CANYON LAKE, Texas – The water level at Canyon Lake is continuing to dip below its lowest point in recorded history, but the low levels have revealed some interesting geological features that are usually hidden beneath the water’s surface.
Canyon Lake resident Pamela Hough Gilbert was out enjoying the lake on Saturday when she and her husband came up on an exposed cave in an area of the lake known as “party cove.”
“I’ve heard rumors about underwater caves in Canyon Lake for 40 years or more. It was just so cool to finally see one materialize,” Gilbert told KSAT on Tuesday. “Canyon Lake has lots of secrets.”
Divers have actually found proof that a couple of towns are at the bottom of Canyon Lake. Hancock and Crane’s Mill disappeared from the map after Canyon Lake was created.
Canyon Lake, which is actually a reservoir, was built to help with flood control and water conservation. Construction on the dam started in 1958 and finished in 1964.
The lake was filled to the conservation pool level by 1968 and hit its lowest point in recorded history in late August.
KSAT reached out to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to see if they have any records of caves in the area and a spokesperson said that up until this week, he had only heard rumors of caves until the photos surfaced online.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesperson Samuell H. Price urged people to refrain from entering the cave, saying “we know very little about the caves or their hazards and it is better to be cautious and look from a distance.”
Gilbert posted some of the photos she snapped over the weekend to a local Canyon Lake group on social media and one commenter said he’d previously been able to dive in the cave and saw what he believed were old markings.
Another commenter said he’d gone roughly 20 feet into the caves before turning around.
Gilbert told KSAT her husband swam up closer to the cave than she did but neither of them attempted to go inside.
“Neither one of us got very close and really didn’t have any interest in exploring it at that time. I got the heebie-jeebies and swam back to the boat,” Gilbert said.
Current water levels at Canyon Lake are measuring around 890.96 feet, meaning the lake is roughly 65.7% full, according to Water Data for Texas.
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