Lake Casa Blanca International State Park
| Lake Casa Blanca International State Park | |
|---|---|
  Location in Texas  Location in United States | |
| Location | Webb County, Texas |
| Nearest city | Laredo |
| Coordinates | 27°32′22″N 99°27′5″W / 27.53944°N 99.45139°W |
| Area | 525 acres (212 ha) |
| Established | 1991 |
| Visitors | 132,019 (in 2022)[1] |
| Governing body | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
Lake Casa Blanca International State Park is a 525-acre state park located in Laredo, Texas, United States a few miles east of the border with Mexico.[2] The park was originally managed by Webb County and the City of Laredo. It opened as a state park in 1991 and is managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.[3]
Nature[edit]
During the Eocene Epoch, about 38 to 54 million years ago, the area was a tropical, mangrove palm swamp. Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of primates, fish and reptiles in the park.[4]
Animals[edit]
Mammals likely to be seen in the park are black-tailed jackrabbits and eastern cottontails and white-tailed deer. The threatened Texas horned lizard has been sighted in the park. Common birds in the park are vermilion flycatcher, golden-fronted and ladder-backed woodpeckers, cactus wren, mourning and white-winged doves, Couch's kingbird and greater roadrunner.[5]
Plants[edit]
The park is in the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion. Plants typical of this country include honey mesquite, palo verde and prickly pear cactus.[6] Guajillo and huisache is abundant, and other species such as horse crippler and fishhook cactus can be found as well.[5]
Activities[edit]
Lake Casa Blanca is accessible from the park and water activities including swimming, boating, jet-skiing, and water-skiing are popular.[7] Anglers catch largemouth bass, sunfish, crappie and catfish in the lake.[6]
They are few other large public recreational areas in and around Laredo, so the day-use part of the park sees heavy traffic, especially on weekends and holidays. The locals gather to picnic and use the playground, baseball field, and volleyball and basketball courts.[7][8]
Other activities include hiking, cycling, birdwatching, geocaching, and camping.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ Christopher Adams. "What is the most visited state park in Texas? Here's the top 10 countdown". KXAN.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lake Casa Blanca International State Park". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "Lake Casa Blanca International State Park: History". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ "New Primate Species Found In 42 Million-year-old Texas Fossils". ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lake Casa Blanca International State Park: Nature". Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Parent, Laurence (2005). Official Guide to Texas State Parks (Fourth ed.). Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press. p. 206. ISBN 0292765754.
- ^ a b Parks, Louis B. "Lake Casa Blanca". Chron. Hearst Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ^ "2020 Bi-national Socioeconomic Handbook "Laredos Region"" (PDF). Institute for Competitiveness and Foreign Trade of Nuevo Laredo. Retrieved May 6, 2023.