![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement .(July 2015) |
![]() This converted hotel is now home to the Meadows Center For Water And The Environment | |
Legal status | Nonprofit |
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Purpose | Study, preservation, and presentation of freshwater ecology |
Headquarters | San Marcos, Texas, United States |
Executive Director | Robert E. Mace |
Website | www.meadowscenter.txstate.edu/ |
The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, formerly Aquarena Springs and later the Aquarena Center, is an educational center in San Marcos, Texas. It seeks to preserve the unique archeological and biological resources of Spring Lake.
Formed from more than 200 artesian springs, Spring Lake is one of the world's largest aquifer fed systems. A state antiquities landmark, this site is also believed to be one of the longest continuously inhabited places in North America.
The Meadows Center provides educational programs, recreation, hands-on activities and collaborative projects that encourage visitors, scientists and students to learn about Spring Lake's habitat, endangered species and water/environmental resource management issues.
There are glass-bottom boat rides, and the Discovery Center provides educational displays allowing people to view native animals and fish. Snorkeling and diving programs are offered with an educational emphasis and interpreter led field trips.
The Meadows Center develops programs and techniques for ensuring sustainable water, economic resources as well as ecosystem health. The center is used by Texas State University, and its multidisciplinary departments are involved with water resource management studies and research.
The Meadows Center at Spring Lake Hall houses the Texas Stream Team, a volunteer program that monitors the water quality of freshwater systems throughout the state.
The center was established in 1994 when Texas State, formerly Southwest Texas University, purchased land that was previously used as an amusement park, including Spring Lake, then an artificial freshwater reservoir.
The San Marcos Springs are the headwaters of the San Marcos River.
Aquarian Center was designated as a "critical habitat," subject to the Endangered Species Act, because the springs are home to the fountain darter, the Texas Blind Salamander, the San Marcos Salamander, the San Marcos gambusia, and Texas Wild Rice. The San Marcos gambusia may be extinct as none have been seen since 1983.
The site contains more than 200 springs with water from the Edwards Aquifer and that discharge an average of 123 million US gallons (470,000 m3) of water daily, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in North America. Artifacts discovered in digs conducted from 1979 to 1982 date back 12,000 years.
The first Europeans to visit the springs were probably Spanish explorers in 1689. The springs were an important stop on the Old San Antonio Road and the Chisholm Trail. In 1847, former Republic of Texas vice president Edward Burleson purchased the land surrounding the headwaters of the river and built a cabin on the hill overlooking the headwaters. Two years later Burleson built a dam just below the springs to power a mill. This dam, which created Spring Lake, still exists today.
Spring Lake has been visited by notable individuals including Robert E. Lee, Jay Gould, and Helen Miller Shepard. [1]
A.B. Rogers purchased the property in 1926 and his son, Paul, developed a hotel there in 1928 and introduced glass bottom boats to the lake.
In the 1950s, construction of a submarine theater and large spillway at one end of the lake to produce a swimming pool led to the opening of Aquarena Springs, an amusement park, at the site in 1951. Other features of the park were the Alpine Swiss Sky Ride (a Von Roll skyride), an Intamin 220 foot Sky Spiral that moved vertically above the lake and rotated 360°, and "Ralph, the Famous Swimming Pig" and "mermaid" performers that could be viewed from the submarine theater. [2] The park also included a coin-operated arcade in which human visitors would "compete" in games like Tic-tac-toe against chickens, whose "moves" in the game were determined by pecking lights which appeared only on the chicken's side of the machine. At its peak, Aquarena Springs attracted 350,000 visitors annually.
Aquarena Springs was on the cover of Popular Mechanics and was featured in Life. [3]
Since Aquarena Springs' closure, a documentary, Aquarena Springs and Ralph the Swimming Pig, was created in 2011 by Bob Phillips. [4] [5]
The Mermaid Society of Texas, founded in 2016, now hosts an annual promenade and festival for the river, celebrating Aquarena's mermaids. [6]
In 2021, the Texas Congress passed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 9, recognizing Aquarena Springs, the Aquamaids, and Ralph the Swimming Pig, and San Marcos as the Mermaid Capital of Texas. [7] [8]
The site was acquired by Texas State University-San Marcos in 1994. Soon after, the demolition of Aquarena Springs' facilities commenced, finally concluding with the Submarine Theater and Sky Spiral in 2012. [9]
The new Meadows Center was created with an emphasis on habitat reclamation and environmental goals, adding a Wetlands Boardwalk in a shallow area of Spring Lake. The boardwalk, made of recycled plastic lumber, floats on the water and circles a marshy area that showcases the flora and fauna of a wetland ecosystem.
The main aim of the center is research.
The MCWE participates in underwater archaeology. It led the search for Henry Morgan's lost fleet, and played a role in rediscovering the Satisfaction in 2011. while exploring caves in Mexico, Spring Lake, and shipwrecks.
The center uses unmanned aircraft (Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle) to capture photos and gather information for projects related to fisheries, wildlife, and watershed management and restoration.
The Meadows Center is dedicated to the sustainable management of the world's freshwater resources.
They oversee the Spring Lake Management Plan, which is designed to protect healthy ecosystems, provide research and educational opportunities, and offer access for service activities. As active partners in the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan, they help ensure minimum continuous spring flows of the Comal and San Marcos Springs.
The Aquarena Springs Amusement Park was the actual location of the resort in the 1978 film Piranha , directed by Joe Dante.
