Lake Travis (or the lack there-of)

I went out to document the drought by taking some photos of Lake Travis today, or what is left of Lake Travis that is.

From Cafe Bleu on Lime Creek Road. It isn't so much on the lake anymore:



And the boats at the yacht club next door appear to be quickly running out of water to float upon:



The rest of these photos are from Mansfield Dam.

So, no lake here:



You need to venture further down in the hole to find the water. Here it is down and to the right:



Look at the boulders crumbling into the lake at what would normally be the water's edge:



Shrubs are growing out of the limestone slabs and are usually covered in water:



For comparison, here is a photo of the same spot (with the fam) in 2002:



The shoreline marks the lowering lake levels:



Looking across to the other side:



A panoramic view (click on the image to see a larger view):



The Dam:



Better put on your hiking boots 'cause it's quite a walk to the waters edge:



The lake is turning into grasslands:



You can now wade, yes, I said wade, to the sometimes islands:



This is the LCRA River report for Friday, September 4th:

As of Friday afternoon, "Lake Travis was at 631.17 ft msl, which is about 33.9 feet below its historic average level in September of 665.13 ft msl. The total combined storage in the Highland Lakes two water storage reservoirs, lakes Buchanan and Travis, is about 804,555 acre-feet (ac-ft), or about 40 percent full."

Lake Travis has only been lower during two past droughts:
Drought Lowest Level Date
1964 615.02 ft msl Nov. 8, 1963
1950's 614.18 ft msl Aug. 14, 1951 (the lake's all-time low elevation)

We are quickly approaching historic low-lake levels. I'm thinking we are gonna require a hurricane to fill the lake back up. Put on your rain-dance boots everyone...