Trinity River (Texas)
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Map of the Trinity River and associated watershed |
The
Trinity River is a river in the state of
Texas in the
United States. It rises in extreme north Texas, just a few miles south of the
Red River. Its headwaters are separated from the Red River basin by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River. It is the longest river completely within the state of Texas. (See:
List of the ten longest Texas rivers)
The Trinity River was named after the
Holy Trinity of the
Christian faith. Despite its name it has four forks: The Clear Fork, the Elm Fork, the West Fork, and the East Fork, each of which is considered part of the Trinity. The West Fork flows eastward through the city of
Fort Worth while the Clear Fork flows northeastward through Fort Worth; the two forks meet near downtown. The Elm Fork flows south from near
Gainesville, Texas and east of the city of
Denton. Those two rivers merge as they enter the city of
Dallas and form the Trinity River proper. The East Fork begins near
McKinney, Texas and joins the Trinity River just southeast of Dallas.
The Trinity then flows southeastward from
Dallas across the farming regions and pine forests of eastern Texas. Roughly 65 miles north of the mouth, an earthen damn was built in 1968 to form
Lake Livingston. It flows onward south, into the
Trinity Bay, an arm of
Galveston Bay, an inlet of the
Gulf of Mexico, east of the city of
Houston.
Plans for a shipping channel along the length of the Trinity River were scrapped, as they would have required extensive dredging to make the river navigable, though several overpasses were built at very high clearances in anticipation of the channel being built. There are, however, current plans being developed to turn the Trinity River flood zone in
downtown Dallas into the nation's largest urban park with 3 signature bridges designed by acclaimed architect
Santiago Calatrava[
1]. (See:
Trinity River Project).
A similar project is planned by the Tarrant Regional Water District, City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Streams & Valleys Inc, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop an area north of "downtown" as "uptown" along the Trinity River. This plan promotes a large mixed use development adjacent to the central city area of Fort Worth, with a goal to prevent urban sprawl by promoting the growth of a healthy, vibrant urban core. The Trinity River Vision lays the groundwork to enable Fort Worth's central business district to double in size over the next 40 years. [
2]
*
Johnson Creek*
Red Oak Creek*
List of Texas rivers*
List of the ten longest Texas rivers*
Trinity River Authority*
Trinity River Corridor Project*
Plans for a shipping channel along the length of the Trinity River*
*
Historic photos of Corps of Engineers lock and dam projects throughout Texas in 1910-20s from the Portal to Texas History*
Map of the planned Dallas park system.
