North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River

The North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River is an intermittent stream about 75 mi (121 km) long, heading at the junction of Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw in the city of Lubbock, flowing generally southeastward to its mouth on the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River in western Kent County. It crosses portions of Lubbock, Crosby, Garza, and Kent counties in West Texas.

The flowing waters of the North Fork carved Yellow House Canyon, one of three major canyons along the east side of the Llano Estacado.

Proper name

In the past, this tributary of the Brazos has been called by various names, including Yellowhouse Creek and Yellow House River. According to a 1964 decision by the United States Board on Geographical Names, this stream is properly called the North Fork Double Mountain Fork Brazos River. However, due to the unwieldy length of the name, it is often shortened to just North Fork.

Geography

Within the city limits of Lubbock, the North Fork is a minor stream that flows through a narrow and shallow channel with a typical width less than 1,500 ft (460 m) and a typical depth not more than 50 ft (15 m). Here the city of Lubbock has constructed a series of small dams that form a series of narrow lakes, collectively known as Canyon Lakes.

As the North Fork extends outside the city limits, Yellow House Canyon gradually widens and deepens. At a distance of 9 mi (14 km) to the east-southeast of Lubbock, a dam was constructed to form Buffalo Springs Lake, a recreational lake that now inundates the site of the main springs, though Buffalo Springs continue to flow beneath the waters of the lake.