Texas Almanac, 2004-2005 Page: 71
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Environment
supply and its crew
was saved when they
found the mouth of the
Brazos. Still another
story is that miners on
the San Saba were
forced by drought to
seek water near
present-day Waco and
in gratitude called it
Brazos de Dios.
Much early Anglo-
American colonization
of Texas took place in
the Brazos Valley.
Along its channel were
San Felipe de Austin,
capital of Austin's col-
ony; Washington-on-
the-Brazos, where Gentle rapids form on a stretch of t
Texans declared inde- comes from the Spanish word for cy
endence; and other discharge at its mouth of any Texas
pendence; and other File photo.
historic settlements.
There was some navigation of the lower channel of the
Brazos in this period. Near its mouth it intersects the Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway, which provides connection with
the commerce on the Mississippi.
Most of the Brazos Valley lies within the boundaries of
the Brazos River Authority, which conducts a multipur-
pose program for development. A large reservoir on the
Brazos is Whitney Lake (627,000 acre-feet capacity) on
the main channel, where it is the boundary line between
Hill and Bosque counties. Another large reservoir is Pos-
sum Kingdom Lake in Palo Pinto, Stephens, Young and
Jack counties. Waco Lake on the Bosque and Belton
Lake on the Leon are among the principal reservoirs on its
tributaries. In addition to its three upper forks, other chief
tributaries are the Paluxy, Little and Navasota rivers.
San Jacinto River
A short river with a drainage basin of 2,800 square
miles and nearly 2 million acre-feet runoff, the San Jacinto
runs directly to the Gulf through Galveston Bay. It is
formed by the junction of its East and West forks in the
northeastern part of Harris County. Its total length, includ-
ing the East Fork, is about 85 miles.
Lake Conroe is on the West Fork, and Lake Hous-
ton is located at the junction of the West Fork and the
East Fork.The Houston Ship Channel runs through the
lower course of the San Jacinto and its tributary, Buffalo
Bayou, connecting the Port of Houston with the Gulf.
There are two stories of the origin of its name. One is
that when early explorers discovered it, its channel was
choked with hyacinth ("jacinto" is the Spanish word for
hyacinth). The other is that it was discovered on Aug. 17,
St. Hyacinth's Day.
The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on the shore of
this river on April 21, 1836, when Texas won its indepen-
dence from Mexico. San Jacinto State Park and monu-
ment commemorate the battle.
Trinity River
The Trinity rises in its East Fork, Elm Fork, West Fork
and Clear Fork in Grayson, Montague, Archer and Parker
counties, respectively. The main stream begins with the
junction of the Elm and West forks at Dallas. Its length is
550 river miles, and its drainage area is 17,969 square
miles. Because of moderate to heavy rainfall over its drain-
age area, it has a flow of 5.8 million acre-feet near its
mouth on the Gulf, exceeded only by the Neches, Red and
Sabine river basins.
The Trinity derives its name from the Spanish "Trin-
idad":' Alonso de Leon named it La Santisima Trinidad
(the Most Holy Trinity).he
pr
riv,Navigation was
developed along its
lower course with sev-
eral riverport towns,
such as Sebastopol in
Trinity County. For
many years there has
been a basin-wide
movement for naviga-
tion, conservation and
utilization of its water.
The Trinity River
SAuthority is a state
agency and the Trinity
Improvement Associ-
ation is a publicly sup-
ported nonprofit
organization advocat-
ing its development.
Sabine River in East Texas. Sabine The Trinity has in its
ess. This river has the largest water valley more large cit-
ver - 6.8 million acre-feet annually ies, greater popula-
tion and more
industrial development than any other river basin in
Texas. On the Lower Coastal Plain there is large use of its
waters for rice irrigation. Largest reservoir on the Elm
Fork is Lewisville Lake (formerly Garza-Little Elm and
Lake Dallas). There are four reservoirs above Fort Worth
- Lake Worth, Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport on the
West Fork and Benbrook Lake on the Clear Fork.
Lavon Lake in southeast Collin County and Lake Ray
Hubbard in Collin, Dallas, Kaufman and Rockwall coun-
ties are on the East Fork. Livingston Lake is in Polk, San
Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties.The three major reser-
voirs below the Dallas-Fort Worth area are Cedar Creek
Reservoir and Richland-Chambers Reservoir.
Neches River
The Neches is in East Texas, with total length of about
416 miles and drainage area of 10,011 square miles.
Abundant rainfall over its entire basin gives it a flow near
the Gulf of about 6 million acre-feet a year. The river takes
its name from the Neches Indians that the early Spanish
explorers found living along its banks. Principal tributary of
the Neches, and comparable with the Neches in length
and flow above their confluence, is the Angelina River, so
named from Angelina (Little Angel), a Hainai Indian girl
who converted to Christianity and played an important role
in the early development of this region.
Both the Neches and the Angelina run most of their
courses in the Piney Woods and there was much settle-
ment along them as early as the 1820s. Sam Rayburn
(McGee Bend) Reservoir, near Jasper on the Angelina
River, was completed and dedicated in 1965.
Reservoirs located on the Neches River include Lake
Palestine in the upper portion of the basin and B. A.
Steinhagen Lake located at the junction of the Neches
and the Angelina rivers.
Sabine River
The Sabine River is formed by three forks rising in Col-
lin and Hunt counties. From its sources to its mouth on
Sabine Lake, it flows approximately 360 miles and drains
7,426 square miles. Sabine comes from the Spanish
word for cypress, as does the name of the Sabinal
River, which flows into the Frio in Southwest Texas. The
Sabine has the largest water discharge at its mouth of
any Texas river (6.8 million acre-feet).
Throughout most of Texas history the lower Sabine
has been the eastern Texas boundary line, though for a
while there was doubt as to whether the Sabine or the
Arroyo Hondo, east of the Sabine in Louisiana, was the
boundary. For a number of years the outlaw-infested neu-
tral ground lay between them. There was also a bound-
ary dispute in which it was alleged that the Neches was
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Alvarez, Elizabeth Cruce. Texas Almanac, 2004-2005, book, 2004; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth162511/m1/71/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.