Georgetown at San Gabriel Park — the confluence of the North and South Forks. About 20 miles east of Georgetown, the river is impounded at Granger to form Granger Lake. The river then flows about 30 more miles in a northeastern direction to its confluence with the Little River, about five miles south of Cameron. The geography along the San Gabriel is varied, with heavy vegetation on its banks and occasional limestone bluffs in the Balcones Escarpment of the Blackland Prairie. Water levels fluctuate for the entire length of the river. Except during the dry summer periods, there is normally sufficient water for recreational use. Cities and towns along the San Gabriel include Rockdale, Thorndale, Granger, Taylor, Georgetown, Bertram, and Burnet. The river was named Río de San Francisco Xavier by the Ramon expedition in 1716 and is also recorded in the journals of the Aguayo expedition of 1721. On his map of 1828 Stephen F. Austin mistakenly labeled the river "San Javriel" — his erroneous transposition of "San Xavier." From this, the name morphed into "San Gabriel." The San Xavier missions were founded in 1745 along the river a few miles upstream from the mouth of Brushy Creek — one of the river's minor tributaries. In May, 1839 the San Gabriel was the site of the battle of the San Gabriels, one of the state's most important Indian fights. Brushy Creek was the location of the battle of Brushy Creek in February, 1839. The South Fork of the San Gabriel forms four miles east of Burnet in Burnet County running 34 miles eastward through Williamson County before it joins the North Fork in Georgetown. The North Fork forms 12 miles north of Burnet in Burnet County and flows southward for 43 miles into Williamson County to its confluence with the South Fork in Georgetown. The North Fork is impounded about three miles northwest of the confluence of the two forks to form Georgetown Lake. The two forks are very similar. Both are scenic, winding rivers with numerous limestone bluffs. However, recreational use is restricted to periods of sufficient rainfall since they tend to not maintain consistent water flow. The San Gabriel has two other tributaries — the Russell and Middle forks. The Russell Fork begins six miles north of Burnet and then flows into the North Fork. The Middle Fork forms five miles east of Liberty Hill in Williamson