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City Of Marble Falls

800 Third Street
830-693-3615

About Us:

Founded in 1887 by General Adam R. Johnson, Marble Falls is located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country on the Colorado River. It is centrally located 47 miles northwest of Austin and 85 miles north of San Antonio, in the middle of the Highland Lakes area, the largest chain of lakes in Texas.Before the dam was built to form Lake Marble Falls on the Colorado River, there were falls of marble giving the name Marble Falls to the city. The falls are now under water and only visible on those rare occasions when the LCRA lowers the lake for repairs.Marble Falls sits on the banks of Lake Marble Falls.

The falls were formed by a shelf of limestone running diagonally across the  river from northeast to southwest. The upper layer of limestone, brownish on the exterior but deep blue inside, was so hard and cherty it was mistaken for marble. The falls were actually three distinct formations at the head of a canyon 1.25 miles long, with a drop of some 50 feet through the limestone strata. The natural lake was covered when the Colorado River was dammed with the completion of Max Starcke Dam in 1951. Lake Marble Falls sits between Lake LBJ to the north and Lake Travis to the south. The falls for which the City is named are now underwater, but are revealed every few years when the lake is lowered by the Lower Colorado River Authority for repairs.