Canyon Lake Gorge

Canyon Lake Gorge is a gorge around convert|1|mi|km long, hundreds of yards (metres) wide, and up to convert|50|ft|m or more deep, which was carved through limestone in 2002 when extensive flooding of the Guadalupe River led to a huge amount of water going over the spillway from the Canyon Lake, Texas, reservoir. The gorge provides a valuable exposure of rock strata as old as 100 million years showing fossils and a set of dinosaur tracks, and forms a new ecosystem for wildlife with carp and other creatures in a series of pools fed by springs and waterfalls. The Gorge Preservation Society formed as a local citizen's group is developing long-term plans for the Gorge in partnership with the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.cite web |url=http://www.canyongorge.org/ |title=Home - Canyon Lake Gorge |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= |accessdate=2008-10-11] Public access to the gorge is restricted to guided tours along a designated route for a demanding hike lasting about three hours. Availability of tours is limited, no pets are allowed and no rock or fossil collecting is allowed. Research permits can be obtained by university or scientific research groups.cite web |url=http://www.canyongorge.org/Tours.aspx |title=Tours : Canyon Lake Gorge |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= |accessdate=2008-10-11]

The flood event of 2002

In July 2002 up to convert|67000|cuft|m3 of water per second flowed over the spillway of Canyon Lake, Texas for approximately six weeks, the first time the spillway had been in use since the reservoir dam was constructed in 1964. Normally, the flow out of the reservoir is around convert|350|cuft|m3 of water per second. The Guadalupe River basin forms a part of "Flash Flood Alley" which is one of the river basins most prone to flash flooding in the whole world.cite web |url=http://www.canyongorge.org/Flood.aspx |title=Flood of 2002 : Canyon Lake Gorge |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= |accessdate=2008-10-10] Nine people were killed by the flood event over a convert|20|mi|km stretch of the river, which damaged or destroyed 48,000 homes and cost around $1 billion in damages,cite web |url=http://ecommons.txstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=geogtad |title=Post-disaster Parks: Prospects, Problems, and Prescriptions |author=Dorothy Caroline Ibes |date=May 2008 |format=pdf |work=Master of Science Thesis |publisher=Texas State University-San Marcos, Dept. of Geography |accessdate=2008-10-11] but the Canyon Lake manager has stated that even though the floodwaters went over the spillway, the dam still prevented an estimated $38.6 million in damages downstream during the event.

Educational and natural resource

On November 29, 2005, a ceremony was held in which representatives of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed an agreement to develop the gorge as an educational and natural resource.cite web |url=http://www.swf.usace.army.mil/pubdata/pao/Articles/gorge_1.pdf |title=USACE and GBRA’s present agreement preserves the past |author=Edward Rivera |date=2005 |publisher=Fort Worth District Public Affairs Office |accessdate=2008-10-10]

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