Ask most Texans if the state holds any natural freshwater lakes and, if they understand the question at all, they will smile and authoritatively say, Yep, just one. Caddo Lake, the only natural lake in Texas.
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Water SchoolNatural lakes have been a rare commodity in Texas. In fact, the state had only one natural lake, Caddo Lake in East Texas, that was formed by a log jam. A permanent dam was installed at the lake in the early 20th century.
Outside Lake Lewisville, you can find alligators in Lake Worth, Caddo Lake, and Eagle Mountain Lake. If you're afraid of having a close encounter with an alligator at one of these lakes, you shouldn't be. For most of the alligator-infested lakes in Texas, sightings are few and far between.
Straddling the border of Texas and Louisiana, Caddo Lake is one of the most scenic lakes in Texas (perhaps even the world). What makes this place so charming are the gorgeous cypress trees growing in the lake.
Eagle Lake, in Colorado County, is at least as natural as Caddo, and so is Green Lake, in Calhoun County. In fact, not counting its deserty western portion, Texas is pretty darn damp. There are about seven thousand lakes scattered across Texas, the majority which are found in the wetter eastern third of the state.
Fairfield Lake is the largest private lake in the state and is estimated to be about 50-feet deep. The property, marketed by Hortenstine Ranch Company, is in its namesake city of Fairfield and is about 90 miles southeast of Dallas.
The only state in the US with no natural lakes is Maryland. Although Maryland has rivers and other freshwater ponds, no natural body of water is large enough to qualify as a lake.
Bluffton was one of the first towns in the famous Texas Hill Country and is now an underwater ghost town which was inundated by Lake Buchanan. The Colorado River feeds Lake Buchanan. A man named Billy Davis from Arkansas Territory settled on the west bank of the river, which became Bluffton, Texas in 1852.
The oldest man-made lake in Texas is Lake Austin.It was created in 1893 when a dam was built on the Colorado River, though the first dam failed in 1900. It is a thin lake that appears riverine on a map. It's maintained at a constant level by the outflows of other reservoirs along the same river system.