Brazos River

Infobox River
river_name = Brazos River


caption = A railroad bridge over the Brazos River
origin = west of Lubbock, TX
mouth = Gulf of Mexico
basin_countries = U.S.
length = 2060 km (1280 miles)
elevation =
discharge =
watershed = 116,000 km² (44,800 sq mi)

The Brazos River, called the "Rio de los Brazos de Dios" by early Spanish explorers (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") is the 11th longest river in the United States at 2060 km (1280 miles) from its source of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexicocite paper
title=Largest Rivers in the United States | author=Kammerer, J.C.
publisher=United States Geological Survey | date=1987
url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/
format=HTML | accessdate=2006-07-15 ] to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a 116,000 km² (44,800 sq mi) drainage basin.cite web
title=Brazos River | author=Hendrickson, Kenneth E., Jr.
work=The Handbook of Texas Online | date=1999-02-15
publisher=The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association
url=http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/BB/rnb7.html
format=HTML | accessdate=2006-07-22 ]

Geography

The Brazos proper begins at the confluence of its Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork (which rises west of Lubbock and passes through the city) flowing 840 miles through the middle of Texas. Its main tributaries are the Clear Fork of the Brazos, which passes by Abilene and joins the main river near Graham; Bosque River; Little River; Yegua Creek; and Navasota River.Initially running east towards Dallas-Fort Worth, the Brazos turns south, passing through Waco, further south to near Calvert, Texas then past Bryan and College Station, then through Richmond, Texas in Fort Bend County, and into the Gulf of Mexico in the marshes just south of Freeport.

The Brazos is dammed in three places, all north of Waco, forming Possum Kingdom Lake, Lake Granbury, and Lake Whitney. Of these three, Granbury was the last to be completed, in 1969, and its proposed construction in the mid-1950s became the impetus for John Graves' book, "Goodbye to a River". There is also a small municipal dam (Lake Brazos Dam) near the downstream city limit of Waco, which raises the level of the river through the city to form a town-lake. This impoundment of the Brazos through Waco is locally called Lake Brazos. [http://www.waco-texas.com/lakebrazos.htm] There are 19 major reservoirs along the Brazos.cite web
title=River Basin Map of Texas | date=1996
publisher=Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin
url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/pics/rivers.jpg
format=JPEG | doi= | accessdate=2006-07-15 ]

History

It is unclear when it was first named by European explorers, since it was often confused with the Colorado River not far to the south, but it was certainly seen by La Salle. Later Spanish accounts call it "Los Brazos de Dios" (the arms of God), for which name there were several different explanations, all involving it being the first water to be found by desperately thirsty parties.

While the river was important for navigation before the American Civil War, it is primarily important today as a source of water for power and irrigation. The water is administered by the Brazos River Authority.

The river also features prominently in a number of prison songs, because at one time it ran past nearly every prison in Texas.

Cultural References

* The Brazos river is mentioned in the Old Crow Medicine Show song "Take 'em away".
* The river is the setting of the American folk song "Ain't No More Cane."
* The John Hiatt song "The River Knows Your Name" from the album "Walk On" references the Brazos river.
* KR Wood's Fathers of Texas song "Brazos River Song" sang by the late Townes Van Zandt [http://www.texannarecords.com/fathers_of_texas.html]
* The Brazos river is mentioned in the Lyle Lovett song "Texas River Song" on the "Step Inside This House" album.

ee also

* List of Texas rivers
* Stonewall County
* USS "Brazos" (AO-4) — a fleet oiler built in 1919.

Notes

The following are notes, which can cite reference works:

References

*

External links

*
* [http://encarta.msn.com/map_701511300/Brazos.html Map View of the Brazos]
* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?q=brazos&t=fulltext Historic photos of Army Corps of Engineers lock and dam projects on the Brazos River, 1910-20s, from the Portal to Texas History]
* See an 1858 map [http://texashistory.unt.edu/permalink/meta-pth-2473 "Preliminary chart of entrance to Brazos River, Texas / from a trigonometrical survey under the direction of A. Bache ; triangulation by J.S. Williams ; topography by J.M. Wampler ; hydrography by the parties under the command of E.J. De Haven & J.K. Duer."] , hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History] .
* [http://www.brazos.org/default.asp Brazos River Authority]

*http://www.arrowheadatlakewhitney.com
*http://www.lakewhitneyresorts.com