Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, Texas. (original) (raw)

This was one full dam. You can see that the water is within a couple of feet of spilling out on its own. Floodgates were open and you could see a sort of deadly-looking whirlpool over near the face of the dam where the water was being sucked out. Wirtz Dam forms Lake LBJ, which is a respectable 6,534 acres when full. Interestingly, both the dam and lake were originally named "Granite Shoals," but the dam was renamed in 1952 for Alvin J. Wirtz, who was the first general counsel of the LCRA and helped to get the federal grants that formed the initial LCRA. The lake was renamed after the president in 1965. The dam was also built primarily for hydroelectric generation and produces 56 megawatts when going full out.

The shoreline of Lake LBJ is made up of granite gravel. I don't know if this formed naturally, or if they intentionally created a beach out of the stuff. At least they used local materials. Lake LBJ is also home to a large, exclusive resort: Horseshoe Bay. This is a lovely resort area, with some nice golf courses � or so I'm told. The lake also produces cooling water for a nearby power plant, but I couldn't find any details about that. I found the plant here on Google Maps, but it isn't named. It looks like a natural gas plant, but I only say that because of the storage tanks nearby and the lack of railroad for coal delivery.Copyright Rob Hafernik

Lake LBJ Contact Information

Lower Colorado River Authority
3700 Lake Austin Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78703
512-473-3200
800-776-5272

Flora & Fauna of Lake LBJ

Photos courtesy Ernie Wymer, April 2007