White Rock Creek

White Rock Creek is a 30 mile (48.3 km) creek (cf. river) in the Elm Fork Trinity River watershed. From its headwaters near Frisco, Texas, it runs south-by-south-east through suburban Dallas for 23.5 miles (37.8 km) where it widens into White Rock Lake, then continues south for another 8 miles (12.9 km) to its mouth on the Trinity River, of which it is a major tributary.

Despite running through one of the most populous areas of the world, and flowing under many major roads and highways, its banks remain heavily wooded and undisturbed in many places and many local parks are situated among its watershed, which is generally considered to extend 2 to 2.5 miles (3.2 to 4 km) either side of its path.

At least eight "White Rock Creeks" exist in the Dallas metro area; this article describes the White Rock Creek of Collin County and Dallas County, Texas which feeds into White Rock Lake.

Course

Intermittent in its upper reaches, the creek generally follows the Dallas North Tollway and Preston Road (State Highway 289), first east of Preston, then west of Preston after the road switches over the creek near Hedgcoxe Road. Before crossing Preston, the creek encounters its first major highway as it crosses under State Highway 121 east of Hillcrest Road.

Widening slightly as it crosses Legacy Drive, the creek continues a southerly course, still west of Preston, and narrows again as it crosses West Spring Creek Parkway. It next crosses under West Parker Road where it enlivens the Gleneagles Country Club. A number of parks encompass the creek as it next crosses under West Park Boulevard (State Highway 544). Still following Preston and the Dallas North Tollway, the creek crosses West Plano Parkway, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway tracks, President George Bush Turnpike, Frankford Road, runs through Preston Trail Golf Course, crosses under Keller Springs Road, Southern Pacific Railroad tracks, runs through Prestonwood Country Club where it is joined by McKamy Brook, then crosses Arapaho Road and Belt Line Road.

After crossing Belt Line, the creek cuts east under Preston but quickly returns to a south-easterly course. From here, the creek meanders further and further east of Preston, no longer following it (or rather, Preston no longer follows the creek). The creek flows under Interstate 635 east of Hillcrest, flows along the western edge of Medical City Dallas Hospital where it widens, then flows under U.S. Highway 75 (North Central Expressway) south of Forest Lane.

DART rail bridges the creek east of US 75, then the creek crosses Royal Lane and cheers the Royal Oaks Country Club. At this point, the creek has entered a more urban environment, crossing under Greenville Avenue and Walnut Hill Lane east of Presbyterian Hospital-Dallas. From here, Cottonwood Creek (containing Floyd Brook) joins White Rock Creek which soon enters (or creates) White Rock Lake, a man-made reservoir no more than 20 feet (6 metres) deep serving the city of Dallas. After White Rock Lake, the creek merges with the Trinity River.

Geology and Ecology

The creek (and the lake it feeds) takes its name from the weathered-white Austin chalk ("see chalk") which lines its bed and banks, thus revealing its place geologically within the Balcones Escarpment. In some places, this chalk becomes quite conspicuous as the creek cuts deep through canyon-like walls of rock and tree roots. Considered part of the Texas Blackland Prairie (locally "White Rock Prairie") and Bottomland Forest ecosystems, the creek is host to multitudes of flora and fauna.

Wildlife include mink, bobcats, coyotes, red fox, plenty of ducks, plus the usual suburban Texas dwellers such as raccoons, skunks, opossum, gray squirrels, mice, rats and cottontails. Where the banks are muddy, crayfish make their volcano-shaped homes. Many birds including great blue herons, great egrets and belted kingfishers make their homes among and eat from the creek, and cormorants, pelicans and coots often visit the lake. Reptiles include lizards, water moccasins, horned toads, salamanders, red-eared slider turtles and common snapping turtles. The most common fish are largemouth bass, white crappie and channel catfish.

The most common trees are Cedar Elm, Pecan and Ash. Forbs are encountered in the drier areas, whereas species more adapted to flooding are found where the banks are lowers, such as Cottonwood, Black Willow, American Elm, Sycamore, Hackberry, Chinquapin oak, and Texas Buckeye. Berry-producing trees along the creek include Yaupon holly, Cherry laurel, Fruiting mulberry, Rusty blackhaw, and sweet gum.

References

* [http://maps.google.com/ Google maps]
* [http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en U.S. Census Bureau American FactFinder maps]

External links

* [http://www.whiterocklake.org White Rock Lake homepage]
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/rbw74.html "Handbook of Texas Online" entry for White Rock Creek]
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