Caddo Lake Images and Prints

Both mysterious and beautiful, Caddo Lake is a photographer’s dream. My most recent adventure to this area was specifically for enjoying and shooting the Autumn colors of cypress trees. Nearly 95% of the images you’ll find in this gallery showing the orange and red hues of Fall were taken while I was sitting in a kayak. My tripod was outside my kayak, resting (mostly) securely in the muck that rested on the lake bottom. I’d never photographed anything from a kayak, and this adventure was fun, challenging, frustrating, and ultimately rewarding, and I hope to return many times in future seasons for further exploration!

Past trips to Caddo Lake were in summer. The green of the cypress and blue skies highlighted those trips - again from a boat - and whetted my appetite for many returns. Some of my favorite areas include:

* Saw Mill Pond at Caddo Lake State Park

* Benton Lake

* Turtle Shell Paddling Trail

* The Cathedral Paddling Trail

* Carter's Chute

I've also added some images of Daffodils from Gladewater, Texas and the Helen Lee Foundation ranch. I know this isn't Caddo Lake, but it in the east Texas area!

I hope you enjoy this gallery featuring images from this east Texas gem.

Caddo Lake rests on the border of Louisiana and Texas. As the biggest natural lake in the Lone Star State, it covers over 25,000 acres and is home to the largest cypress forest in the world. Caddo Lake was once home to the Caddo Indians and received its name from this culture, a Native American tribe driven from the area in the 19th century.

Legend says Caddo Lake was formed by the New Madrid Earthquake of 1812. Whether the lake formed in the hours and days after the quake or gradually over time, there occurred a 100-mile log jam that caused the region to flood. An effort was put forth to break down these log-jams, and soon the waterway was cleared.

With the arrival of the steamboat, this floodwater allowed port cities such as Jefferson, Swanson's Landing, and Caddo to grow and thrive along the Red River. Commercial business prospered on these river passageways between Texas and Louisiana. However, as the last log jams were removed, the lake filtered and spread out. Lake levels dropped over 10 feet, and the once profitable port towns lost their means of trade because the riverboats were grounded. Saving the economy, however, was the discovery of oil in 1911. The first oil rig over water drilled into the oil rich sediment of Caddo Lake that year and produced 450 barrels of crude a day.

Now, a portion of Caddo Lake known as Saw Mill Pond is a state park, gaining its protected status in 1993. It is also one of 13 United States areas protected by the Ramsar Convention. It features a diverse array of animals and plants, including reclusive alligators, sunbathing turtles, and elegant egrets. Even sightings of the elusive Bigfoot have been reported several hundred times since 1965!

All images are copyrighted by © Rob Greebon Photography
No files or written content found within this site may be used or
reproduced in any form without the expressed consent of Rob Greebon.

If you have any questions about these photographs from Caddo Lake in east Texas, please do not hesitate to contact me.