Having spent so long in the DFW metroplex over the last few months, we decided to take a trip to East Texas and Caddo Lake State Park. Caddo Lake is a large lake and bayou on the state border of Louisiana and Texas, around 3 hours east of Dallas. It’s named after the native american Caddo people whom inhabited eastern texas prior to the arrival of europeans. There is some uncertainty of how the lake was formed, but theories include a major earthquake in the 19th Century and a huge log jam on the Red River in Louisiana. The lake was also home to the world’s first over water oil well, the Gulf Refining Company successfully began drilling in the early 1900s and opened up a whole new way to acquire the resource here in Texas. In my opinion it’s an incredible place to visit, and also very unusual as the majority of the forest is underwater.
These are Cypress Trees which are found at Caddo Lake. They are deciduous trees and incredibly adaptable here in America. They are found in a whole range of environments all over the South East of the USA. The distinctive Greyish look leaves dangling from the tree’s are Spanish Moss, it’s synonymous with Southern culture and can be found anywhere along the southern states.Caddo Lake is home to a whole range of animals and plants. The bird in this photo i believe is a great egret. Other creatures which reside here include Russian hogs, otters, owls, snakes, bears and alligators. Over 100 years ago the channels going out of the lake were home to many steamboats moving up and down from the Gulf Coast, these boats traveled to nearby towns like Jefferson. Eventually as log jams were removed the water level dropped by as much as 10ft leaving a lot of the area impassable by larger boats.The lake is over 25,000 acres and as you can see is quite vast. We took a trip on a local boat tour which took us through the forest out into the more open areas.It was a very peaceful trip on the boat through the forest. As well as boats some visitors had canoe’s and were weaving through. For anyone considering travelling through alone I think the routes are marked out quite clearly so and you can do a large loop through the forest.This photo was taken at the Saw Mill Pond at Caddo Lake State Park. The park is quite small with a few walking trails and camping areas. It has a few pontoons on the water though and a great view of the Cypress Trees. It seems a whole different way of life here. A lot of people seemed to travel around on the water rather than by road. These waterside homes have a great view of everything nature has to offer here. We’re hoping to do another trip here in the Autumn to see how it looks when the leaves have changed colour. In the summer though it didn’t disappoint and was one of the most remarkable places i’ve visited in my life.
Howdy, my name’s Matt. I'm originally from England but now live here in the Great State of Texas. Since moving here I thought it would be fun to try something new and enter the world of photo blogging.
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