Review and photos by Lisa Adair
We tend to think that the landscapes we see around us have been unchanged for thousands of years, or even millions of years. Mountains, valleys, canyons, all take eons to form. But in reality, the landscape is constantly changing around us every day. Rivers erode rocky banks over long periods of time as the continuous flow of steady water moves sediment and carves into the landscapes. Only we can’t see those finite changes.
But in the Hill Country of south-central Texas, a canyon (or gorge) was formed in a matter of hours.
The Canyon Lake area, between Austin and San Antonio, is a beautiful area with a deep lake which was formed in 1964. It was created by the Canyon Dam which dammed the Guadalupe River. The lake averages a depth of about 40 feet, but in some places it’s as deep as 130 feet. It covers an area of 8,000 acres, and people from all over the state (and other states) come to enjoy its crystal-clear water while boating, skiing, tubing, and swimming.
Over the 4th of July weekend in 2002, Canyon Lake experienced a torrential downpour of rain. In this part of the Hill Country, the expected annual rainfall is about 15-30 inches. That fateful weekend, the area picked up more than 34 inches of rain in just three days. For the first time in the history of Canyon Dam, water overflowed the dam’s spillway to the south of the Guadalupe River and created a raging flood. Water rushed through that area of the Hill Country, ripping up trees, tearing up the soil, and even crushing several houses.
It was an historic flood event. The spillway acted as it was designed to do, channeling the high water around the dam into a small gulch. But the raging water was too much for the gulch to contain and it broke the banks as it rushed to rejoin the river below the lake.
No one could have imagined what was to be found when the rain stopped and the waters receded, and calm was restored. The waters had swept away the ground below the spillway and created a 64-acre gorge! In only three days! What was exposed was previously unseen remains from the Cretaceous period, including limestone, thousands of fossils, remnants of an ancient sea or shallow ocean, and dinosaur tracks, dating back to around 110 million years. The dinosaur tracks are believed to have been made by iguanodon and acrocanthosaurus species of dinosaur that roamed this area more than 108 million years ago. These dinosaurs were three-toed meat-eaters.
The waters opened up a vast crevice in the ground more than a mile long, around 50 feet deep, and its width is from 50 to 150 feet in places. It quickly became known as Texas’ newest natural wonder.
In 2007, The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority opened the gorge up to public viewing offering guided tours. Taking a guided tour is the only way to get down into the gorge, but if one would rather just view the gorge, then there are hiking trails that run along the side of the gorge with viewing outlooks. There are eight stopping points along the way and, depending on one’s endurance levels, the hikes can be easy and short, or longer to the very end of the gorge.
The views are beautiful from the trails. Depending on the time of year and how much rainfall has occurred, small waterfalls all along the gorge are visible. There is an area called the lagoon which is visible from the hiking trails with a luscious blue color that flows down into the gorge. On the trail throughout, signs are located pointing out the various trees and plant species, and one may spot lizards and other wildlife scampering through the trees.
The Canyon Lake Gorge is still being discovered by Texans and travelers from all over the nation and world. The visitor center welcomes people from everywhere and the park rangers are very friendly and knowledgeable and can direct one to whichever activity one desires. Guided tours do have to be scheduled in advance, but just check out their website for more information.
