Lake Ray Roberts

{{short description|Reservoir in Texas, USA}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Ray Roberts Lake

| image = Ray Roberts Lake Texas.jpg

| caption = Aerial view of Ray Roberts

| image_bathymetry =

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| location = Denton / Cooke / Grayson counties, Texas

| coords = {{Coord|33|21|53|N|97|03|05|W|type:waterbody_region:US-TX|display=inline,title}}

| type = reservoir

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| basin_countries = United States

| length =

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| area = {{convert|29350|acre|km2|0|abbr=on}}

| depth =

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| shore =

| elevation = {{convert|168|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}{{gnis|1377269|Ray Roberts Lake}}

| islands =

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| pushpin_map = Texas#USA

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Ray Roberts in Texas, USA.

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Lake Ray Roberts (formally Ray Roberts Lake) is an artificial {{convert|29350|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} American reservoir located {{convert|10|mi|km|-1}} north of Denton, Texas, between the cities of Pilot Point, Texas and Sanger, Texas. It is filled by a tributary of the Trinity River.

It was named after Ray Roberts (a local congressman who supported creation of the lake) in 1980.

The reservoir is located in, and supplies water to, Cooke, Grayson, and Denton counties.

Image:USACE Ray Roberts Lake and Dam.jpg

On March 2, 1945, the U.S. Congress approved the River & Harbors Act of 1945 which, among many projects, provided for the construction of Benbrook Lake, Grapevine Lake, Lavon Lake and Ray Roberts Lake, as well as modifications to the existing Garza Dam for the construction of Lewisville Lake. Ray Roberts Dam, an earthen structure {{convert|141|feet}} high, is owned and operated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Ray Roberts is also used for recreation and is home to the Ray Roberts Lake State Park.{{cite web|url=http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/ray_roberts_lake/|title=Ray Roberts Lake State Park — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department|website=tpwd.state.tx.us|access-date=22 April 2018}}

The construction of Lake Ray Roberts resulted in the dissolution of several communities in the surrounding area. One notable community, which surrounded St. James Baptist Church, was given funds to build a new church in the nearby town of Pilot Point.{{cite web|title=Archaeology of the Johnson and Jones Farmsteads in the Ray Roberts Lake Area (1850-1950)|url=https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a286927.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601071239/https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a286927.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=June 1, 2022|access-date=15 December 2018}}

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