Mormon Lake

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Mormon Lake is the largest natural lake in the state of Arizona, covering an area of about twelve square miles. Located approximately twenty miles southeast of Flagstaff, it is a shallow lake of no more than ten feet in depth, and fluctuates drastically in area depending on snow runoff and rainfall amounts in the region. In dry years, Mormon Lake may be reduced to a remnant marsh or even dry up completely.

There is a small town, Mormon Lake, Arizona, on the west shore of the lake. The surrounding area, which lies within Coconino National Forest, is part of the largest continuous stand of ponderosa pine in the world, and often hosts campers and hikers. The lake itself attracts fishermen who angle for targets such as bullhead catfish and northern pike.

The name of the lake commemorates Mormon settlers who arrived here in the 1870s and founded several dairy farms in the area, which are no longer extant.