalupe River (Texas)

The Guadalupe River runs from Kerr County, Texas to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is a popular destination for rafters and canoers. Larger cities along the river include New Braunfels, Kerrville, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria...

 near the town of New Braunfels

New Braunfels, Texas

New Braunfels is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas that is a principal city of the metropolitan area. Braunfels means "brown rock" in German; the city is named for Braunfels, in Germany. The city's population was 57,740 as of the 2010 census, up 58% from the 2000...

 in Guadalupe County

Guadalupe County, Texas

Guadalupe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 89,023. It is named for the Guadalupe River. The seat of the county is Seguin. It was founded in 1846....

, 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. The reservoir was formed in 1931 by the construction of a dam to provide hydroelectric

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...

 power to the area. Management of the dam and lake was assumed by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority or GBRA was formed in 1933 by the Texas legislature. Its main concerns are water supply and water conservation in the Guadalupe River Basin, which includes the Blanco, Comal, and San Marcos rivers. The authority extends over ten counties...

 on May 1, 1963. Lake Dunlap also serves as a venue for outdoor recreation, including fishing and boating.

Fish and plant life

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

, 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...

, 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...

, 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

The only free public access to the lake is a boat ramp located at the overpass of Interstate Highway 35 in New Braunfels. Lake Dunlap proudly offers mostly calm water due to its narrow size (in parts) and being protected of wind by shoreline trees. Wakeboarders, skiers and other recreational enthusiasts use Lake Dunlap daily due to its family friendly calmness, temperature and status of near-private lake. Boaters should use extreme caution as the lake has numerous unmarked stumps. There are many personal watercraft on the lake, and lots of people enjoy the cool, clear water for waterskiing and wakeboarding. Make it out early, and you might even catch a barefoot skier sometime.

External links

• Lake Dunlap - Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority