Dallas, and its surrounding area, is mostly flat and lies at an elevation ranging from 450 feet (137 m) to 550 feet (168 m). The western edge of the Austin chalk formation, a limestone escarpment, rises 200 feet (61 m) and runs roughly north-south through Dallas County The uplift is particularly noticeable in the neighborhood of Oak Cliff and the adjacent cities of Cockrell Hill, Cedar Hill, Grand Prairie, and Irving. Marked variations in terrain are also found in cities immediately to the west in Tarrant County surrounding Fort Worth
The Trinity River is a major Texas waterway that passes from the city of Irving into west Dallas, where it is paralleled by Interstate 35E along the Stemmons Corridor, then flows alongside western downtown, and through and alongside south Dallas and Pleasant Grove, paralleled by Interstate 45, where it exits into unincorporated Dallas County and heads southeast to Houston. The river is flanked on both sides by 50 feet (15 m) tall earthen levees to protect the city from floods.[11] The river has been treated much like a drainage ditch throughout Dallas's history, but as Dallas began shifting towards a postindustrial society, public outcry about a lack of aesthetic and recreational use for the river ultimately gave way to the Trinity River Project. The project, which began in the early 2000s and is scheduled to reach completion in the 2010s, will result in lakes, new park facilities and trails, and transportation
improvements.
White Rock Lake is Dallas's other significant water feature. The lake and surrounding park is a popular destination among boaters, rowers, joggers, and bikers in the Lakewood/Casa Linda Estates neighborhoods of east Dallas. The 66-acre (267,000 m˛) Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden lies on the lake's eastern shore.[13] Bachman Lake, just northwest of Love Field, is a smaller lake and park also used for recreation. Lake Ray Hubbard, a 22,745-acre (92 km˛) lake, is a vast and popular recreational lake located in an extension of Dallas surrounded by Garland, Rowlett, Rockwall, and Sunnyvale.[14] Mountain Creek Lake is a small lake along Dallas's border with Grand Prairie and is home to the (defunct as of September 1998) Naval Air Station Dallas (Hensley Field).[15] North Lake, a small lake in an extension of Dallas surrounded by Irving and Coppell, served primarily as a water source for a nearby power plant, but the surrounding area is now being targeted for redevelopment due to its proximity to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (a plan that the neighboring cities oppose).
Neighborhoods
Major areas in the city include:
Near the Farmers Market in downtown Central Dallas is anchored by Downtown, the center of the city and the epicenter of urban revival, coupled with Oak Lawn and Uptown Dallas, new urbanist areas anchored by dense retail, restaurants, and nightlife. Downtown Dallas has a variety of neighborhoods, including the West End Historic District, the Arts District, the Main Street District, Farmers Market District, the City Center business district, the Convention Center District, the Reunion District and Victory Park. North of downtown is Oak Lawn, a densely-populated area that contains parks along Turtle Creek and the popular Uptown area with LoMac, Cityplace and the West Village.
The east side of Dallas contains the community of East Dallas, home to Deep Ellum, a trendy arts area close to downtown, homey Lakewood, the historic Vickery Place, Bryan Place, and historically and architecturally significant homes on Swiss Avenue. Above the Park Cities is north Dallas, home to mansions as palatial as Versailles in Preston Hollow, strong middle and upper-class communities north into Bent Tree and Far North Dallas, and high-powered shopping at Galleria Dallas, NorthPark Center, and Preston Center. East of north Dallas and north of east Dallas is Lake Highlands, one of the most unified middle-class areas in the city, with the strongest definition—it is in the northeastern part of the city above White Rock Lake and east Dallas.[26]
Kidd Springs Park in Oak Cliff
The West Village in Oak Lawn The southern portion of Dallas is home to Oak Cliff, a hilly area in southwest Dallas that is predominantly Hispanic and includes entertainment districts such as the Bishop Arts District. South Oak Cliff became a predominantly African American district after the early 1970s and has struggled with high rates of poverty and crime.[27] To the east, south Dallas lays claim to the Cedars, an eclectic artist hotbed south of downtown, Fair Park, and areas west of the Trinity River and east of Interstate 35E. The University of North Texas at Dallas, currently located south of Oak Cliff along Interstate 20,[28] is being built in the area along Houston School Road.[29] Further east, above (north and east of) the Trinity River, is Pleasant Grove—once an independent city, it is a predominantly black collection of neighborhoods stretching to Seagoville to the southeast.
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