According to Indian legends Caddo Lake was formed by an earthquake. Historians say it was actually formed by a huge logjam on the Red River which caused the waters to seek a new current across the northeastern part of the state. Some people think that the logjam could have been created by trees toppled in the gigantic Missouri earthquake of 1811, so maybe both stories are true.

The only “natural” lake in Texas, Caddo Lake receded to a swamp after the Army dynamited the logjam to clear it in the late nineteenth century. In modern times dams have been built to build it back up to its former level.

At one time steamboats plied their way up through the cypresses and alligators from New Orleans to the town of Jefferson, which was an early center of commerce in Texas. The town declined after the lake receded and then railroads replaced steamboats, and now it is just a tourist attraction. The nearby town of Uncertain got it’s name because early mapmakers weren’t sure what was there so they just labeled it “uncertain.”

Tricia and I were in East Texas to attend a symposium for the Native Plants Society. We arrived a little early on Thursday and went out to Uncertain for a tour of the Caddo on this replica of an old wood-burning steamboat.

The average depth of the lake is only nine feet. The joke was, if you fall off the boat, just stand up.