Caddo Lake, LA

Caddo Lake is about 20 miles northwest of Shreveport, Louisiana, is located in northwestern Caddo Parish, Louisiana, and western Marion County, Texas.  This area has a subtropical transitional climate with a mean annual rainfall of 46.1 inches and a mean annual temperature of 65.2 degrees Fahrenheit.  It has a drainage area of 2,744 square miles.  The lake receives inflow from Big Cypress Bayou in Texas and Hunts Creek in Louisiana, which enter at the western and northern ends, respectively, and numerous other smaller tributaries.

Water level is controlled by a 3,725-foot-long spillway located at the eastern end of the lake in Louisiana.  Water discharges into Willow Pass Twelvemile Bayou.  Caddo Lake is a very wide shallow lake; shallower areas of the lake are densely vegetated and impassable to motorized boats.  Active and abandoned oil well pumping station platforms and remnant pilings of decayed platforms are scattered throughout the lake.  Well-demarcated channels allow boat traffic to avoid submerged obstacles and the densely vegetated areas.