Buchanan, Lake

Major artificial lake on the Colorado River in south-central Texas. Created by the construction of the Buchanan Dam (1938), it covers an area of 93.3 sq km/36 sq mi and is the largest of the Highland Lakes upstream from the city of Austin, which lies 80 km/50 mi to the southeast.

The Buchanan Dam was built to prevent the severe flooding that once characterized the Colorado. Downstream of Lake Buchanan are the smaller Inks Lake, Lake Lyndon B Johnson (formerly Granite Shoals Lake), and Lake Marble Falls. Another major lake in the Highland group is Lake Travis, formed by the Mansfield Dam, which covers 76.7 sq km/29.6 sq mi, and is 21 km/13 mi north-northwest of Austin. The older Lake Austin, formed by the Tom Miller Dam, lies partly within the city (as does Town Lake, formed by the Longhorn Dam, in the city centre). The Highland Lakes are an important leisure resource.