Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Colorado River (Texas)

COLORADO RIVER, one of the chief streams of Texas. Rising in the high tablelands of Bexar, near the line of New Mexico, about lat. 32° 30′ N., and lon. 102° W., it flows S. E., receiving in its upper course the Conca, the San Saba, and the Lano on the S., and the Pecan from the N., and empties into Matagorda Bay. Austin, Bastrop, and Columbus are on its banks, and Matagorda near its mouth. For most of its course it flows through a fertile region and has an average width of 250 feet. It is a clear stream; its name, meaning red, was originally applied to the Brazos N. and E., but the two were interchanged. The Colorado is some 900 miles long, and navigable to Austin or farther.