Lake Lyndon B. Johnson

infobox_lake
lake_name = Lake Lyndon B. Johnson
image_lake =
type = Hydroelectric reservoir
caption_lake =
location = Texas Hill Country
basin_countries = United States
coords = coord|30|39.31|N|98|26.04|W|type:waterbody_region:US-TX|display=inline,title
inflow = Colorado River and Llano River
outflow = Colorado River
area = 6,534 acres (26.4 km²)
depth =
max-depth = 90 ft (27 m)
elevation = 825 ft (255 m)

Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (or Lake LBJ) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country in the United States. The reservoir was formed in 1950 by the construction of Granite Shoals Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The Colorado River and the Llano River meet in the northern portion of the lake. The lake was originally called Lake Granite Shoals. The dam would be renamed Wirtz Dam in 1952 for Alvin J. Wirtz, the first general counsel of the LCRA, and the lake was renamed to Lake Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 in honor of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson. In addition to his work to enact the Rural Electrification Act that formed the basis for building the Highland Lakes, President Johnson owned a ranch on the lake (which was separate and apart from the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas), and he and Mrs. Johnson entertained national and foreign dignitaries on the lake during his vice presidency and presidency.

The towns of Granite Shoals, Kingsland, Horseshoe Bay, Highland Haven, and Sunrise Beach are located on the lake, which is also near Marble Falls. The lake is used as a venue for aquatic recreation and provides cooling water for the Thomas J. Ferguson power plant operated by the LCRA. The boundary line separating Burnet County and Llano County runs down the center of the lake.

The other reservoirs on the Colorado River are Lake Buchanan, Inks Lake, Lake Marble Falls, Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Lady Bird Lake.

Fish and wildlife populations

Lake LBJ has been stocked with several species of fish intended to improve the utility of the reservoir for recreational fishing. Fish present in Lake LBJ include largemouth bass, white bass, catfish, and crappie. Lake LBJ is one of the Texas Highland Lakes infested with hydrilla, a non-native aquatic plant species, and the LCRA is undergoing treatment to eradicate the hydrilla.

Recreational uses

Most of the property bordering Lake LBJ is privately owned. The Nightengale Archaeological Center at Kingsland is a unique educational park operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority that is adjacent to Lake LBJ. The popularity of Lake LBJ is largely due to its normally constant level water which provides ideal conditions for boating, water-skiing, jet-skiing and other water sports.

Infection risk

* Summer 2007, a 22-year-old man(Colby Sawyer of Lubbock) was killed by the parasite amoeba Naegleria fowleri after likely having caught it while wake boarding in the lake, and 12-year-old boy (Jack Herrera from Austin) died by the same parasite (amoeba Naegleria) also after swimming in this lake [cite web|url=http://www.txcn.com/sharedcontent/dws/txcn/austin/stories/090807kvueamoebicawareness-mm.b61b59e9.html|title = Pathenogenic Amoeba in Lake LBJ|accessdate = 2007-09-27] .

References

External links

* [http://www.lcra.org/water/wirtz.html Official LCRA Wirtz Dam web site]
* [http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/lbj/ Lake LBJ - Texas Parks & Wildlife]
* [http://www.lcra.org/featurestory/hydrillaupdate.html "Hydrilla Still Infesting Lower Colorado River Basin"]
* [http://www.lcra.org/community/nightengale.html Nightengale Archaeological Center]
* [http://www.lake-lbj.com/ Lake LBJ Visitors Guide]
*
* [http://www.graniteshoals.org City of Granite Shoals web site]