Lake Waco facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lake Waco
Aerial view of Lake Waco and dam (circa 1960s).
Lake Waco Location in Texas Show map of Texas Lake Waco Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Waco, Texas, United States
Coordinates	31°35′01″N 97°12′02″W / 31.58361°N 97.20056°W / 31.58361; -97.20056
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Bosque River
Primary outflows	Bosque River
Basin countries	United States

Aerial photo of Lake Waco looking south. Waco Regional Airport in foreground.

Agarita, a shrub found near Lake Waco

Wild Petunia

Great Blue Heron

American Beaver

Southern half of Lake Waco with Twin Bridges (Texas State Highway 6) in view

Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir located just northwest of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas, which serves as the western border for the city of Waco (pop. 135,858). This reservoir provides water to several cities in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Bellmead (pop. 9,901), Hewitt (pop. 13,368), Robinson (pop. 10,509), Woodway (pop. 8,452), along with many other cities in the Cross Timbers and Prairies ecoregion of Texas. Lake Waco was formed by a dam built on the Bosque River basin. The lake has 79,000 acre-feet (97,000,000 m³) of water and is currently run by the US Army Corps of Engineers.