The Highland Lakes and Texas Hill Country

One of Texas' biggest tourist regions owes its start to a 3-1/2 minute earthquake over 30 million years ago. In less time than it takes to describe it, the ground trembled and shook and the Hill Country was born.

But it took an act of man -- and Congress -- to paint the finishing touches on the landscape. As a young U.S. Senator, Hill Country hometown boy Lyndon B. Johnson delivered to this region the Highland Lakes in the 1930s, a project that brought electricity to this once isolated area and controlled flooding on the sometimes raging Colorado River.

The first lake in the chain is Lake Buchanan. Contained by one of the largest multiple-arch dams in the world, this lake covers 23,000 acres. For a good look at the dam, walk out on the observation site. Spend a few minutes in the adjacent museum which chronicles life in this area in 1937, the construction of the dam, and wildlife in the lake region.

One of the most popular ways to view the lake is aboard the Vanishing Texas River Cruise. Cold-weather cruises feature a look at American bald eagles that nest along the upper reaches of the lake, but in the summer you'll find many other attractions on the rugged shoreline, perhaps spotting deer, feral hogs, and wild turkey.

Lake Buchanan is just the first of the stairstep lakes that lie nestled in this Hill Country region. For a look at other lakes along the chain, drive south on FM 1431 from Lake Buchanan to one of the quietest of the Highland Lakes. Inks Lake, the second in the chain, is a small lake only three miles long, but it has a special charm. Much of the water's edge is lined with homes, and a large section is bordered by the Inks Lake State Park.

Continue down FM 1431 to Lake LBJ. Once named Granite Shoals, the lake was renamed for Lyndon Baines Johnson because of his work in Congress to bring the lakes to the Hill Country. Here you'll find cottages for rent by the day or week on the junction of the Llano and Colorado Rivers, where quiet coves afford a catch of black bass, white bass, crappie, catfish, and perch.

The next stop is Lake Marble Falls, named for the slick ledges that form a waterfall. Today these falls are usually hidden in the depths beneath Lake Marble Falls and seen only when the water level drops.

The rough, rocky terrain of Marble Falls diminishes somewhat by the time you reach Lake Travis, a large, meandering lake that winds its way from the Hill Country to Austin's front door. At 65 miles long, Travis is the longest lake in the chain with literally hundreds of coves and inlets along its snakelike boundaries. Much of the land on Travis' shores is controlled by the Lower Colorado River Authority and remains undeveloped, but there are several excellent public parks from which to choose.