How old is the brazos river

Boating and canoeing are popular activities as many suitable sites for launching and recovery are located along the river, and the best paddling spots are situated just below Lake Granbury and Possum Kingdom Lake. In , one of the major Anglo-American settlement sites in Texas was established along the lower Brazos river valley.

These Anglo-American settlement sites were considered to be the first English-speaking colonies that were founded by San Felipe de Austin and Stephen F. Austin along the Brazos River. In , Texas declared independence from Mexico in the unincorporated community of Washington-on-the-Brazos in the Washington County located along the Brazos River. The Brazos River is presently under the administration of the Brazos River Authority and the river serves as the principal source of water for irrigation, recreational activities, and generation of hydropower.

Soil types along the Brazos vary from sandy loams to deep clay. A variety of natural vegetation ranges from scattered oak mottes and bunch grasses in drier areas to conifers and hardwoods in areas where rain is plentiful. Virtually the entire area of the watershed is suitable for some form of farming or ranching activity. The most important products of the region have been cotton, cattle, and oil.

Originally, the Brazos was navigable for miles from the Gulf to Washington. It was an important waterway before the Civil War , and efforts to improve it for navigation continued until the early twentieth century. Houston abuts the region along the Fort Bend and Brazoria county lines. The waters of the Brazos basin are administered by the Brazos River Authority , an autonomous state agency established by the legislature in In later years the Brazos has maintained its importance as a source of water for power, irrigation, and other services.

The river has been dammed in several places to form reservoirs for flood control, municipal use, and recreation, the most important of these man-made lakes being Possum Kingdom and Whitney reservoir. In Goodbye to a River , John Graves gave an account of his journey in a canoe down the Brazos in the mids, with historical sketches of Indians and pioneers. James M. Glenn A. Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Jr. Pamela A. Puryear and Nath Winfield, Jr. Both services offer premium guided trips and a great time out on the Brazos River!

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