McKinney Falls

A slave owning aristocrat named McKinney moved out to the boonies outside the new capital of this thing called Texas. On the land he bought he found some cool waterfall sites. Today the area in this picture is known as lower McKinney Falls. There is an Upper Falls, but it is less spectacular as of right now.



Many million years ago this area was under water. Eventually volcanic activity bubbled up under the water, creating tiny mountainous hills, sometimes exploding in a ferocious show. Once things calmed, silt covered the mountains, but when the water receded, erosion exposed the volcanic hills. Erosion even exposed the softer underside seen in the picture above, the dirt having been excavated by nature, showing the hard sea floor rock bed.

This is a cool picture of what remains today of flowing water. This was taken during a time of low flow.



Here is a shot of the McKinney homestead ruins, built only a few minutes walk from the Lower Falls. It was constructed by slaves.



This is a picture of the oldest tree in the Texas State Park of McKinney Falls. Around it you can see a cool walkway that supports visitors' travels in the area.



This is a picture of the neat design of the information building on the grounds.



The cool thing about this park, I think, is that it is technically within the city limits of Austin. It's in the city's south, but not further than the cool neighborhood.