Goodbye to an Island
Sometimes Island is disappearing—and that’s a good thing. The rocky formation jutting up from Lake Travis near Mansfield Dam Park northwest of Austin has long provided a quick visual indicator of this beloved Highland Lake’s water level. In times of H2O abundance, only brushy peaks peek above the water line; more and more of the island protrudes in bouts of drought. Lately, we’d seen way too much of the craggy stretch. Drought had fully exposed a peninsula, and for the first time in decades, lake-goers could walk across the landform from the shoreline. No boat required. Not so today. At press time, in light of spring storms—the same weather systems that brought unthinkable flooding devastation to so many across the state—Lake Travis had risen more than 30 feet in 30 days. And…
