Bottomless Lakes State Park

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Bottomless Lakes State Park, established in 1933, was the first state park in the U.S. state of New Mexico.^[1] It is located along the Pecos River, about 15 miles southeast of Roswell, New Mexico. It takes it's name from nine small, deep lakes located along the eastern escarpment of the Pecos River valley. The escarpment is an ancient limestone reef, similar to the limestone mountains around Carlsbad Caverns, 80 miles to the south. Caves formed within the limestone, and as the Pecos River eroded the escarpment, the caves eventually collapsed, leaving behind several deep, almost circular lakes known as cenotes. ^[2] Most of the lakes are almost completely surrounded by cliffs, with the notable exceptions being Lea Lake and Lazy Lagoon. Lea lake has a large, sandy shoreline on the western side and tall cliffs on the eastern side. The cliffs around Lazy Lagoon have been completely eroded away by the Pecos River, and the lake sits in a former channel of the river. Lazy Lagoon is also the largest of the lakes, with a surface area of approximately 26 acres. Although it is a single lake, it is actually made up of three separate sink holes. The surface of the Lazy Lagoon is nearly level with the surrounding salt flats, which makes it look very shallow. In actuality, the deepest of its three sink holes is 90 feet deep. ^[3]

Lea Lake is the only lake in which swimming is allowed, and it has a beach and concession area which is popular in the summer. Seven of the other lakes are protected, although in recent years the lakes have been contaminated by trash that has been thrown into the lakes by careless visitors. The ninth and southernmost lake, Dimmit Lake, is not a part of the state park and is owned by a local hunting and fishing club.

Four endangered species can be found in the park. The Pecos Pupfish and the Rainwater Killifish are both endangered species of fish, and the Cricket Frog and the Eastern Barking Frog also live in the park.

The lakes are not fed by streams, and the evaporation rate of the lakes in the hot desert climate exceeds the rate at which rainwater refills them. The lakes are fed by underground water percolating through the rocks and into the lakes. The high evaporation rate makes the water in the lakes brackish.