Lake Casa Blanca International State Park | |
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Location | Webb County, Texas |
Nearest city | Laredo |
Coordinates | 27°32′22″N 99°27′5″W / 27.53944°N 99.45139°W |
Area | 525 acres (212 ha) |
Established | 1991 |
Visitors | 132,019 (in 2022) [1] |
Governing body | Texas Parks and Wildlife Department |
Lake Casa Blanca International State Park is a 525-acre state park located in Laredo, Texas, United States a few miles east of the border with Mexico. [2] The park was originally managed by Webb County and the City of Laredo. It opened as a state park in 1991 and is managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. [3]
During the Eocene Epoch, about 38 to 54 million years ago, the area was a tropical, mangrove palm swamp. Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of primates, fish and reptiles in the park. [4]
Mammals likely to be seen in the park are black-tailed jackrabbits and eastern cottontails and white-tailed deer. The threatened Texas horned lizard has been sighted in the park. Common birds in the park are vermilion flycatcher, golden-fronted and ladder-backed woodpeckers, cactus wren, mourning and white-winged doves, Couch's kingbird and greater roadrunner. [5]
The park is in the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion. Plants typical of this country include honey mesquite, palo verde and prickly pear cactus. [6] Guajillo and huisache is abundant, and other species such as horse crippler and fishhook cactus can be found as well. [5]
Lake Casa Blanca is accessible from the park and water activities including swimming, boating, jet-skiing, and water-skiing are popular. [7] Anglers catch largemouth bass, sunfish, crappie and catfish in the lake. [6]
They are few other large public recreational areas in and around Laredo, so the day-use part of the park sees heavy traffic, especially on weekends and holidays. The locals gather to picnic and use the playground, baseball field, and volleyball and basketball courts. [7] [8]
Other activities include hiking, cycling, birdwatching, geocaching, and camping. [2]