San Marcos is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city is a part of the Greater Austin Metropolitan Area. San Marcos's limits extend into Caldwell and Guadalupe counties, as well. San Marcos is on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and San Antonio. Its population was 44,894 at the 2010 census and 67,553 at the 2020 census. Founded on the banks of the San Marcos River, the area is thought to be among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the Americas. San Marcos is home to Texas State University and the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.
Barton Springs is a set of four natural water springs located at Barton Creek on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, resulting from water flowing through the Edwards Aquifer. The largest spring, Main Barton Spring, supplies water to Barton Springs Pool, a popular recreational destination in Austin. The smaller springs are located nearby, two with man-made structures built to contain and direct their flow. The springs are the only known habitat of the Barton Springs Salamander, an endangered species.
An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature, such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the underwater environment are universal, but many depend on the local situation.
The fountain darter is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is found in the headwaters of only two rivers in Texas, United States: the Comal River and the San Marcos River. It is generally smaller than 3 cm (1.2 in) long and feeds on small invertebrates. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States and is also listed as endangered by the IUCN.
Barton Creek is a tributary that feeds the Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The creek passes through some of the more scenic areas in Greater Austin, surrounded in many parts by a greenbelt of protected lands that serves as a habitat for many indigenous species of flora and fauna. The creek passes through Barton Creek Greenbelt and is fed by Barton Springs.
The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs, the location of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, in San Marcos, Texas. The springs are home to several threatened or endangered species, including the Texas blind salamander, fountain darter, and Texas wild rice. The river is a popular recreational area, and is frequented for tubing, canoeing, swimming, and fishing.
The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it is the source of drinking water for two million people, and is the primary water supply for agriculture and industry in the aquifer's region. Additionally, the Edwards Aquifer feeds the Comal and San Marcos Springs, provides springflow for recreational and downstream uses in the Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, and San Marcos river basins, and is home to several unique and endangered species.
Amistad Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande at its confluence with the Devils River 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Del Rio, Texas. The lake is bounded by Val Verde County on the United States side of the international border and by the state of Coahuila on the Mexican side of the border; the American shoreline forms the Amistad National Recreation Area. The reservoir was formed in 1969 by the construction of Amistad Dam. The dam and lake are managed jointly by the governments of the United States and Mexico through the International Boundary and Water Commission. The name of the dam and lake is the Spanish word for "friendship". The reservoir is also known as Lake Amistad.
The San Marcos salamander is a small species of aquatic, lungless salamander native to the United States, endemic to Spring Lake and a small region of the headwaters of the San Marcos River near Aquarena Springs, in Hays County, Texas. It is one to two inches long, with a slender body and external gills, and is reddish-brown in color.
San Marcos Springs is the second largest natural cluster of springs in Texas. The springs are located in the city of San Marcos, Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) southwest of Austin and 46 miles (74 km) northeast of San Antonio.
San Pedro Springs is the name of a cluster of springs in Bexar County, Texas, United States. These springs provide water for San Pedro Creek, which flows into the San Antonio River. The San Antonio Springs also feed into the San Antonio River.
The San Marcos gambusia is a likely extinct species of Gambusia from the family Poeciliidae that was found only in the San Marcos Springs of Central Texas. The fish has not been seen since 1983.
Newton A. Perry was an American swimmer, attraction promoter, educator and swimming coach.
Stygobromus pecki, the Peck's cave amphipod, is a rare species of crustacean found in four cavern areas of southwestern Texas in the United States. It is a federally listed endangered species in the United States and is also listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Because of the species' limited geographical distribution, not much information on S. pecki is known. As of April 2022, there is no available 5-year review, Species Status Assessment, or recovery plan for the species. However, the Edwards' Aquifer Habitat Conservation Program (EAHCP), with the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (UFWS), has been attempting to further study and promote conservation of S. pecki.
Aquarena, or Aquaréna, may refer to:
The Wood River is a short river in the southern region of the U.S. state of Oregon, and part of the Klamath Basin drainage. It flows 18 miles (29 km) through the Fremont-Winema National Forests, Bureau of Land Management land, and private property in southern Oregon. Its watershed consists of 220 square miles (570 km2) of conifer forest, rural pasture land, and marsh. The river provides habitat for many species of wildlife including an adfluvial (migratory) and resident populations of native Great Basin redband trout.
Balmorhea State Park is a 46-acre (19 ha) state park located on the San Solomon Springs in Reeves County, Texas, opened in 1968. The closest city is Balmorhea, Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department manages the park. The park is open year-round, and visitation is capped at 900 people per day.
Zizania texana is a rare species of grass known by the common name Texas wild rice. It is endemic to Texas, where it is found only on the upper San Marcos River in Hays County. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.
Mount Shasta City Park is an urban park located in the city of Mount Shasta, California. It is one of two parks within the Mt. Shasta Recreation and Parks District and hosts the district's headquarters. The 26 acres (11 ha) park and offers a variety of opportunities for recreation such as hiking, picnicking and biking. Many community events occur within the park buildings and in the surrounding park land. The park is also home to the headwaters of the Upper Sacramento River.
Clark Hubbs was an American ichthyologist who was professor of zoology at the University of Texas from 1963 until he accepted emeritus status in 1991. He was a leading figure in ichthyology in Texas, teaching many students who went on to be renowned in the field, was actively involved in many ichthyological societies and was an editor of scientific journals. Hubbs was also an environmental activist, fighting to conserve freshwater ecosystems.