Lake Worth

Lake Worth is an artificial lake on the northwestern edge of Fort Worth in west central Tarrant County (at 32°48' N, 97°22' W). The lake was formed by a dam completed in 1916 on the West Fork of the Trinity River. Lake Worth provides municipal water and recreation for the Fort Worth area. Since construction of the dam, the lake's capacity has been increased from 21,800 acre-feet to 33,600 acre-feet through the construction of nearby Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport reservoirs and the purchase of water from Benbrook Reservoir. The drainage area above the dam, including the area drained by Eagle Mountain and Bridgeport reservoirs, was increased from 200 square miles to 2,064 square miles. The spillway crest elevation is 594.3 feet above mean sea level. Lake Worth is surrounded by other residential areas in addition to Fort Worth. White Settlement and Carswell Air Force Base are south of its southern shore, the community of Lake Worth lies to the east, and Lakeside is near its western shore. A number of city parks dot its shoreline, and the Fort Worth National Fish Hatchery occupies an area just beyond the lake's dam. The local terrain is flat to rolling, surfaced by sandy and clay loams that support juniper and oak trees, brush, chaparral, cacti, and grasses.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.