Lake Texana
Encyclopedia
Lake Texana is a reservoir
on the Navidad River
, 8 miles (13 km) east of Edna
, in Jackson County, Texas
. The reservoir is formed by the construction of Palmetto Bend Dam, begun in 1968 and completed in 1979. The dam and lake are managed by the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
, and supply drinking water to surrounding communities and industries. Lake Texana is the only reservoir managed by the Authority. Lake Texana is also a recreational destination and the site of ghost town Texana, Texas.
, largemouth bass
, white crappie
, white bass
, hybrid striped bass
, and sunfish
. A wide variety of native plant species thrivein the lake, including water hyacinth
, coontail
, spikerush
, cattail
, pondweed
, bull's tongue, pickerel weed
, and duckweed. Two exotic, invasive species exist in the lake: hydrilla
and giant salvinia
. The giant salvinia is presently limited to the Sandy Creek arm of the 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 Navidad River
Navidad River
The Navidad River is a 90 mile long coastal river in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly parallel to its sister river, the Lavaca River. It is not spring fed, and all of its volume is runoff which eventually provides for much of the water in Lake Texana.-Course:It begins in two primary...
, 8 miles (13 km) east of Edna
Edna, Texas
Edna is a city in Jackson County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,899 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.Edna is the gateway to Lake Texana, which covers the site of Texana, Texas...
, in Jackson County, 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...
. The reservoir is formed by the construction of Palmetto Bend Dam, begun in 1968 and completed in 1979. The dam and lake are managed by the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
Lavaca-Navidad River Authority
The Lavaca-Navidad River Authority or LNRA was formed in August, 1941 by the Texas legislature. Its regulatory authority is authorized by Article 16, Section 59, of the Texas Constitution, codified in Vernon's Annotated Texas Civil Statutes as Article 8280-131...
, and supply drinking water to surrounding communities and industries. Lake Texana is the only reservoir managed by the Authority. Lake Texana is also a recreational destination and the site of ghost town Texana, Texas.
Fish and plant populations
Lake Texana has been stocked with species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lake Texana include catfishCatfish
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...
, 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...
, white 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...
, 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...
, and sunfish
Lepomis
Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill....
. A wide variety of native plant species thrivein the lake, including water hyacinth
Water hyacinth
The seven species of water hyacinth comprise the genus Eichhornia. Water hyacinth are a free-floating perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in...
, coontail
Ceratophyllum
Ceratophyllum is a cosmopolitan genus of flowering plants, commonly found in ponds, marshes, and quiet streams in tropical and in temperate regions...
, spikerush
Eleocharis
Eleocharis is a genus of 250 or more species of flowering plants in the sedge family, Cyperaceae. They are known commonly as spikerushes, although spikesedges is a more technically appropriate name and most scientists who study them in earnest refer to them as such...
, cattail
Typha
Typha is a genus of about eleven species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland habitats...
, pondweed
Potamogeton
Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...
, bull's tongue, pickerel weed
Pontederia
Pontederia is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. Pontederia is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud...
, and duckweed. Two exotic, invasive species exist in the lake: hydrilla
Hydrilla
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...
and giant salvinia
Giant salvinia
Salvinia molesta, commonly known as giant salvinia or kariba weed after it infested a large portion of the reservoir of the same name, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil. It is a free floating plant that does not attach to the soil, but instead remains buoyant on the surface of a...
. The giant salvinia is presently limited to the Sandy Creek arm of the reservoir.
Trivia
- Lake Texana is named after the ghost town of Texana, Texas, which it covers. Texana was a prominent town in Jackson County and was the county seat, until Edna, TexasEdna, TexasEdna is a city in Jackson County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,899 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.Edna is the gateway to Lake Texana, which covers the site of Texana, Texas...
was voted as the county seat. Afterwards people started moving to Edna and GanadoGanado, TexasGanado is a city in Jackson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,915 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ganado is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, eventually to where there were no people living in there and it becoming a ghost town.