Sediment Cores Reveal Texas’ Spring Lake Existed Thousands Of Years Ago

Glass-bottom boat on Spring Lake. (Credit: Cassie Alvarado / The University Star)

Thanks to a sediment survey recently completed on Texas State University’s campus lake, known as Spring Lake, we now know that the water body existed more than a thousand years ago, according to a release from the university. The survey was finished using sediment cores as part of a student’s thesis project.

The cores showed that there was an ancient lake where today’s Spring Lake sits, and that the water body likely existed between 1,600 and 1,200 years ago. Investigators in the work didn’t uncover any clues as to what might have created the lake but they guess that beavers or prehistoric people may have played a part.

Nowadays, Spring Lake is used by the university’s Meadows Center for Water and the Environment as a space for research and programs that promote sustainable water use. One such program uses glass-bottom boats that take visitors around the lake to view some of its aquatic life.

Top image: Glass-bottom boat on Spring Lake. (Credit: Cassie Alvarado / The University Star)