Texas lakes are a go-to for summer fun. It only takes a short drive from Dallas to find multiple spots for boating, fishing and swimming. While these lakes may look and feel natural, many of them are actually man-made.

Jacqueline Higgins, 32, of Dallas asked: "Is there really only one natural lake in Texas? Since moving here, I heard all the lakes are man-made."

Her question is a part of an ongoing project from The Dallas Morning News that invites you to join in our reporting process. The idea is simple: You have questions, and our journalists are trained to track down answers.

This story is part of Curious Texas, a special project from the Dallas Morning News. You ask questions, our reporters find answers.

Higgins moved to Dallas from Chicago where she loved the culture and activities surrounding Lake Michigan.

“Everybody runs along it and you can swim in it and people boat on it, and that’s not a way of life here,” Higgins said. “You know, you’re in the middle of the country and you would think that there is more water and more areas where people would do water recreation.”

Texans and newer residents like Higgins often hear that the Lone Star State is home to a single natural lake.

Flora is everywhere on Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer)

Long before man-made lakes started popping up all over, there was Caddo Lake — the state’s lone natural lake, which straddles Texas and Louisiana.

But there’s a catch: Caddo Lake is not as natural as it once was.

According to the Caddo Lake Institute, Caddo was formed around 1800, after a logjam known as the Great Raft built up on the Red River. The natural dam caused several lakes to form in the Red River alluvial valley, many of which have long since disappeared.

“It was the formation of the Great Raft that started to back up the tributaries, like Big Cypress Bayou that the park is on, that empty into the Red River,” said Kelsey Johnson, a Caddo Lake Park interpreter and volunteer coordinator. “So it was the backing up of those tributaries which formed Caddo Lake and several other lakes that we don’t really have anymore.”

A sign warning about the presence of alligators stands near the shore of the lake in the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer)

Early settlers, pioneers and riverboat men argued that the Great Raft was harmful to commerce and development in the area and prevented them from easily reaching U.S. Army forts in the Arkansas Territory.

In 1838, 10 years after Congress authorized $25,000 for the removal of the Great Raft, Capt. Henry Miller Shreve opened up the Red River for navigation.

But without constant attention and maintenance, rafts continued to form. In 1871 the Army Corps of Engineers cleared out the Great Raft, and Caddo Lake water levels slowly fell until 1912, when a low water dam was constructed, bringing the water levels back up.

Even after all that, Caddo Lake has never completely dried up. The lake has maintained its natural characteristics like a diverse bird population, 86 species of fish and the cypress swamps with trees up to 400 years old.

"The cypress trees and the Spanish moss give it kind of a mysterious, eerie feel," Johnson said. "It's different. You go out there and you just feel like you're all alone and you're just in this maze of cypress trees. It's a really cool thing to experience."

These timeless features of its natural beauty continue to make Caddo Lake one of the most photogenic areas of Texas.

1 / 14On wobbly legs, a newborn whitetail fawn heads for the woods after its mother bolted across the road when a car approached in the Caddo Lake National Wildlife Regure at Caddo Lake in Karnack, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 2 / 14Flora is pictured on Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 3 / 14The sign at the entrance to the private Uncertain Yacht Club has seen better days. Photographed at Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 4 / 14Flying insects swarm around a light on the dock at Johnson's Ranch in Uncertain, Texas as a boater exits the lake after an evening of fishing on Caddo Lake Tuesday June 19, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 5 / 14Fish bones lie near the lake shore in Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Karnack, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 6 / 14A faded sign advertising Crip's Camp stands beside an old boat advertising a flea market across the road in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 7 / 14BoBo, John Booth's yellow lab pup, lies on the floor inside Johnson's Ranch hoping for a handout in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018. Booth is the fish cleaner at the marina on Caddo Lake. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 8 / 14Fishing bobbers, hooks and lures hang from a branch near the pier in Caddo Lake State Park in Karnack, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018. Fishing is one of the main attractions at Caddo Lake. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 9 / 14An early-morning haul of crappie lies on the cleaning table as a stray cat eats fish scraps at Johnson Ranch at Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018. Crappie is one of the popular pan fish in abundance on the only natural lake in Texas.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 10 / 14Morning sun filters through moss-covered cypress trees at Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 11 / 14A withering water lilly is surrounded by algea and other water vegetation in low water at Crip's Camp on Caddo Lake in Karnack, Texas, June 19, 2018.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 12 / 14A mounted possum is pictured in the history and interperative center at Caddo Lake State Park headquarters at Caddo Lake in Karnack, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 13 / 14After pulling their boat in at Johnson's Ranch marina, Charles Douglas Hankins Jr. displays his single largemouth bass after an evening of fishing with his father and son at Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 19, 2018.(Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer) 14 / 14A barge from Mystique Tours, operated by Aaron Applebaum, slips through one of the many channels on Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas Tuesday June 26, 2018. (Guy Reynolds / Staff Photographer)

What about the other lakes in Texas?

There are 187 man-made water supply reservoirs, which look an awful lot like natural lakes, larger than 5,000 acres in Texas, according to the Texas Water Development Board.

A man-made lake is created when a dam is built on a creek or river channel, trapping the water behind it.

More often than not, these reservoir lakes are made to increase a region’s water supply, generate hydropower and prevent flooding. The picturesque recreational spots are an added bonus.

Many of the first man-made lakes in Texas were formed by damming up the Brazos River in the 1920s. The drought in the 1950s made the practice more popular. Some reservoirs built during this period, like the Addicks and Barker reservoirs near Houston, are used for primarily for flood control and sit empty most of the year.

“They are empty unless there is a large rain event, then they will hold water for a short time and then release it until they are empty again,” said Mark Wentzel of the Texas Water Development Board.

While the man-made lakes serve an important purpose, they can be hard on the environment. Matthew Dempsey, the executive dean of math and science at North Lake College, said that while man-made lakes mimic natural lakes, they are not an exact replica.

"You would like to have native plants that surround our rivers and streams” Dempsey said. "But because you don't have a natural environment, it really brings into question what is natural and what's not.”

Man-made lakes can create disrupted areas, which are highly prone to invasive plants, especially in the floodplains that are not equipped to handle a surge of water.

Even though our Curious Texas question asker has never been to Caddo Lake, Higgins said she has visited other lakes closer to the D-FW area with her friends since she moved here.

“I was an outdoor child, I loved being outside, and being here in Texas at this time of year I mean obviously you want every outlet to stay cool,” Higgins said.

Though it would take a three-hour drive from Dallas to reach the swamps of Caddo Lake, there are several much closer alternatives that are soaked in fun.

From kayaking on White Rock Lake, paddleboarding on Lewisville Lake or splashing around Grapevine Lake, there is relief from the heat aplenty. And while not every lake is open to every recreational activity, our colleagues at GuideLive will happily wave you in toward the right shore line.

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