Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Barton Springs: The “Soul of Austin”
The capital city of Austin, Texas, is located in the middle of the state,
framed by the metropolitan triangle of Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio,
and Houston (see fi gure 3.1). The city is the fourth largest conurbation in
the state, with a population of about 650,000 in the city limits and 1.25
million in the metropolitan statistical area. 1 The location of Austin was
selected due to its proximity to water, notably the Colorado River but also
a series of creeks that feed into this interregional waterway. A map of the
city from its founding year of 1839 situates the 640-acre settlement on the
banks of the river where “the new city is shown nestling, as it were, be-
tween the sheltering arms of the two creeks, Shoal and Waller” (see fi gure
3.2). 2 Since the nineteenth century, Austinites and visitors have expounded
on the unique beauty of the water features of the city, with the Colorado
River and contributing creeks as defi ning elements of the region. 3
Oklahoma
Lake
Buchanan
New
Mexico
Texas
Inks
Lake
Marble Falls
Lake
MEXICO
Lake
LBJ
Lake
Travis
Texas
Blackland
Prairie
Lake
A us ti n
City of
Austin
Edwards
Plateau
Lady Bird
Lake
Miles
0
5
10
Figure 3.1
Location of Austin on the Colorado River on the cusp of the rolling Hill Country of the Ed-
wards Plateau to the west and the fl at coastal plain of the Texas Blackland Prairie to the east.
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