Texas Highland Lakes

The Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant consists of dual natural gas fired turbines and a single steam turbine run by exhaust heat from the gas turbines in a combined cycle configuration that generates 540 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The facility is located near Horseshoe Bay in Llano County, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and was named for Thomas C. Ferguson, a member of LCRA's first Board of Directors. Cooling water is provided by Lake LBJ, a freshwater reservoir created by Wirtz Dam. The LCRA broke ground in April 2012 on the plant to replace the existing single-unit natural gas fired 420 megawatt turbine completed in 1974. Fluor Corporation was the general contractor on the Ferguson Replacement Project. The LCRA dedicated the new $500 million facility, which is 35% more efficient, in October 2014.During its last years, the original generator only operated during periods of peak demand or when other utilities needed reserve or emergency power. It stopped operating in September 2013 and was dismantled.

Granite Shoals is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States with a 2020 census population of 5,129.

Horseshoe Bay is a city in Llano and Burnet counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Situated on Lake Lyndon B. Johnson and the south branch of the Colorado River, it is known in the region for its golf courses, hotel and resort, and water sports. Prior to its incorporation in September 2005, it was a census-designated place (CDP). The CDP population was 3,337 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census put the population at 3,418. The 2020 Decennial Census reported population was 4,257.

Sherwood Shores is an unincorporated community in Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had an estimated population of 870 in 2000.

Highland Haven is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 431 at the 2010 census.

Sunrise Beach Village is a city in Llano County, Texas, United States. The village was established in 1973. The population was 713 at the 2010 census.

Wirtz Dam (formerly Granite Shoals Dam) was constructed from 1949 to 1951 to provide hydroelectric power and to form Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (formerly Lake Granite Shoals), one of the Texas Highland Lakes. Lake LBJ ‒ as it is more commonly referred to ‒ provides cooling water for the Lower Colorado River Authority's Thomas C. Ferguson Power Plant along Horseshoe Bay. Wirtz Dam was originally named Granite Shoals Dam until 1951 when it was renamed in honor of Alvin J. Wirtz who had been instrumental in the formation of the LCRA. Likewise, Lake LBJ was originally named Lake Granite Shoals until 1965 when it was renamed for another advocate of the LCRA, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. Wirtz Dam and Lake LBJ are located due west of Lake Marble Falls and the city of Marble Falls, Texas.

Lake Lyndon B. Johnson (more commonly referred to as Lake LBJ and originally named Lake Granite Shoals) is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Texas Hill Country about 45 miles northwest of Austin. The reservoir was formed in 1950 by the construction of Granite Shoals Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). The Colorado River and the Llano River meet in the northern portion of the lake at Kingsland.

Cottonwood Shores is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,123 at the 2010 census.

Granite Mountain is a solid dome, also known as a bornhardt, of pink granite (pink granite is also known as Sunset Red) rising over 860 feet one mile west of Marble Falls, Texas. Since quarry operations began in the late 19th century, the distinctive pink-red colored rock has been used in the construction of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, and also for the construction of the Galveston Seawall. In 1882, three businessmen and the owners of Granite Mountain, G. W. Lacy (of the Lacy Lans Ranch), N. L. Norton and W. H. Westfall, donated the amount of granite necessary to build the Texas State Capitol. The mountain no longer looks like a geographic feature because of the heavy mining, which has fully covered its surface. A similar but much larger area known as Enchanted Rock State Natural Area can be seen in its undisturbed state west of Marble Falls near Fredericksburg, Texas.

Meadowlakes is a city in Burnet County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,907 at the 2020 census.

The Llano River ( LAN-oh) is a tributary of the Colorado River, about 105 miles (169 km) long, in Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin. Two spring-fed tributaries, the North and South Llano, stretch across the otherwise arid lands of West Texas before merging just east of the small town of Junction, in Kimble County, forming the head of the Llano River proper. The Llano River runs generally east-northeast through the rolling limestone terrain of the Edwards Plateau as it flows through Kimble County and across rural Mason County, passing to the south of the town of Mason, Texas. Continuing in an easterly direction, the river carves its way through the Llano Uplift, a roughly circular geologic dome of Precambrian rock, primarily granite, located in Central Texas. Flowing through Llano County, the river passes to the north of Enchanted Rock and flows through the town of Llano, Texas. Northeast of Llano, it turns sharply to the southeast, joining the Colorado from the northwest as an arm of Lake Lyndon B. Johnson, about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Llano at Kingsland. This river is one of the few popular fly fishing destinations in the state of Texas, and contains Guadalupe bass, the state fish of Texas. The Llano also contains largemouth bass, needlenose and spotted gar, and various sunfish.The river is also associated with the legend of the Los Almagres Mine. Translated from Spanish, almagre means red ochre. In 1756, the lieutenant-general of Texas (then still a province of New Spain), Don Bernardo de Miranda, launched an expedition from San Fernando (San Antonio), to ascertain whether rumors of rich mineral deposits to the north were true. As the legend goes, Miranda came across a cave in the side of a hill in the vicinity of the Rio de las Chanas (Llano River), and reported astounding quantities of silver to be found within.