Guadalupe River (Texas)

The Guadalupe River runs from Kerr County, Texas to San Antonio Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The river is a popular destination for rafters and canoers. Larger cities along the river include New Braunfels, Kerrville, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria. The Guadalupe has several dams along its length, the most notable of which forms Canyon Lake northwest of New Braunfels.

Course

The upper river, in the Texas Hill Country, is a smaller, faster stream with limestone banks and shaded by pecan and bald cypress trees. It is formed by two main tributary forks, the North Fork and South Fork Guadalupe Rivers. The upper Guadalupe is popular as a tubing destination where recreational users often float down the river on inflated tire inner tubes during the spring and summer months. East of Boerne, on the border of Kendall County and Comal County, the river flows through Guadalupe River State Park, one of the more popular tubing areas along the river.It is 10 feet long.

The lower river begins at the outlet of Canyon Lake, near New Braunfels. The section between Canyon Dam and New Braunfels is the most heavily used in terms of recreation. It is a popular destination for whitewater rafters, canoeists, kayakers and tubing. When the water is flowing at less than 1,000 cu ft/s (28 m³/s) there could be hundreds if not thousands of tubes on this stretch of the river. At flows greater than 1,000 cu ft/s (28 m³/s), there should be very few tubes on the water. Flows greater than 1,000 cu ft/s (28 m³/s) and less than 2,500 cu ft/s (71 m³/s) are ideal for rafting and paddling. The flow varies according to the seasons, and by the amount of rainfall the area has received. It is joined by the Comal River in New Braunfels and the San Marcos River about two miles (3 km) west of Gonzales. The Guadalupe below the San Marcos River is part of the course for the Texas Water Safari.

The San Antonio River flows into the Guadalupe River near the Gulf of Mexico. In San Antonio Bay the Guadalupe River forms a delta and splits into two distributaries, called the North Guadalupe River and the South Guadalupe River.

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  The Guadalupe River near Hunt in the Texas Hill Country
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  The Guadalupe River under Interstate 35 in New Braunfels

History

The river was first called after Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe by Alonso de León in 1689. It was renamed the San Augustin by Domingo Terán de los Ríos who maintained a colony on the river, but the name Guadalupe persisted. Many explorers referred to the current Guadalupe as the San Ybón above its confluence with the Comal, and instead the Comal was called the Guadalupe. Evidence indicates that the river has been home to humans for several thousand years, including the Karankawa, Tonkawa, and Huaco (pronounced like Waco) Indians.

A sudden flash flood on the river on July 17, 1987 near Comfort swept a bus away from a nearby road. Forty-three were on the bus at the time as it left a church camp. Ten of them drowned, the rest were rescued mostly on treetops. On April 18, 1989, the story of the deaths and rescues and this flood was aired on the pilot episode of Rescue 911 and it was later made into a television movie called Flood: Who Will Save Our Children?.

Fishing

The Guadalupe River is listed as one of the 100 top trout streams in the United States. In addition to fly fishing for rainbow and brown trout on the tail-waters of the Guadalupe River below Canyon Lake, anglers can catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Guadalupe bass, white bass, and the Rio Grande cichlid.

River Conditions / Flow

Guadalupe River conditions can change rapidly. The Guadalupe River flow is set by the dam at Canyon Lake operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. It is highly regulated and well maintained to ensure safety. The Guadalupe River is, however, prone to severe flooding. During the rainy seasons the water can reach well above the banks of the river and exceed “normal” levels, in which case the Guadalupe river will be closed to swimming. If the flow gauge exceeds 1,000 cubic feet per second at the Sattler Gage, then the Guadalupe River is closed to tubing.

Points of interest

• Riverside Nature Center, Kerrville, Texas | Guadalupe River Home Page

See also

• Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

External links

• Guadalupe River from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Edwards Aquifer
• TPWD Palmetto State Park
• TPWD Guadalupe State Park
• Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority: Flow and Lake Data, retrieved 2008-05-24
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Guadalupe River