Longhorn Dam

Longhorn Dam
The upstream side of Longhorn Dam in 2005
Location of Longhorn Dam in Texas
Official name	Longhorn Dam
Location	Austin, Texas, United States
Coordinates	30°15′1″N 97°42′49″W / 30.25028°N 97.71361°W / 30.25028; -97.71361
Opening date	1960 (1960)
Operator(s)	City of Austin
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Colorado River
Height	36 feet (11 m)
Length	506 feet (154 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Lady Bird Lake
Surface area	471 acres (191 ha)

Longhorn Dam is a dam crossing the Colorado River in Austin, Texas, United States, where it creates Lady Bird Lake. Completed in 1960, the dam was built by the City of Austin as the last in a chain of Colorado River dams in central Texas begun during the Great Depression. The name refers to its location on a ford used for longhorn cattle drives as a part of the Chisholm Trail in the late 19th century.