Editing Dallas (section)

=== Topography ===
[[File:Downtown Dallas TX 2013-06-08 087.jpg|thumb|right|[[West End Historic District (Dallas)|West End Historic District]]]]

[[File:ISS067-E-170869 Dallas.jpg|thumb|Dallas on July 1, 2022, with north oriented down and to the left. Taken during [[Expedition 67]] of the International Space Station.]]
[[File:White Rock Lake.jpg|thumb|right|[[White Rock Lake]] and the [[Bath House Cultural Center]]]]

{{Main|Geology of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex}}
Dallas and its surrounding area are mostly flat. The city lies at elevations ranging from {{convert|450|to|550|ft|m|0}} above sea level. The western edge of the Austin Chalk Formation, a [[limestone]] [[escarpment]] (also known as the "White Rock Escarpment"), rises {{convert|230|ft|m|0}} and runs roughly north–south through Dallas County. South of the [[Trinity River (Texas)|Trinity River]], the uplift is particularly noticeable in the neighborhoods of Oak Cliff and the adjacent cities of Cockrell Hill, [[Cedar Hill, Texas|Cedar Hill]], [[Grand Prairie, Texas|Grand Prairie]], and [[Irving, Texas|Irving]]. Marked variations in terrain are also found in cities immediately to the west in [[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]] surrounding Fort Worth, as well as along Turtle Creek north of Downtown.

Dallas, like many other cities, was founded along a river. The city was founded at the location of a "white rock crossing" of the Trinity River, where it was easier for wagons to cross the river in the days before ferries or bridges. The Trinity River, though not usefully navigable, is the major waterway through the city. [[Interstate 35E (Texas)|Interstate 35E]] parallels its path through Dallas along the [[Stemmons Corridor]], then south alongside the western portion of Downtown and past South Dallas and Pleasant Grove, where the river is paralleled by [[Interstate 45 (Texas)|Interstate 45]] until it exits the city and heads southeast towards [[Houston]]. The river is flanked on both sides by {{convert|50|ft|m|0}} tall earthen [[levee]]s to protect the city from frequent floods.<ref>{{cite web|author=John N. Furlong |author2=Greg Ajemian |author3=Tommie McPherson |year=2003 |title=History of the Dallas Floodway |url=http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/pdf/DallasFloodwayHistoryPaper.pdf |access-date=August 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325122856/http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/pdf/DallasFloodwayHistoryPaper.pdf |archive-date=March 25, 2009 }}</ref>

Since it was rerouted in the late 1920s, the river has been little more than a [[drainage ditch]] within a floodplain for several miles above and below Downtown, with a more normal course further upstream and downstream, but as Dallas began shifting towards postindustrial society, public outcry about the lack of aesthetic and recreational use of the river ultimately gave way to the [[Trinity River Project]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Discover The Trinity-Dallas |work=Discover The Trinity |publisher=Discoverthetrinity.org |access-date=September 12, 2009 |url=http://www.discoverthetrinity.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925092304/http://www.discoverthetrinity.org/ |archive-date=September 25, 2009 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> which was begun in the early 2000s.

The project area reaches for over {{convert|20|mi|km}} in length within the city, while the overall geographical land area addressed by the Land Use Plan is approximately {{convert|44000|acre|km2}} in size—about 20% of the land area in Dallas. Green space along the river encompasses approximately {{convert|10000|acre|km2}}, making it one of the largest and diverse urban parks in the world.<ref>{{cite web|author=Trinity River Corridor Project Management Office |title=Trinity River Corridor Project Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/html/faqs.html |access-date=October 19, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011061245/http://www.trinityrivercorridor.org/html/faqs.html |archive-date=October 11, 2006 }}</ref>

[[White Rock Lake]] and [[Joe Pool Lake]] are reservoirs that comprise Dallas's other significant water features. Built at the beginning of the 20th century, White Rock Lake Park is a popular destination for boaters, rowers, joggers, and bikers, as well as visitors seeking peaceful respite from the city at the {{convert|66|acre|m2|-3|adj=on}} [[Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden]], on the lake's eastern shore. [[White Rock Creek]] feeds into White Rock Lake and then exits into the Trinity River southeast of Downtown Dallas. Trails along White Rock Creek are part of the extensive Dallas County Trails System.

[[Bachman Lake]], just northwest of [[Dallas Love Field|Love Field Airport]], is a smaller lake also popularly used for recreation. Northeast of the city is [[Lake Ray Hubbard]], a vast {{convert|22745|acre|km2|0|adj=on}} reservoir in an extension of Dallas surrounded by the suburbs of [[Garland, Texas|Garland]], [[Rowlett, Texas|Rowlett]], [[Rockwall, Texas|Rockwall]], and [[Sunnyvale, Texas|Sunnyvale]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Bobby Farquhar and Mark McDonald |title=Lake Ray Hubbard |url=http://www.rtis.com/reg/lakes/rayhubba.htm |work=Set the Hook Guide to Lone Star Lakes and Lunkers |access-date=August 5, 2009 |archive-date=June 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606090611/http://www.rtis.com/reg/lakes/rayhubba.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> To the west of the city is [[Mountain Creek Lake]], once home to the [[Naval Air Station Dallas]] ([[Hensley Field]]) and a number of defense aircraft manufacturers.<ref>{{cite gnis|1342165|Mountain Creek Lake|Jan 10, 2024}}</ref><ref name="handbook">{{Handbook of Texas|id=qbn02|name=Naval Air Station, Dallas}}</ref>
[[North Lake (Dallas County, Texas)|North Lake]], a small body of water in an extension of the city limits surrounded by Irving and [[Coppell, Texas|Coppell]], initially served as a water source for a nearby power plant but is now being targeted for redevelopment as a recreational lake due to its proximity to [[Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport|Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport]], a plan the lake's neighboring cities oppose.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aasen |first=Eric |date=May 18, 2005 |title=Foes say North Lake development a threat to lifestyle |newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |place=Coppell }}</ref>