:Comal River

{{Short description|River in Texas, United States}}

{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Comal River

| name_native =

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| name_other =

| name_etymology =

| image = Schlitterbahn4.jpg

| image_caption = The Comal River in New Braunfels

| map = {{maplink-road|from=Comal River (Texas).map}}

| map_size = 250

| map_caption = Location of the Comal River

| pushpin_map =

| pushpin_map_size = 250

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| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = United States

| subdivision_type2 = State

| subdivision_name2 = Texas

| subdivision_type3 =

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| length = {{convert|2.5|mi|km|abbr=on}}

| width_min =

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| depth_min =

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| discharge1_location=

| discharge1_min =

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|312|cuft/s|m3/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_max =

| source1 = Comal Springs

| source1_location = New Braunfels, Comal County

| source1_coordinates= {{coord|29|42|46.62|N|98|8|15|W|display=inline}}

| source1_elevation = {{convert|645|ft|abbr=on}}Google Earth elevation for GNIS coordinates.

| mouth = Guadalupe River

| mouth_location = New Braunfels, Comal County

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|29|42|16|N|98|6|50|W|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|600|ft|abbr=on}}

| progression =

| river_system =

| basin_size = {{convert|130|sqmi|abbr=on}}

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The Comal River ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|oʊ|m|æ|l}} {{respell|KOH|mal}}) is the shortest navigable river in the state of Texas in the United States. Proclaimed the "longest shortest river in the world" by locals, it runs entirely within the city limits of New Braunfels in southeast Comal County. It is a tributary of the Guadalupe River. The Comal begins at Comal Springs in Landa Park and flows {{convert|2.5|mi|km}} until its junction with the Guadalupe.

The Comal was originally called the Little Guadalupe in early Spanish accounts. After Spaniard Pedro de Rivera y Villalón identified the longer river as the Guadalupe in 1727, the Comal was given its current name. The name means basin or flat dish in Spanish.

Historically, the Comal was used to power watermills and cotton gins by early German settlers,{{Cite web |date=2021-10-06 |title=Comal River |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/rivers/comal-river.html |access-date=2023-04-03 |website=WorldAtlas |language=en-US}} and later to provide hydroelectric power. The river is primarily used for water recreation today, being the location of the original Schlitterbahn water amusement park. The water is administered by the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority.

The river is also one of only two rivers to host the fountain darter (Etheostoma fonticola), a fish now in danger of extinction. The only other river inhabited by the darter is the nearby San Marcos River.